Robert De Keyser | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Robert De Keyser Expecting an A- Anonymous 04/07/2014	These reviews of De Keyser are ridiculous. Anyone saying he is rude/mean is just plain wrong. Yes, I did fall asleep most classes. Yes, I'm also pretty sure he noticed I did. No, he never got angry at me. AND NO, I was not one of the annoying suck up girls either (and he was still nice to me). As a result, I barely participated. Still, somehow I got 100% in participation. That's pretty nice of him. Now, in my opinion the quizzes were dumb and so were the papers. The slides were okay. De Keyser, however, is beyond interesting. He has a story for everything which people below me seemed to have forgotten. When he lived in Europe, gypsies once tried to raid his house. He traveled to far western parts and had near death experiences in terrorist zones like Georgia. I found his videos and interviews to be very cool. The guy has been everywhere. I encourage you to at least visit him in his office once--his office is decked out with maps, travel magnets, and jut plain cool stuff. In conclusion, I want everyone to understand that De Keyser is separate from his class. De Keyser is a great guy. When I had some really tough things happen in my personal life last semester (causing me to miss class) he responded by trying to comfort me and telling me how he was in a similar situation in his college years. When I bombed a quiz, I went in and talked about him. He even told me that he was surprised I didn't do better based on how I participate in class ( I could tell he genuinely meant it even though I always fall asleep in class--I guess nodding a lot makes teachers think you understand them). SOOOOooooOOOOoooOOO, I don't recommend the class, but if you ever come across De Keyser, he is a great person to know. Unbelievably intelligent (he knows WAY more than just linguistics). It just upset me seeing all these comments below insulting him. (And those belgian chocolates were delicious). Also, forgive me of my thousands of grammatical errors. I only care about getting my point across.
Robert De Keyser Anonymous 02/10/2014	I have nothing more to say than how badly this class sucked for me. It truly sucked. I hated it. The teacher was annoying, rude, uninformative, and technologically challenged, and the material was boring to learn. Also his "quizzes' that he considers "quizzes" are really like exams because he basically tests you on EVERYTHING learned for that unit and doesn't give you hints about what to study. So many people agree with me who took the class that it was the worst honors seminar of their life. Just avoid this class. For your own sanity. Also DeKeyser is super rude in person and hates when people call him out for being incompetent. Do NOT take this class. I repeat, DO NOT.
Robert De Keyser Anonymous 12/23/2013	I would not say DeKeyser is as bad as the 3 most recent reviews suggest - most of my classmates agreed with me that those reviews were too extreme and not an accurate reflection of the class. DeKeyser is a nice guy, although he can have a bit of a temper if something annoys him - i.e. the technology (projector and videos never working). He accepts your questions and tries to answer them to the best of his ability and is pretty enthusiastic about linguistics and Europe. Very knowledgeable. Fluent in many languages too which is pretty cool! He can be pretty flexible, and the best part is that he grades generously. There are many times when I thought I did awful on quizzes but he gave me an A or curved it to an A. He also gave mostly A's and A minuses on the first paper (not sure about the second one, but I think he graded generously for that one too since my friends and I got A's). HOWEVER - this class was really dry and boring, content-wise. We watched old interviews he did and listened to PPT lectures mostly. He gave out too many handouts that most people barely looked at or used, and the lectures were pretty boring. He could be funny sometimes to make the class livelier, but I found myself and others fighting off sleep in this class. Homework-wise, this class had none other than the 2 papers. There are assigned readings for HW, but he never checked if you read them and most of the time you didn't have to (warning: this was just for this semester, it could change). So basically, he grades generously and there's little to no HW (except the papers were pretty darn stressful, I have to admit), but the class is really boring and the content isn't that interesting. Maybe to certain people it is, but most people I talked to thought it was boring.
Robert De Keyser Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/10/2013	This is one of the best classes I've ever taken! The material is always interesting and the professor always keeps the class as engaging as possible. Not even to mention how much of a genius Prof. De Keyser is - he knows everything and anything about the history and languages of every European country, and he himself even knows at least 6 different languages fluently! The work in the class isn't very much and it's actually pretty fun - we have 3 quizzes, which he grades pretty easily and cover interesting material; one 5-10 page paper for which we interview a local immigrant from Europe and record our findings, which isn't nearly as bad as it seems; and now, a week and a half before finals, he's assigned a 10-15 page paper requiring 20+ sources, all of which, of course, will be interesting. And don't even get me started about how much of a technology wiz this guy is - whenever we have a problem working powerpoint or the projector, Mr. DeKeyser is always on top of it. Unlike in my other classes, we haven't had a single technology problem all semester! Overall, this class is amazing - one of the best I've ever had - and I highly recommend it to anyone seeking an interesting, easy, and fun honors seminar. Good luck.
