Gold
SilverOK, so people have been pretty nasty about Prof Harris. Although he does exude a certain English pomp, he is quite endearing and personable at the same time. If you appreciate dry English humor, he's great-my friend and I were constantly giggling at his snarky comments on other historians, ancient Romans, etc. He is clearly extremely knowledgeable and is respected in his field, but doesn't generally advertise his work unless its an area he is particularly knowledgeable about. It does seem as though he's always contradicting the readings, of which there are many, but he makes it clear that he is stating an opinion which cannot be proven one way or the other. He takes an active part in the class, attends sections, grades tests, and while he kind of ignores questions during lecture, is very open to talking afterward, by e-mail, or in office hours. I wouldn't say I'm an expert now, but I learned quite a bit about Roman history. He and my TA, James Tan (who had encyclopedic knowledge on most subjects), were very resourceful and it was a fairly pleasant experience. One caveat: Beware the history tools, for there are many--and I'm a history major so I can say that. And you will be jealous of the elderly GS couples who sit in class just listening to Harris as you try to keep up with his kind of hoppy lectures.
Readings of about 100 pgs a week which can be really interesting or really boring.
Midterm and final-kind of confusing to explain but basically you had to prepare 2 well researched essays for the midterm to be able to answer one on the test, same format for final only you had to prepare 3.
Worked fairly hard and got what I thought were low grades but was pleasantly surprised with my high grade at the end.
One of the things that made this course enjoyable was that the professor genuinely cares about the material. He has made some brilliant contributions to the field. His lectures can be dry, boring and he does cover the material very quickly, making it difficult to get down every word, but if you're interested in history, it's not a course to miss. I would definitely take another course with Professor Harris, but I understand why other reviewers don't like his style.
Two simple quizzes, factually based. Midterm and final, essay questions. Reading material is on the lighter side of moderate, not 100% necessary to do all the time.
Professor Harris is a world-reknowned expert historian on ancient history. It is true that he is not the most organized lecturer and that he tends to ramble and skip from topic to topic: but it's also important to understand that he doesn't treat this class like a high school class, going completely by dates, but instead focuses on broad themes for the lectures. I personally was scared by the past negative ranting reviews. But I enjoyed this class - I was impressed by his knowledge and authority on Roman History. Harris has a great sense of humor and is politically astute. He's not really brutal at all to the TA's - he knows his reputation as insulting them but really isn't that bad. I got the impression that the TA's would take any criticism because they were working with such a scholar. I'm not blindly praising the professor because of his reputation - he's quite intimidating, but I really think that this class is worth taking and I would disagree with the past overall-negative reviews. It's a good class and he's a cool guy. Note: on the bibliography that some reviews mention - it is a list of like 200 books, but it's not like you have to buy any of them - it's just a resource of books that he considers worth reading if you are interested in the topic
A lot of reading, especially primary sources, but I found that I could get by not doing it all. Discussion sections can be tedious depending on the TA's. Quiz, midterm (which he regraded because he thought the TA's were too harsh), paper (1500 words, he provides a list of like 30 suggested topics), final. more than manageable.
If you take this class, and you really should only if you must, buy a book of crossword puzzles. Or find a friend, sit in the back, and play MASH or hangman. Whatever floats your boat. Better yet, dont go. Why? Because it is absolutely pointless to take, or I should say attempt to take, notes in his class. He is what could kindly be called a "stream of consciousness" lecturer, never finishing an idea before he throws out another. Harris sometimes appears to be in a personal competition with the micromachine man for who can talk the fastest, so if you do try to write what he says, you poor hand will probably require medical attention after a few weeks. He knows his shit, but what can you expect from a guy who devotes his whole life to the study of a civilization that he clearly despises. Harris is arrogant and condescending, mean to his TAs, and peppers his lectures with remarks about the failings of all nationalities but British. The only worthwhile thing about this class is watching him strut into the room, always a few minutes late, covered in enough leather to induce warm fuzzzy feelings in the hearts of dominatrixes everywhere, only to uncover some sort of hideous pastel colored silk shirt.
Heavy reading (and thats with ignoring the reading list of over 100 books). Midterm, final, paper. He is a pretty harsh grader, and the TAs arent all that much nicer.
I suppose if you're looking for a class that you can ditch half of the time and still get a decent grade, then this is the one for you, since the workload is so light. On a personal note, however, this man is the most pompous, arrogant, sanctimonious twit that I have ever had the displeasure of being associated with in my years at Columbia. I had a dispute regarding my final grade and the discussion sections, and it took him EIGHT MONTHS to finally reply to the matter via the Ombuds Office (which I finally had to go through!). Even then, his attitude was one of "how dare you even disturb me with such petty nonsense?" This guy cares primarily about his super-inflated ego and secondarily about his students. If you're genuinely interested in Roman History, you should take the class. Just don't have great expectations on this professor of such low quality.
Mid-term quiz; one 5-7 page paper; final.
The man is clearly brilliant, and he knows it. He is arrogant and the 80 year old struts into class daily like he just stepped of his Harley with leather jacket and rose sun glasses. For someone with a base knoledge of Roman History the class should be easy and entertaining. Novices beware, though this is an intro class he never brings anything together for you. He cannot being his knowledge of the subject down to what is required of an intro. class. The TA's are awesome, at least Giovanni Ruffinni who is the God of all TA's and will be helpful and an outlet for venting about the smug "emperor" of a professor. The class is a mixed bag.
Light, extensive reading but only midterm, final, and 1200 word paper.
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