Dorith Grant-Wisdom

This professor has taught: AASP101, AASP202, AASP487, AASP687, BSOS388B, HHUM205, HNUH228Y, HONR218J, HONR228J, HONR268L, HONR269E, HONR348D

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Dorith Grant-Wisdom AASP202 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/08/2023	The course itself is EXTREMELY reading-heavy with long and complicated readings that take hours to complete. It is WAY too much work for an intro level 200 class, I have never had this much reading expected of me in a class. Dr. Grant-Wisdom is so focused on if students read that she spends all of her time in class trying to catch someone who didn't read so she can expose them. Her slides are unorganized, she is constantly late to class, and it took her a month and a half to grade an essay that was worth a large chunk of our grade. She does not care about her students, she argues with them in class, tries to prove people wrong and call them out, is rude, and frankly not a good teacher. She has slides with quotes, which she uses to lecture, but constantly goes off-topic and gets very confusing. She has called students stupid and belittled them for not knowing things when she has been wrong about things but refuses to change her mind. She kept threatening to change the virtual final to an in-person one because she felt students were cheating and was so worried that she is trying to change the 'hybrid' aspect of the course. The worst part is, she was not even supposed to be the instructor. We were supposed to have Dr. Newby by Dr. Grant-Wisdom was asked to take over and she is trying to change aspects of the course that do not need to be changed. She does not care about her students, is extremely closed-minded, and is SO focused on us cheating that she is policing us and almost expecting us to cheat when no one has. She says she is retiring soon and I hope that is true.
Dorith Grant-Wisdom Expecting an A Anonymous 05/08/2020	See Anonymous 05/28/2011
Dorith Grant-Wisdom HONR218J Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/30/2019	Do not recommend this class. First half of the semester is easy enough to skate by if you do the readings, as nothing is actually due - however, second half of the semester consists of three papers, two projects, and three pop quizzes. Much of the class is not really anything of substance and I was pretty bored (turned out to be much closer to resembling an economics class than one about sustainability), and she claims to not take sides but "provokes" people by playing devil's advocate. She blew up at our class over a misunderstanding about the definition of a word and its connotations about her material. That being said, she is a very nice lady outside of class and genuinely wants to push people into becoming better students. However, she did not post ANY of our few grades on Testudo over the entire semester, and it wasn't until the final grade was posted that I had an inkling of how well I did.
Dorith Grant-Wisdom HONR228J Expecting a B Anonymous 12/03/2019	Very nice lady who is constantly trying to say thought provoking things, to varying degrees of success. Her grading is kind of nonsensical and her lectures are boring. In this class, we did two 5-6 page papers, one final 10-15 page paper, teach the class for a day, and lead a debate. Way too much for an honors seminar in my opinion. I'm getting the notion that she tries to inject political economics into everything she touches so if you aren't interested in that, stay away.
Dorith Grant-Wisdom HONR218J Anonymous 05/25/2015	I will not recommend anyone who wants a easy A or a easy seminar to take this class. We have to finish two 5-7 page papers, one 12-15 final paper, three quizzes, one team debate and one personal presentation. Besides, we have to read for every class and have to participate. Writing is a major portion here, so if you are not into writing, do not take this class. For this professor, she can challenge some of our conventional thoughts which I appreciate. However, she structured this class way too big and broad so feeling lost in this class is normal. Overall, I will not recommend this class to anyone, neither this professor.
Dorith Grant-Wisdom HONR268L Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/08/2014	Nice lady, but if you are not a raging liberal, do not take this class
Dorith Grant-Wisdom HONR218J Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/14/2014	This course was supposed to be about sustainability, and all it turned into was an ECON course with some talk about human issues in the world. The readings she assigns are all rehashes of the same thing. She threatens you with a quiz every class, but she only gave three throughout the whole semester. Her grading system for papers is extremely subjective and nonsensical. The class is a bore as well. She constantly tries to "provoke" you, by asking a rhetorical question and then getting upset when no one answers. I don't recommend taking this course or any course with this professor.
Dorith Grant-Wisdom HONR268L Expecting a B+ sukhenkoy1990 05/25/2012	It might have just been the structure and nature of HONR268L, but I did not think that Professor Grant-Wisdom was a very good Professor. Her class consisted of discussions of the assigned reading in every class, as well as other pertinent concepts to the overall topic of immigration in the U.S. While the topic of the course was interesting, I did not think that the readings did much to further my knowledge and thinking on the concept. A big chunk of your grade is based on class participation and quizzes, so you have to make sure that you stay on top of all of the assigned readings (which can get extremely dry at times). Her grading on the op-ed papers appeared very arbitrary and it was very unclear on how to get an A in her class. While the grade distribution might suggest a high majority of students receiving As, it did not seem like this was the case. In fact, this class required the most work out of any class to just get a B+. I personally don't recommend taking this course with this professor.