Robert De Keyser biokidz 12/06/2013	Terrible class. I nap every class and he finally called me out last class by asking if he is that boring. Yes. Yes De Geezer, you are the most boring !@#$% to listen to for an hour and 15 minutes. Do NOT take this honors seminar. Please. Please. Please. I cannot stress enough how many kids in my class hate this man. It is the worst class I have ever taken in my life. And I am good at languages. But no. He tests you on the history behind languages and the nitty gritty facts that no one cares about. Linguistic majors don't even make money when they graduate. So suck it DeKeyser. I will be napping in your class forever.
Robert De Keyser nativespeaker 12/05/2013	Rudest professor ever. Dear Honors College, read this and SHUT the class DOWN. It is horrible. Waste of my time as an honors student and should not be offered at this university. The professor is terrible. He is inconsiderate about student concerns, and he never responds to email. He sucks as communicating concepts in class. The class is the most boring thing I have ever taken in my career here. Why should I sign up for a class that ends up being a class where the entire class fails quizzes and the professor grades unfairly. He loves linguistic majors and he is rude to everyone else.
Robert De Keyser Expecting an A- Anonymous 11/29/2013	Do yourself a favor and do not take this class. On the surface, it seems like it would be a pretty interesting class for anyone who likes studying other languages. Not at all. It's nothing more than a boring and non-engaging history class, if you can call wasting ten minutes each class trying to fix the projector only to stare at PowerPoints for the remaining hour. The grading is set up this way: 20% for participation, whatever that means. Hopefully he's generous here because I do not say a single word in class. There are readings assigned for each class, but God knows no one actually does them. 20% for quizzes, which are for the most part impossible - not because the questions are difficult, but because the information is so darn boring. 20% for an immigrant paper, in which you are tasked to find a recent immigrant from Europe and interview them about their language. And if this task sounds terrible, that's because it is. Don't expect any help at all from him in finding someone. A waste of time. And 40% for a final paper, which has to be 10-15 pages using at least 20 sources. The idea of the paper isn't too bad, but once you realize how boring and worthless the topic you are to research is, it just becomes another waste of time. All in all, if you aren't interested in European languages, don't take this class. And if you are interested in European languages, don't take this class.
Robert De Keyser Anonymous 10/23/2013	This class actually sucks. Most terrible honors seminar along with the one they have about language and the mind. Seriously don't take any language honors seminars. They are a weighty subject and they are tedious. De Keyser is kind of nice to the entire class but sometimes in person he is a big d*ckhead to people and the class gets really really boring. He grades harshly. He also has no idea how to work the technology. No idea. And that is his problem.
Robert De Keyser Anonymous 10/17/2013	This class is dreadful. Take another honors seminar. The teacher is completely rude and bogus and the material is even more bogus. I hope the honors college shuts this class down. It is boring and a complete waste of time.
Robert De Keyser langmajor 10/16/2013	This is the WORST honors seminar I have ever taken. The professor is a complete annoying prick, and the material is nap-worthy boring. He is incompetant with using the projector, we watch movies he recorded from the 1980s, and he is very insecure about his ability to utilize technology in the classroom. The quizzes are what he would call fair but if you have no interest in the material GOOD LUCK. The man sucks at teaching what would otherwise be a good subject to learn about. He delves too deeply into the topic and it is a boring class. Do not ever take this honors seminar. IDK who the people below me even are but this class as of Fall 2013 is BORING. Save yourself some time and take a more interesting honors seminar. Also De Keyser is a complete a$$ when you ask him a question outside of class so just avoid him and the class completely.
Robert De Keyser Expecting an A clue 09/18/2012	I took Languages of Europe with him in Spring 2012. He seemed a bit brusque at first, but overall he was a nice guy and knew a lot about the topic. There was a lot of reading and the quizzes could be tricky, but he was a super generous grader. I thought I failed every quiz, and all the things I thought I got wrong, I did, but even after he marked all my answers up, he'd still wind up giving an A- or B+. Overall, it was a pretty challenging course, but it was very interesting and I learned a lot.
Robert De Keyser Expecting an A Anonymous 10/20/2011	De Keyser was a good professor! He is a nice guy and is really interested in the subject matter. (He also knows like 5+ languages, it's crazy!) If you're interested in lingustics/European languages/European history at all, I recommend the Languages of Europe seminar! There is a main final paper at the end, another shorter paper, a midterm, and occasional quizzes, and that's pretty much it!
Robert De Keyser Expecting a B howyougetfamous 05/06/2011	I took Languages of Europe with R De Keyser. De Keyser is probably one of the most knowledgable, most intelligent teacher I have had so far at UMD. He listens to students and their input and he's always willing to take however long it takes to explain things and/or answer questions about the class. As for the class, the tests can be a little tricky only because there's a lot of material to study, but only five questions. However, there are oppurtunities to get back points with an extra essay in addition to the final essay, which isn't too difficult at all. He leaves the topic open enough that you research what you find most interesting about whatever place you find most interesting. Awesome class, awesome teacher.

