Samuel Kerstein

This professor has taught: PHIL140, PHIL209A, PHIL220, PHIL220H, PHIL341, PHIL408V, PHIL428K, PHIL440, PHIL848B, PHIL848K

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Samuel Kerstein PHIL220 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/17/2023	DO NOT TAKE if its not a required class. Took as a gen ed cause it look interesting but it took up way more time outside of class than i expected and grades harder than most other gen eds. He's not a bad professor and the class is still interesting, but if you are just looking for a class that will fill gen ed requirements i wouldn't take this one.
Samuel Kerstein PHIL220 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/13/2022	Dr. Kerstein is a nice guy and takes this class relatively seriously. The readings could be a bore sometimes, but I felt like they were mostly fair considering we met only twice a week for 50 min each time. Weekly readings along with two quizzes (one's in class so no skipping lectures), two papers, and a group paper/presentation (randomly assigned group). I found lecture to be a waste of time generally, but if you have trouble understanding the readings, Dr. Kerstein does post online lectures on them. Exams were easy and very fair. He would release four open answer exam questions at least five days before the exam then two of those questions would be the exam. Three exams total including the final. My only complaint is that discussion was genuinely never helpful and the TA could take a while to give feedback/grades on papers. Honestly, it's almost the end of the semester and I still don't have a grade on the paper and group paper that I turned in over a month ago. Overall, I enjoyed the class but it is a decent amount of work if this is a gen ed for you.
Samuel Kerstein PHIL220 Expecting an A- Anonymous 10/31/2022	Dr. Kerstein is an interesting guy. Very smart, speaks quite slowly so it's easy to understand concepts, looks oddly like Will Ferrell which threw me off the first several days of class. Reasonable amounts of reading each week, one in class quiz and one out of class, two papers and a group project. I wish there was more peer-to-peer discussion but am also enjoying learning about the different issues on my own. I found the class to be super applicable to a lot of health professions and am enjoying it so far.
Samuel Kerstein PHIL140 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 04/22/2015	Great professor and a very interesting class. The course was very easy in my opinion. There was a lot of reading, and I would recommend doing it because it is very interesting. However, if you're not absolutely set on an A, you can definitely get a B without reading anything. Professor Kerstein is very insightful about the subject matter. I wish the course fostered more discussion and asked more for our opinions, but it is too large to do that in lecture and my TA kinda sucked. Overall, I would recommend this course and professor. It's a great way to fulfill a gen ed requirement!
Samuel Kerstein PHIL140 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/01/2014	Great course to take for an easy A. This guy is very organized and knows what he's talking about. I thought his lectures were pretty interesting and I didn't mind going at 8:30AM. My TA sucked which kinda made going to discussions miserably boring but that is only a minor point. Go to lectures, take notes, and this will be a breeze
Samuel Kerstein PHIL428K Expecting an A Anonymous 05/18/2012	I've taken two classes with Kerstein -- 428K and 341. He's an interesting guy. Very organized, put together, deliberate (which I really appreciate for some reason) and very lucid when he explains things. He also doesn't hesitate to shut people up who ask stupid questions -- that was certainly what I like best about him. But if it's important to you to disrupt a 60 person lecture to ask the professor 3 consecutive questions about a topic you should already understand, then I guess he's not the guy for you. His class gets kind of boring, though, which is why I deducted a star. Take his Kant class if you have the option (and if you think you're able). It's much more interesting, and allows you to go much more in depth.
Samuel Kerstein PHIL140 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/01/2012	I thought this class would be interesting, but Kerstein does a good job of making it dry. It's an easy A, but it could be so much more interesting. He definitely does not care if you do well - he openly states that he wants to trick you and find obscure ways to take off points. He's a pretty arrogant guy and your typical pretentious philosopher, but it is an easy A if you're looking to fulfill a CORE. Discussion isn't necessary unless you need to hand in a paper, and as long as you read the articles and look at his outlines on ELMS, you should be able to do well on the exams without going to every single lecture.
Samuel Kerstein PHIL140 Anonymous 10/11/2009	Easy A if you go to almost every class and if you are there for all the pop quizzes (which are extremely easy if you use common sense even if you have not done the readings). Discussion takes attendance so if you go it helps your grade as well.
Samuel Kerstein PHIL140 Expecting a C Anonymous 05/23/2009	There are pop quizzes but he drops 2 out of 6. Even if you go to class without doing the reading, you can probably get some right because they are T/F. There are two short papers that do not involve much effort. There are two fairly easy exams and the final is just as easy. You should do the reading but if you don't, as long as you read through his notes thoroughly, you should be fine for the exams. Discussions are pretty pointless but you should still go. If I put more effort into this class, I could have easily gotten an A and I regret. But I would definitely recommend this class. It really isn't hard.
Samuel Kerstein PHIL341 Expecting an A Anonymous 02/02/2009	The only bad thing about this course was his idiotic TA. That woman is unbearable. Chris Ng. She was a complete moron. Luckily, I still ended up with an A in her course but I had to fight her the entire way. My God. Professor explained everything. Didn't nod on to whatever moronic thing some idiot said in the class. Would definitely give his opinion and straighten the kids out, but does so in a way that doesn't discourage the class from voicing their opinions in class. Ethical Theory was nice in general as well. Liked the writers chosen. Aristotle. Kant. Mill. Hume. Nietzsche.
Samuel Kerstein PHIL140 Expecting an A gbunz 01/30/2009	i had an A in this course. Kerstein isn't bad, although a lot of people complained about him being monotonous. To pass hiss class, do the readings ahead of time. No need to read more than once, he'd explain in class and then you'd understand.I had a t.a who went over his lecture slides and so i was good. If you have a good t.a, you should not never miss the discussion class.
Samuel Kerstein PHIL140 Expecting a B Anonymous 01/27/2009	Doesn't seem to have much emotion, very monotonic. His tests and quizzes are easy enough and I got away with not reading many of the articles he gives us. Beware you never express you own views its just a study of these philosophers.
Samuel Kerstein PHIL140 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/10/2008	this course is annoying, the teacher is annoying, his monotone dry humor is annoying. the work is not hard but its annoying. you never discuss your own views, just the views of random philosophers .. hell curve if every1 does bad.. but hes just so annoying! not hard if u read, but then if you dont read, just go to discussion and youll be fine..
Samuel Kerstein PHIL140 Expecting an A kthandler 12/05/2008	This is my easiest class this semester (and I'm a science major so you don't have to be a humanities person to do well). He explains things throughly and as long as you read the materials and listen to his lectures, you'll do well. The point of the class is to understand the arguments made in different pieces. You hardly ever have to come up with your own arguments, just regurgitate what other people said. Plus the topics are fairly interesting.
Samuel Kerstein PHIL140 Expecting a D Anonymous 11/05/2008	do not take this course, extremely hard. unless you like critical reading and abstract thoughts.