Reviews for ARTH201

Information Review
Patricia Ortega-Miranda
ARTH201

Expecting a B
Anonymous
10/29/2024
she is one of the worst professors i have ever had. she is rude and condescending. her lectures are hard to follow and i learn next to nothing (despite being interested in the topic, and otherwise being a great teacher). avoid taking her class if you are able. i have never really had a strong opinion on a professor before dealing with her.
Joshua Shannon
ARTH201

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
12/12/2023
doesn't provide notes or explanations to anything online. slides only have pictures of art and topics arent listed so missing lecture is a huge setback. not to mention the fact that he is so bad at his job
Zoe Copeman
ARTH201

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/08/2023
I wouldn't suggest taking this course unless you have a genuine interest in art history. It's very lecture heavy and can get boring. Prof. Copeman does a good job of giving lots of feedback on work which is helpful. Still don't reccomend taking this unless you are really interested in the subject and want to spend a lot of your week on the work. Final project, final presentation, and final exam was a lot. Not worth the stress.
Zoe Copeman
ARTH201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
01/24/2023
I took this course over winter semester, and it was very smooth. Not many assignments, but prepare for a lot of lectures (about 2 hours a day) and a short discussion. She was a very good speaker and always gave lengthy feedback for every single assignment. I do not like art history, but she saved the topic for me and made it bearable.
Zoe Copeman
ARTH201

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
01/11/2023
Not. bad.
Zoe Copeman
ARTH201

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
01/05/2023
Lecture heavy and probably a little complicated for a gen ed. Super thorough lectures and listens to students regarding amount of work (increased amount of assignments that could be skipped). She's very accommodating and helpful.
Zoe Copeman
ARTH201

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
01/03/2023
Lectures can get a bit confusing at times because Copeman does like to expand on themes.. even though theres already limited notes on the slides as is. Not a harsh grader at all but be sure to have an understanding of the concepts by exam time because there are short essays. This class is honestly not hard to keep up with because everything is posted on elms and the due dates for assignments are repetitive.
Zoe Copeman
ARTH201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/16/2022
Grading is weird. Has extra credit on her exams but if you get the extra credit wrong then she takes actual points from your score even though it's not required to answer so you basically lose more than you should. Just a complicated class for a gen ed. Don't recommend taking this class unless you really enjoy art or it's required.
Anthony Colantuono
ARTH201

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
12/13/2022
Colantuono was a decent professor with a lot of insight in to the world of Art History. The lectures were interesting for the most part, but I feel like there wasn't enough time to dive deeper into information on art pieces. I'm an art major and I believe quality over quantity. I would say Colantuono did his best with presenting information on pieces. I did enjoy his class and I would definitely recommend it, however, do not expect an A if you do not study or open your eyes and mind to art.
Zoe Copeman
ARTH201

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/08/2022
Prof. Copeman is very thorough in her lectures, though she does read off a script which can be engaging at times. However, they do their best to make the content interesting and relatable. She also gives a good amount of homework, but she is accommodating if the class comes to a consensus about the workload. Midterms and final are memorization-heavy, but she does allow a single, double-sided cheat sheet for exams. If you like art history, you will be fine.
Abigail Upshaw
ARTH201

Expecting an F
Anonymous
06/09/2022
one of the harshest critiques I have ever had. If your paragraph structure doesn't fit her bill, or if you don't use "her" evidence automatic deduction to your grade. Highly recommend any other class!!
Kathleen Altizer
ARTH201

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
02/20/2022
Professor Altizer is a really great professor. Attending class is super important, otherwise you miss a lot of content that is necessary to do well on the quizzes and exams. There were also extra credit opportunities which were easily doable. Prof. Altizer is incredibly well-versed in the subject and is super warm and nice if you show that you put forth effort. It is a history class, so expect a lot of raw memorization; however, if you're interested in art and/or history this shouldn't be a miserable class. I would definitely take more classes like this.
Kathleen Altizer
ARTH201