Robert De Keyser

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
04/07/2014

These reviews of De Keyser are ridiculous. Anyone saying he is rude/mean is just plain wrong. Yes, I did fall asleep most classes. Yes, I'm also pretty sure he noticed I did. No, he never got angry at me. AND NO, I was not one of the annoying suck up girls either (and he was still nice to me). As a result, I barely participated. Still, somehow I got 100% in participation. That's pretty nice of him. Now, in my opinion the quizzes were dumb and so were the papers. The slides were okay. De Keyser, however, is beyond interesting. He has a story for everything which people below me seemed to have forgotten. When he lived in Europe, gypsies once tried to raid his house. He traveled to far western parts and had near death experiences in terrorist zones like Georgia. I found his videos and interviews to be very cool. The guy has been everywhere. I encourage you to at least visit him in his office once--his office is decked out with maps, travel magnets, and jut plain cool stuff. In conclusion, I want everyone to understand that De Keyser is separate from his class. De Keyser is a great guy. When I had some really tough things happen in my personal life last semester (causing me to miss class) he responded by trying to comfort me and telling me how he was in a similar situation in his college years. When I bombed a quiz, I went in and talked about him. He even told me that he was surprised I didn't do better based on how I participate in class ( I could tell he genuinely meant it even though I always fall asleep in class--I guess nodding a lot makes teachers think you understand them). SOOOOooooOOOOoooOOO, I don't recommend the class, but if you ever come across De Keyser, he is a great person to know. Unbelievably intelligent (he knows WAY more than just linguistics). It just upset me seeing all these comments below insulting him. (And those belgian chocolates were delicious). Also, forgive me of my thousands of grammatical errors. I only care about getting my point across.