Dorith Grant-Wisdom HONR269E Expecting an A Anonymous 01/26/2012	Pretty boring class. Just like every honors seminar. The readings aren't even necessary. I read the first two and blew them off the rest of the way and did fine. If you choose not to do the readings you just have to stand out by being vocal and actively participating in the discussion. Though we disagreed with pretty much everything, she respects you if you bring intelligent points up and that goes a long way in determining how you do in the course. The subject matter is really mundane. I walked out of the course still wondering what I really learned and gained other than an easy A. She's really nice though and is always enthusiastic about the class each day and does say some thought provoking things. 2 5-7 page papers, and a 12-15 page final paper. Some quizzes scattered throughout on the readings, but I feel like they weren't even worth much of the grade.
Dorith Grant-Wisdom HONR269E Expecting an A Anonymous 11/21/2011	Great professor, intelligent, knowledgeable, engaging, and just plain nice! Take this class if you want to learn a lot but without the tedious BS of most other seminars.
Dorith Grant-Wisdom HONR269E Expecting an A Anonymous 11/02/2011	Grant-Wisdom is such a good professor. If you're in the class for just the grade, don't take her class, you won't learn anything. Her teaching style is different from your average professor at the University of Maryland. She tries to engage you to think beyond what's given to you or implied. She tries to open your eyes to subjects that we are generally unaware of. She tries to give you an education that is beyond memorizing terms and taking exams. She truly wants people to learn. Her papers are about 5-7 pages and there are pop quizzes (30% of the grade) and a debate as well as a 10-12 page paper at the end. If you actually try and DO THE READINGS, you will get a good grade. She has a tendency to not believe students when they say they have read. However, if you show her that you have by participating and even bringing in your own experiences and thinking on a "different level," she will enjoy your company and this helps with grading. The paper topics are usually very general but she provides a series of questions that can guide you through writing them. If you answer all the questions and REFER TO THE IN CLASS READINGS, you should do very well. Reading is very important for her, so definitely do it. Also, there are in-class presentations that the students do every class period. If you take this class, don't make it boring for your classmates. Include questions, images and video. Bring in your own stuff. She is very intelligent with a liberal perspective and she loves to rack people's brains with difficult questions. She doesn't answer them for you which is why some may think she doesn't understand questions, but she wants you to think, not to rely on her for your education. Don't be mad at her for making you think. Lastly, keep up with the news and current events. It helps you as a person understand the world better and also helps you understand the concepts.
Dorith Grant-Wisdom HONR268L Expecting an A- ashivkum 10/13/2011	She is an excellent professor, who spurs a lot of discussion in my Honors Seminar on US Immigration. We do disagree on political ideaology, I'm a staunch conservative, and she's a liberal, but when you express all of your views constructively, I don't see much of an issue. I am very passionate on such topics, and a plus for taking this class is that you naturally know a lot about current events, and that you keep up with international news. This class surprised me in terms of how many factors affect US Immigration.
Dorith Grant-Wisdom HONR269E Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/28/2011	Piss-poor professor. She's angry, unintelligent and uninspired. Her lectures are mind-numbingly dull and her interaction with the class in mandatory (and wholly unfruitful) discussion periods are just as bad. She often fails to understand questions and comments and regularly responds (and often interrupts) with emphatic non-sequiturs. Lectures vacillate between student presentations (boring), her own crude powerpoint-driven lectures (yawn) and lengthy discussion that she expects to shake us from our collective dogmatic slumber (which might actually work if we didn't have the natural curiosity of students with more intelligence than a sack of bricks). The class requires two 5-7 page papers, a 10-12 page final paper, a presentation of one of the readings and an in-class debate. In short, it's a lot of grunt work for a class from which you aren't going to learn much anyway. The readings (and there are many!) are rather dry, but you'd better read them well them because she enjoys giving pop quizzes. Grading is based on how much she thinks you care. If it's obvious you don't pay attention in class (she watches like a hawk) then your paper grades will suffer. If you decide to shape up and somehow get her to notice, you can crap on a stick and she'll give you a decent grade. Don't take this class, and don't take her.
Dorith Grant-Wisdom HONR269E Expecting an A Anonymous 12/14/2010	Teaches as if you know both philosophy and all fundamentals of all governments around the world. The readings are long and tedious but you really don't have to do them if you know the subject well enough to discuss it in class. Really easy grader and you basically are guaranteed an A if you talk in class and put effort into the essays and presentations. No exams. Basically the class is easy to get an A in but you will feel like you really have accomplished nothing in the class because every class you just talk in circles.