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/03/2021
Really nice! The quizzes can be tricky but her extra credit and easy grading on writings makes it not a big deal. Tests are straight forward, just memorize your notes.
Steven Mansbach
ARTH201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/24/2020
Professor Mansbach is great, but the class organization (at least online) has led to quite a difficult time. Mansbach is a lovely professor with a fantastic voice, and he has a beautiful passion for art history. I really enjoyed listening to his lectures. On the other hand, at least online the class was not organized well. It was entirely run by the TA's, and I often felt that grading could be arbitrary (and often took over a month). I ended up with an A, but I know a lot of people did not but probably deserved one. In general, quality of writing is a huge deal on the midterm and final exam, so keep this in mind if you're considering taking the class as a gen-ed. If you cannot write well you almost certainly will not get an A in this class. Getting an A requires a strong understanding and memory of important compositional elements and to be able to apply them to various time periods and styles well. This class is not easy but it is very rewarding. I know so much more about art now, and I am very thankful to Professor Mansbach for that gift.
Steven Mansbach
ARTH201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/21/2019
Professor Mansbach was an awesome professor whose passion and knowledge are evident in his lectures. Like others mentioned, he's quite eloquent and poetic in his descriptions of paintings, but they only help the student in remembering specific phrases and vocabulary for those specific paintings. This class is only graded on 5 factors: participation in discussion, two midterms, a paper (you have to go to the national gallery of art to view a painting), and a final exam. He gives around 40 paintings to memorize per midterm, but most of the content consists of understanding the context/history of what was going on at that time and how that affected art, so the textbook is key for that. I don't know if it was like this for other semesters, but he was pretty lenient on grading, especially if he saw improvement in the student's work. I usually studied by just memorizing the paintings dates/names and reading the textbook a few days before. His TA Tony was also super cool. He was always available to help students and constantly encouraged us to do our best. Take this class if u wanna broaden ur mind ahahha
Abigail Upshaw
ARTH201

Expecting a B
Anonymous
05/30/2019
Abby is really sweet and knows her material very well. If you need any additional help on exam reviews or final paper, just go to her office hours and she is glad to help. However, this class requires too much memorization for a Gen Ed course(dates, artists, name of the piece and its significance) and it's also test-heavy. Also, the lecture could be intense at times because she speaks pretty fast. If you aren't interested in Art History, I would suggest you choose another Gen Ed course.
Abigail Upshaw
ARTH201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
01/13/2019
She was a good professor, very nice and clear about topics. She even let us send her rough drafts of our final paper to look over. But ngl, the class content itself sucked. It was so boring and pointless, and it was a pretty hard class for a gen ed
June Hargrove
ARTH201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
01/27/2014
Professor Hargrove's a good lecturer! She really cares about the subject and about teaching. They tell you to read the book, but honestly you can probably get an A as long as you go to every lecture and take good notes. You memorize a crap load of paintings, but the test only covers a few--pay attention to the ones she goes on about the most in class, she's more likely to pick those. Grade comes down to two midterms, an essay that involves a visit to the Gallery, participation in discussion, a few quizzes, and the final. Very reasonable workload if you want to get rid of a GenEd. TA's (Abby and Kathleen) are good
Steven Mansbach
ARTH201

Expecting a B
wombat
05/15/2012
Great professor. Tremendous speaking voice that can hold your attention for the entire class period. He does have a tendency to use vocabulary which might be unfamiliar to some, as well as get a bit poetic with his descriptions of works, to the extent that it becomes confusing what one ought to write down / commit to memory and what one ought to simply let soak in. However, he balances that out by making it crystal clear which artists / works are peripheral and which ones you should probably remember. Nine times out of ten, those are the works you will see on the exams, especially on the final. That's not to say you shouldn't remember the others, because being able to recall lesser-known but no less relevant works in your essays is always a plus. As another reviewer mentioned, the professor / TA's place emphasis on knowing the socio-political context in which the various Western art movements formed and flourished, and not at all on rote memorization of slides, dates and whatnot. There were all too many exam essays where I couldn't recall the name of the work, nor the artist, nor the date - heck there were even paintings that I had never seen before because I had missed that particular class - but I never received anything less than a "B" on an in-class essay (they grade to the "C" as being average) simply because I talked about the work in the context of its time period / art movement and the stylistic trappings of that era. So, if you're not good with names, dates, etc, don't sweat it and take Steven Mansbach's class! I guarantee it will be an interesting and enriching experience.
June Hargrove
ARTH201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/26/2011
If you like art &/or history this is the class for you. As a CORE, it is a reasonable amount of work, while maintaining its integrity as a very interesting and engaging class. Keep in mind there is a lot of memorization- if you aren't interested in art, this part can get old very fast. Hargrove is great though- and TA's are, for the most part, great. ps-DO NOT let your phone ring/ open cans of soda/ open the door at the front of the hall during lecture. Lecturer will not be happy.
Anthony Colantuono
ARTH201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
04/28/2011
There is a LOT of memorization and a LOT of Christianity in this class -- perhaps even more so than in other Art History classes! I don't like either one of those things, but I still enjoyed the class because Dr. Colantuono is such a wonderful professor. His lectures complement the textbook quite beautifully and it's always fascinating to hear him talk. (He is a dynamic speaker and uses just the right amount of humor.) This class has also helped me understand and appreciate literature and philosophy. If you're intellectually curious then you can't do any better than Dr. Colantuono!
Anthony Colantuono
ARTH201

