Sarah Holtman - University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

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Sarah Holtman - University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Professor: Sarah Holtman

Department: Philosophy

College: University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Rating # 1

Overview:

Course: PHIL1004W
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 5.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

She is always willing to help if you go to her office hours and is willing to explain things more than one way if you don't understand it. She's also flexible with her assignments. If you take notes during lecture, you can get by without reading the texts as she is very thorough and detailed.

Rating # 2

Overview:

Course: PHIL1004W
Grade Received: B+
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

You can tell she really cares about both the subject and her students. She's also really good at using examples so students understand better. Grade entirely consisted of 3 papers and the final. Definitely GO TO LECTURE. She told us the final is almost entire based on lecture. I didn't read any of the books and still did well.

Rating # 3

Overview:

Course: PHIL1004W
Grade Received: B+
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Consisted of 3 papers and a final. The first few papers weren't that hard and other students said they didn't do a lot of the reading and still got good grades. Sarah was very respectful in the lecture and I was fairly engaged a majority of the time. While the lectures aren't mandatory I'd still go as it gave good insight into the final.

Rating # 4

Overview:

Course: PHIL3304
Grade Received: A
Overall Rating: 5.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Sarah is amazing. 2 papers and 1 final sum up your grade for the course, but she is extremely reachable for questions/clarity outside of class and is more than willing to help you understand or to push back a deadline or 2. Attendance was apparently graded, although I never signed my name on an attendance sheet or anything of the sort.

Rating # 5

Overview:

Course: PHIL1004W
Grade Received: B
Overall Rating: 5.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

one of the most genuine and energetic profs I had! You can tell that she really wants everyone to understand what she's teaching and that she really wants everyone to take something out of the class. The lectures however, are bor-ing. Make sure you take notes of what she writes on the board because for my term she didn't put anything on Moodle!

Rating # 6

Overview:

Course: PHIL1004W
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 2.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Lectures can be wordy but if you take notes in lecture you will do well on the essays. All exams are in blue books, grading is reasonable but you have to stick to the prompts on the essays. She gives you all the questions to the exams before but gives extra questions so you don't know which will be on the exam. Very reasonable with extensions.

Rating # 7

Overview:

Course: PHIL1004W
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 2.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: No
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Class does not cover real substance, going over political thoughts from 300 years ago that are not as relevant today as they were then. Lectures are interesting for first 5 minutes but become a lullaby 15 minutes in. Greatly disappointed in the quality of the class.

Rating # 8

Overview:

Course: PHIL1004W
Grade Received: A+
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 2.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Energetic professor teaching material that can be fairly boring. If you want the A, go into office hours. Also, there is a service learning option that can replace the final. It's an easy A with two essays reflecting on how your experiences connect to philosophy. Lectures can be pretty boring but she writes everything important on the board.

Rating # 9

Overview:

Course: PHIL1004W
Grade Received: B+
Overall Rating: 3.0
Course Difficulty: 1.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Gave solid lectures that were easy to follow, but was a bit condescending when you talk to her in person.

Rating # 10

Overview:

Course: PHIL1004W
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 5.0
Course Difficulty: 2.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Very respectful professor. Her animated personality brought this interesting but intimidating material to life! That being said, I found it worth my time to read SparkNotes summaries instead of starting with the texts so I could feel more comfortable on what I was actually reading and what to expect during lectures.

Rating # 11

Overview:

Course: PHIL1004W
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 5.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Lectures can be very boring at times, but considering the alternative of reading and attempting to interpret philosophical texts on your own, her lectures couldn't be better. She is very involving with the class, and if you are one to ask questions then she will always take time to address everyone as individuals.

Rating # 12

Overview:

Course: PHIL1004W
Grade Received: A-
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 2.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Very easy class for the liberal education requirements.

Rating # 13

Overview:

Course: PHIL1004W
Grade Received: B+
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 2.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Only read the material when I had to and hardly tried in the class and got a B+. Papers are easy if you took AP Lang in high school and/or got above a 9/12 on your ACT writing. Lectures are quite dry and hard to focus in the morning on. Go to your discussions and lectures aren't really needed. Teacher is awesome though. Do the 1007 option, no final

Rating # 14

Overview:

Course: PHIL1004W
Grade Received: B
Overall Rating: 3.5
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

This class wasn't too difficult, but it was the most painfully boring one I've ever endured. She would go over just one chapter of a book (that was NOT unusually long) for an entire week, if not more. Each lecture was horribly repetitive. The pace was way too slow.

Rating # 15

Overview:

Course: PHIL1004W
Grade Received: A-
Overall Rating: 4.5
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

I was not looking forward to this class and ended up loving it! It is a hard class, lots of reading, but it really made me think. Don't take this just for the lib ed as you have to work for an A. Do the service learning portion!! It's a fun grade boost. Holman is so easy to talk to even if she might seem intimidating! Take good/thorough notes.

Rating # 16

Overview:

Course: PHIL1004W
Grade Received: B+
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

I took her Political Philosophy course & really enjoyed her teaching style. First coming into this "philosophy course" I was worried about how I'd learn something so complicated, but she made it easy. Sure, there are two major papers and two essay-tests, but if you attend lectures, she'll give you all the answers by default. Easy pass not easy ace.

Rating # 17

Overview:

Course: PHIL1004W
Grade Received: Not sure yet
Overall Rating: 4.5
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Very lively lecturer. Her lectures are more like discussions though it's very clear and you don't have to read if you show up to lecture. Two papers, a midterm, and a final. She also gives study guides for the tests which are very helpful (questions on the test are coming from the study guide). Definitely recommend this class.

Rating # 18

Overview:

Course: PHIL1004W
Grade Received: A
Overall Rating: 5.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Good lectures, interesting subject matter. There are assigned readings, but if you actually show up for class they're unnecessary. One midterm, two papers, and a final. I would recommend the class.

Rating # 19

Overview:

Course: PHIL1004
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 5.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Holtman is easily my favorite prof at the U. Clearly explains everything. I've maybe read 10% of the required readings and I have done fairly well in the class. She's an amazing person as well, and her quirky personality keeps me awake in the morning

Rating # 20

Overview:

Course: PHIL1004W
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

She's pretty good, makes lectures interesting but not always the most content filled because she makes it very discussion-like and not always on topic. I'd recommend having her work with you on essays because TA's are super volatile in how they grade the essays. Skimming the reading is usually sufficient.

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