Dorith Grant-Wisdom Expecting an A- sashi 05/12/2009	Pros: She blasts political correctness to hell, which I find extremely refreshing. Exams are fair and fairly graded. Cons: She clearly has an ax to grind, which can get annoying at times.
Dorith Grant-Wisdom GVPT100 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/05/2009	This is a tedious class only in that you have to be an avid listener. I took notes, attended all lectures and discussions (freshman and gvpt major so I didn't know better...) The tests aren't bad, did well on the first and poorly on the second and who knows about my final and paper (research paper) because I never got them back. All depends on the TA, I ended up with a B+, spoke to the Professor and she said I should have gotten an A. If you get Benli, you better be a damn good writer and memorizer...?
Dorith Grant-Wisdom GVPT100 Expecting an A dizzier 04/23/2009	Not the best class you will take. Laptops are required to stay awake, and make it easier to copy down the 7 words per slide she puts on. The material is everything that is obvious and implied but rephrased so you have to know it anyway for a test, but the tests are generally easy especially if a study guide is provided. She herself is very nice and will definitely recognize you in public.
Dorith Grant-Wisdom GVPT100 Expecting an A Anonymous 03/03/2009	Don't worry, you don't have to think at all in this class but you better have your memorization skills up to par. Bring a laptop, I find it's easier to type exactly what she says so you can spit back verbatim on the test. Thank god she is a liberal like me! She's one of the view professors who let's her political ideology really color her lectures. Being professional is over-rated. I also loved her because unlike some professors that try to get to know their students, she really leaves that to the TAs. I find it refreshing. I would rather get to know someone my own age anyway.
Dorith Grant-Wisdom GVPT100 Expecting an A Anonymous 03/03/2009	Outstanding speaker! Truly talented. Never before have I had a professor with such an extraordinary ability to put me to sleep. Her uncanny skill at dodging questions is astounding!and the novel-worths of notes that she rambles about in class are such profound nonsense that she's managed to used to same lectures for the past thirty years because no one can understand them. Brilliant! I never thought I'd meet a professor capable of such monotonous drivel that prompts students to audibly groan with delight (or is it pain?) every time she pulls another page of non-information from out her ass.
Dorith Grant-Wisdom GVPT100 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/28/2008	Professor Grant-Wisdom gives a LOT of lecture notes, which can be extremely disorganized all hard to follow. The tests are almost entirely note based, so study the notes in detail and you will get A's on the tests. The material is pretty interesting, although if you are not a GVPT major, I wouldn't take the class. To do well on the tests it takes a lot of studying the detailed notes, and if you aren't interested in politics, it will be very boring.
Dorith Grant-Wisdom GVPT170 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/25/2008	Dr. Grant Wisdom is a pretty boring lecturer, but the course material is quite interesting. She has a heavy Jamaican accent which makes her hard to understand if you are half asleep, but she generally she is comprehendable. Her notes tend to be quite discursive, and on some days it seems that the pages of notes, as well as the class, will never end. Her tests are very straightfoward and if you apply yourself and have the slightest aptitude for writing, you should have no problem earning an A (the TAs tend to grade pretty easily). Bring a lap top to this class! One 10-page paper, 2 exams, and a final. Discussion is mandatory and counts toward your participation grade (20%). There are also a few assignments where we need to write a 2-page (double spaced) summary/review of a movie which we watch in or out of class (about 4 of these assignments throughout the semester).
Dorith Grant-Wisdom GVPT100 Expecting an A- Anonymous 04/02/2008	Tip: If your not a GVPT major, chances are you won't like her 100 class. If you are a GVPT major, most like this class.
Dorith Grant-Wisdom Anonymous 02/28/2008	Great professor with the ability to engage students incredibly interesting subject matter. Very straight forward class structure with notes, readings, and videos which all feed into the exams, very typical gvpt exam. A breath of fresh air in the government department!!!
Dorith Grant-Wisdom GVPT100 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/22/2007	HORRIBLE. Notes are like foreign language. I could not understand her in class, let alone take down the MASS amount of notes that she put up on the overhead. WORST PROFESSOR I HAVE HAD YET
Dorith Grant-Wisdom GVPT100 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/17/2007	She is a decently interesting professor, and her lectures are good. Some of them are boring, but she usually keeps it somewhat interesting. She can take all sides of an issue during the lectures, which creates the illusion that she is without bias (and that's good.) She can be non responsive when emailed, though, and she is not without flaws. Her exams are typical GVPT exams, but with multiple choice, too (so about 30 multiple choice, several short answer, and an essay question.)