Expecting a B
Anonymous
04/28/2011
Professor was enthusiastic and definitally knew the material, but for a CORE HA requirement, I would NOT recommend this class. There is massive amounts of straight up memorization, and overall far too much effort for an HA requirement. For art majors, however, this class was appropriate.
Steven Mansbach
ARTH201

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
01/17/2011
Dr. Mansbach is hands down the best professor I have had so far. He is a great lecturer and the class material is really interesting. He and the TA's do a lot to help you out and get a good grade. The hardest part of any art history class is slide id's, especially for a course that covers so much material like this one. Dr. Mansbach, however, puts almost no emphasis on actually knowing the name and date of a painting (I got A's on all of the exams and correctly identified maybe half of the art works). The only slide id's we had to do were in discussion, and they were broken into a few weeks worth of lecture material at a time, so they weren't that bad.
Steven Mansbach
ARTH201

Anonymous
12/29/2010
He is easily one of the best professors and lecturers I have had so far that I actually looked forward to coming to lectures. He has a nice voice and is very clear and organized. However, the class requires a lot of work for a 200 level course and you will have to work hard for a good grade.
Steven Mansbach
ARTH201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/21/2010
Take. This. Class.
Steven Mansbach
ARTH201

Expecting a B
rose11
12/20/2010
Professor Mansbach is one of the best professors I have taken at Maryland. He is so enthusiastic; it was enjoyable coming to lecture and listening to him. The course is difficult. There are A LOT of paintings to memorize and it is difficult to remember all of the information about each stylistic time period. Assignments consisted of two exams, three quizzes, one paper, and the final. Lyndsay Bratton was a great TA. She was helpful in clarifying the concepts and wanted her students to do well. This was a very interesting course for a HA core, but it involves work so be prepared to study.
Anthony Colantuono
ARTH201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
04/09/2010
I like Dr. Colantuono. He talks pretty fast and it is important to take notes during the lectures. So be awake! It is also helpful to read the textbooks because one part of the exams is writing a comparative essay between two given art works. You need to include stuff from both the textbooks and the lectures. It is VERY annoying to memorize all the dates. There are a lot of paintings to remember. But it is an interesting class. I think TA is also important because I think I got A because of the discussion section.
Anthony Colantuono
ARTH201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/09/2009
He is an amazing lecturer really eloquent stuff. its always interesting listening to him talk and he obviously knows art history like the backside of his hand. He'll talk about the history and context behind the painting and then go in to analyzing the painting itself which he'll tie into the philosophy of the artist or art of that time. The class is not too difficult but i though it was interesting which helped. If you go to lecture and take good notes and study before exams you'll do well. Its annoying memorizing dates and patrons and stuff but not too difficult. Besides the exams there are quizzes in discussion and a 3 page paper.
June Hargrove
ARTH201

Expecting a B
kvizzle321
12/20/2008
Lectures are extremely boring. Gives a guideline of the painters and terms that you need to know. TA (Suzy) was great. Go to discussion for the valuable stuff. Grade comes down to 2 tests, a few quizzes, participation in discussion, and one paper where you have to go to the National Gallery. If you study well for the tests and cram in memorizing the paintings you will do well. The book is helpful but Hargrove is a very dry, annoyng lecturer. Very nice lady though. I rarely went to lectures and will get atleast a B (an A if i do well on the final)
Anthony Colantuono
ARTH201

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/06/2008
I disagree with the poster below. Dr. Colantuono was really a really good lecturer and really knew his stuff. He made Art History interesting for someone who only had to take it for an HA. Don't take it for an easy A though...you gotta put in the work, go to class, take notes (all the tests came from lecture, hardly used the book at all), study. There's a quiz in discussion every other week too which is annoying.
Anthony Colantuono
ARTH201

Expecting an F
Anonymous
04/04/2008
He is a tough cookie. I do not like the his exam style. And he is really specific about his term paper. If you have a great TA then you can probably do well and enjoy the class, I had Adam and he was a jerk unless you talk to him 1 on 1. So... do not take this class unless it is mandatory. And if you do, make sure its Majorie Venit or ... anyone but this dude!