Robert De Keyser

Anonymous
02/10/2014

I have nothing more to say than how badly this class sucked for me. It truly sucked. I hated it. The teacher was annoying, rude, uninformative, and technologically challenged, and the material was boring to learn. Also his "quizzes' that he considers "quizzes" are really like exams because he basically tests you on EVERYTHING learned for that unit and doesn't give you hints about what to study. So many people agree with me who took the class that it was the worst honors seminar of their life. Just avoid this class. For your own sanity. Also DeKeyser is super rude in person and hates when people call him out for being incompetent. Do NOT take this class. I repeat, DO NOT.

Robert De Keyser

Anonymous
12/23/2013

I would not say DeKeyser is as bad as the 3 most recent reviews suggest - most of my classmates agreed with me that those reviews were too extreme and not an accurate reflection of the class. DeKeyser is a nice guy, although he can have a bit of a temper if something annoys him - i.e. the technology (projector and videos never working). He accepts your questions and tries to answer them to the best of his ability and is pretty enthusiastic about linguistics and Europe. Very knowledgeable. Fluent in many languages too which is pretty cool! He can be pretty flexible, and the best part is that he grades generously. There are many times when I thought I did awful on quizzes but he gave me an A or curved it to an A. He also gave mostly A's and A minuses on the first paper (not sure about the second one, but I think he graded generously for that one too since my friends and I got A's). HOWEVER - this class was really dry and boring, content-wise. We watched old interviews he did and listened to PPT lectures mostly. He gave out too many handouts that most people barely looked at or used, and the lectures were pretty boring. He could be funny sometimes to make the class livelier, but I found myself and others fighting off sleep in this class. Homework-wise, this class had none other than the 2 papers. There are assigned readings for HW, but he never checked if you read them and most of the time you didn't have to (warning: this was just for this semester, it could change). So basically, he grades generously and there's little to no HW (except the papers were pretty darn stressful, I have to admit), but the class is really boring and the content isn't that interesting. Maybe to certain people it is, but most people I talked to thought it was boring.

Robert De Keyser

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/10/2013

This is one of the best classes I've ever taken! The material is always interesting and the professor always keeps the class as engaging as possible. Not even to mention how much of a genius Prof. De Keyser is - he knows everything and anything about the history and languages of every European country, and he himself even knows at least 6 different languages fluently! The work in the class isn't very much and it's actually pretty fun - we have 3 quizzes, which he grades pretty easily and cover interesting material; one 5-10 page paper for which we interview a local immigrant from Europe and record our findings, which isn't nearly as bad as it seems; and now, a week and a half before finals, he's assigned a 10-15 page paper requiring 20+ sources, all of which, of course, will be interesting. And don't even get me started about how much of a technology wiz this guy is - whenever we have a problem working powerpoint or the projector, Mr. DeKeyser is always on top of it. Unlike in my other classes, we haven't had a single technology problem all semester! Overall, this class is amazing - one of the best I've ever had - and I highly recommend it to anyone seeking an interesting, easy, and fun honors seminar. Good luck.

Robert De Keyser

biokidz
12/06/2013

Terrible class. I nap every class and he finally called me out last class by asking if he is that boring. Yes. Yes De Geezer, you are the most boring !@#$% to listen to for an hour and 15 minutes. Do NOT take this honors seminar. Please. Please. Please. I cannot stress enough how many kids in my class hate this man. It is the worst class I have ever taken in my life. And I am good at languages. But no. He tests you on the history behind languages and the nitty gritty facts that no one cares about. Linguistic majors don't even make money when they graduate. So suck it DeKeyser. I will be napping in your class forever.

Robert De Keyser

nativespeaker
12/05/2013

Rudest professor ever. Dear Honors College, read this and SHUT the class DOWN. It is horrible. Waste of my time as an honors student and should not be offered at this university. The professor is terrible. He is inconsiderate about student concerns, and he never responds to email. He sucks as communicating concepts in class. The class is the most boring thing I have ever taken in my career here. Why should I sign up for a class that ends up being a class where the entire class fails quizzes and the professor grades unfairly. He loves linguistic majors and he is rude to everyone else.

