Very interesting and not hard GE class. To get an A - attend the class, participate in lecture discussions, essay -get guidance from your TA, check with writing center for mistakes, for midterm questions remember your TA's name, and pr will give you exact questions he will ask (no surprise). I really enjoyed the class, not sure how proff got this some what poor rating.

At first I found the topic boring, but Porter really knows how to make the information soak into your head. Though his lectures can be confusing at times, he really makes you think and draw conclusions based on what he talks about. I often left lecture thinking about what I had just learned.
His assignments were challenging, but definitely not impossible if you started early.
Go to his office hours! Porter is very friendly and willing to answer any questions you may have. He is quite brilliant.
Long story short, this class is interesting if you actively participate. It would probably be horridly boring if you didn't make an effort to participate.

I found this to be an amazingly interesting class. It is much more based on philosophy of science than subject matter in the history of science.

Porter has changed the structure of the class: there is no longer a final, but four major essays which determine 80% of your grade and 20% of participation in discussions.

I could say, "go on, take this class, it is an easy GE." However, some greek philosopher once said,
"In giving advice, seek to help, not please, your friend."
Thus I shall be frank: the class is easy, in that the concepts are not hard, and there is no memorization. However the workload is huge.
As structured right now, it is not necessary to take notes in class, if you pay attention to what he says. The history department publishes online his slides, which contain the fundamental ideas upon which he expands in class. If you listened in class, from those you should be able to reconstruct the argument. Such arguments often become the central point of an essay. However, you have to do the reading: I dare say even up to 200 pages a week. This is important not only for essays (which, to be good, must rely *extensively* on quoted evidence) but also for discussion. In discussion, DO NOT sit in a corner ignoring your TA. GET INVOLVED in the discussion, especially when you are confident with a particular read and know you have a good opinion.

Good luck.

A slightly disorganized but enthusiastic and entertaining lecturer. Assigned essays were fairly short and simple. One warning: the class has a lot more to do with the philosophy of science than one might expect. As such, students are expected to consider what science as much as memorize facts. The lectures are really only useful for the final exam.

I took History of Science with Professor Porter.

This was a subject that shockingly I am actually interested in but his lectures were SO boring. I could barely stay awake and he is not a good public speaker at all and has some unique ticks that you will notice during his lectures.

However, he seems like a really nice person and I never went to anything outside of lectures so very well might be my own fault I didn't like the class

There was 2 (or maybe 3) big essays and then a final (which I found easy) that determines your grade in the class. The TAs grade the essays and depending on which TA you get can really impact your grade! Some are really easy, some are really strict.

This was the most BORING class I have ever taken in my entire life. Lectures were snooze times and the two essays he gave during the year had extremely vague prompts. Porter is definitely a nice guy and I kinda felt sorry for him due to the fact that more than half the class didn't attend lecture unless they had to turn something in or get an essay prompt. The TA is the most important aspect of this course. And my TA for this class can only be described as Satan's Emissary. She was rude and she talked down to her students. Her name rhymes with Robin. All in all, don't take this class unless you are majoring in history of science.

Professor Porter is not a good lecturer. He is brilliant, and quite witty, but is boring to be lectured by. If you speak to him outside of class, you will be impressed, but you will find it hard to stay awake in class. He is such a nice guy that it hurts me to write this, but he doesn't get paid to teach, he gets paid to publish and research, so this isn't hurting him professionally. The class I was in consisted of 150 students enrolled with 75 attending lecture regularly. About 2 weeks into the quarter, the professor noted that half the class must have "dropped". The following day he was handing out the essay assignment, and all students were in attendance, and you could see the look of disappointment on his face. The grades are determined by your TA for the most part, and the TA I had was awesome but strict. An 'A' was hard to come by. A 'B' almost guaranteed.

Ok its true that Prof Porter does have these nervous ticks while lecturing, like clearing his throat, adjusting his tie and he stutters a bit. And his lectures are a little circular. He uses powerpoint for his lectures and just outlines them for you. His essay questions for the take home midterm this quarter were a little confusing but the ones on the final were quite clear. He is available outside of class for questions and he will clarify anything for you. He is very knowledgeable. He has a very dry sense of humor. It is necessary to go to both lecture and discussion and do all the readings otherwise you'll miss things on the tests. If you are interesting in history of science or just science in general then you should take this class. It's really a north campus class for south campus majors.