[V2610] Christianity

Prof. sommerville is amazing. absolutely the best teacher i have ever had. My first impression of him reminded me of Mr. Rogers--extremely pleasant, warm, and enthusiastic. The class itself was interesting, and at the end of every lecture i found myself taken back in awe of sommerville's intelligence and passion about the class. I was never disappointed that i had to gone to class. I was also extremely amazed by his eagerness to help with student questions or concerns. he was very responsive to emails, questions, and anything else you were curious about. it seems like he genuinely cares about the students and their understanding of the material. his occaisional cute tibits of humor (sort of like dad-jokes gone wrong) only add to his already engaging class. one good thing to note--he does not take attendence. i missed several classes, missed most of the discussion sections, but still got an A in the class. take the class!!! its great!

Professor Somerville is an outstanding lecturer. His ability to convey course themes through cogent and concise presentations is truly a gift. Having basically no interest in Religion initially, I soon found myself engrossed in each lecture. His rapport with students is wonderful, and he is excellent about responding to students' concerns via email.

A deeply intelligent and thoughtful person, also a kind human being. Manages to cover a huge history clearly, organizes his thoughts and lectures incredibly well. A highly recommended class.

Somerville is well-organized, intelligent, witty (though he tends to hide it), and happy to get to know his students. The lectures are full of information, and while you may not find yourself sitting on the edge of your chair, he keeps you awake. He could probably move through the material a little more quickly if he didn't constantly repeat himself. The TAs do the grading, but he's always happy to chat. He also speaks like a news anchor and paces to and fro making stange gestures with his hands. Often seen walking in Morningside Heights holding his eight-year-old son's hand.

Some athletes just radiate competence. On the Mets, Robin Ventura isn't flashy, he isn't the most talented, but you can always trust him to do his best and take care of the job. One might be able to tell from this metaphor that I am not an English major. Anyway, Somerville is one of the best professors I've had. His classes aren't fascinating, but they're very well organized (and delivered without notes). The grading is easy, the sections are unnecessary, and the quizzes are a little silly. Nevertheless, great class, though I recommend that you actually be interested in the topic. As I indicated, he's not going to win you over with charisma, just sheer competence and dedication. The first day of class, someone asked a question he couldn't answer off the top of his head. The next day he brought in a book and discussed it for 5-10 minutes. You have to like that.

Somerville knows his stuff, and he's good if you like the stuff. Not the most animated lecturer, he occasionally throws in a miserably humorless joke from religion circles. A nice, helpful man, there's nothing to be said against him. The reading is not crucial to success (gradewise) although some short texts must be read. Fortunately it's not hard to figure out which ones are important. The discussion sections are vital if you want to do well on the two quizzes (short essay questions), and they help for the final too. I didn't come off very pleased with the course, though I must say that Christianity isn't my thing. One problem that frustrates me: I still have no clear idea of what Christianity is.