Robert De Keyser

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
11/29/2013

Do yourself a favor and do not take this class. On the surface, it seems like it would be a pretty interesting class for anyone who likes studying other languages. Not at all. It's nothing more than a boring and non-engaging history class, if you can call wasting ten minutes each class trying to fix the projector only to stare at PowerPoints for the remaining hour. The grading is set up this way: 20% for participation, whatever that means. Hopefully he's generous here because I do not say a single word in class. There are readings assigned for each class, but God knows no one actually does them. 20% for quizzes, which are for the most part impossible - not because the questions are difficult, but because the information is so darn boring. 20% for an immigrant paper, in which you are tasked to find a recent immigrant from Europe and interview them about their language. And if this task sounds terrible, that's because it is. Don't expect any help at all from him in finding someone. A waste of time. And 40% for a final paper, which has to be 10-15 pages using at least 20 sources. The idea of the paper isn't too bad, but once you realize how boring and worthless the topic you are to research is, it just becomes another waste of time. All in all, if you aren't interested in European languages, don't take this class. And if you are interested in European languages, don't take this class.

Robert De Keyser

Anonymous
10/23/2013

This class actually sucks. Most terrible honors seminar along with the one they have about language and the mind. Seriously don't take any language honors seminars. They are a weighty subject and they are tedious. De Keyser is kind of nice to the entire class but sometimes in person he is a big d*ckhead to people and the class gets really really boring. He grades harshly. He also has no idea how to work the technology. No idea. And that is his problem.

Robert De Keyser

Anonymous
10/17/2013

This class is dreadful. Take another honors seminar. The teacher is completely rude and bogus and the material is even more bogus. I hope the honors college shuts this class down. It is boring and a complete waste of time.

Robert De Keyser

langmajor
10/16/2013

This is the WORST honors seminar I have ever taken. The professor is a complete annoying prick, and the material is nap-worthy boring. He is incompetant with using the projector, we watch movies he recorded from the 1980s, and he is very insecure about his ability to utilize technology in the classroom. The quizzes are what he would call fair but if you have no interest in the material GOOD LUCK. The man sucks at teaching what would otherwise be a good subject to learn about. He delves too deeply into the topic and it is a boring class. Do not ever take this honors seminar. IDK who the people below me even are but this class as of Fall 2013 is BORING. Save yourself some time and take a more interesting honors seminar. Also De Keyser is a complete a$$ when you ask him a question outside of class so just avoid him and the class completely.

Robert De Keyser

Expecting an A
clue
09/18/2012

I took Languages of Europe with him in Spring 2012. He seemed a bit brusque at first, but overall he was a nice guy and knew a lot about the topic. There was a lot of reading and the quizzes could be tricky, but he was a super generous grader. I thought I failed every quiz, and all the things I thought I got wrong, I did, but even after he marked all my answers up, he'd still wind up giving an A- or B+. Overall, it was a pretty challenging course, but it was very interesting and I learned a lot.

Robert De Keyser

Expecting an A
Anonymous
10/20/2011

De Keyser was a good professor! He is a nice guy and is really interested in the subject matter. (He also knows like 5+ languages, it's crazy!) If you're interested in lingustics/European languages/European history at all, I recommend the Languages of Europe seminar! There is a main final paper at the end, another shorter paper, a midterm, and occasional quizzes, and that's pretty much it!

Robert De Keyser

Expecting a B
howyougetfamous
05/06/2011

I took Languages of Europe with R De Keyser. De Keyser is probably one of the most knowledgable, most intelligent teacher I have had so far at UMD. He listens to students and their input and he's always willing to take however long it takes to explain things and/or answer questions about the class. As for the class, the tests can be a little tricky only because there's a lot of material to study, but only five questions. However, there are oppurtunities to get back points with an extra essay in addition to the final essay, which isn't too difficult at all. He leaves the topic open enough that you research what you find most interesting about whatever place you find most interesting. Awesome class, awesome teacher.