Peter Mallios

This professor has taught: ENGL140, ENGL222, ENGL289Y, ENGL313, ENGL346, ENGL373, ENGL379D, ENGL388B, ENGL432, ENGL433, ENGL602, ENGL631, ENGL699, ENGL748D, GEMS297, GEMS396, GEMS397, GEMS496, GEMS497, HONR338B
Information Review
Peter Mallios
ENGL289Y

Expecting an A+
UMDStud
07/07/2014
Literature is not really my favorite subject, but even I enjoyed Dr. Mallios' lectures. He has a calming voice and has interesting things to say. There really isn't too much work for the class and the grading is pretty lenient. Too be honest I didn't really enjoy the subject of the class (I needed it for Gen-Ed but I'm a science guy) but Dr. Mallios definitely made it enjoyable. A recommended professor.
Peter Mallios
ENGL289Y

Expecting an A
Anonymous
10/05/2011
He's the best! You can tell how passionate he is about the material, and really helps to translate this excitement to the students as well. His explanation are clear and insightful.
Peter Mallios
ENGL433

Expecting an A-
HJB
05/20/2011
I didn't expect an A in this class, but it turns out that Mallios is one of those professors who takes improvement into consideration and (probably) weighs paper writing higher than he suggests. Prof. Mallios loves the material and appreciates any and all input/perspective. He is very respectful of students. The readings were very manageable for a 400 level course. Usually around 100 pages a week. I found many of the books boring, but he covered classics (Great Gatsby, In Our Time, etc.) Wasn't thrilled about the class, but I'd recommend Prof. Mallios.
Peter Mallios
ENGL289Y

Expecting an A
ilovethissite
12/18/2010
Pretty much agree with what everyone else has said here. Mallios is a solid professor, no doubt about it. He comes well-prepared to class everyday and clearly has a ton of knowledge about literature in general. Lots of reading but some of the books were actually interesting (Grapes of Wrath, Lathe of Heaven etc.). I would highly recommend you go to lecture considering the midterm and final pretty much comes from whatever he talked about in lecture. He basically rewarded anyone that came to lecture by telling us what passages to look at, what ideas to take away etc. for the midterm and final which definitely helped me get the A in the class. Assignment breakdown is participation, two papers (one 2-3 pages and the other 4-5 pages), 50 minute compare/contrast midterm, and final. TA plays a big role in your grade for the class as he/she grades everything and luckily I got a great one in Lew. So overall, a great class to fulfill your HL course (assuming it gets offered again since it's an I-course) with a great professor teaching it. I'm glad I picked it.
Peter Mallios
ENGL289Y

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/13/2010
Man, this guy LOVES literature. He goes into every lecture prepared and tries to get you to think about a lot of different things you would never have picked up on. He is very passionate and easy to comprehend. The course involves a lot of reading and you have to attend both lecture and discussion, but both are pretty interesting. The reading list includes some classics, some duds, and some very interesting and not very well known works. The class is based on a mid-term that he prepares you very well for, two papers, and a final, all of which were graded very fairly. Overall, a great course to take to fulfill your HL CORE and a good course if you are interested in literature as well.
Peter Mallios
ENGL289Y

GoTestudo!
12/12/2010
Professor Mallios is a soft-spoken and approachable instructor, overall nice guy but his lectures were generally difficult to follow (he never took a breath in between his sentences which for some reason made me feel sleepy). On the flip side, he sincerely wants his students to understand the material and think for themselves. At the same time, he makes his tests and assignments easy to do. Definitely one of the better HL instructors. There were a LOT of readings to do but other than that--ENGL289Y wasn't a difficult class. But, in case you're wondering, it emphasizes more literature than politics.
Peter Mallios
ENGL289Y

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/08/2010
This was a brand new I series course that filled CORE HL so I gave it a shot. Was not disappointed at all. Where as some english HLs can be boring, this guy was great and talked about aspects of books that I had never even thought about. The whole point of the course was connecting literature with politics and cultures. We discussed everything from gender to class to race in everything we read. That being said, there was a lot of reading since we went through 8 books during the semester but they were all great and included classics such as Huck Finn. This professor is so open to ideas and he's really interested in hearing different perspectives on what's being read. he's laid back and is very well prepared; he talked for the full 50 minutes every lecture and his favorite phrase was "we have a lot of material to cover today". He made the midterm and the final easy by basing them directly off of what we went over in lecture and he even gave a handout of what questions would be on the final a week before the exam. Such a great guy to talk to and a truly enjoyable and fairly easy HL, 2 papers and 2 exams but the first paper was only 2-3 pages and the second was 4-5, both double spaced.
Peter Mallios
ENGL289Y

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/07/2010
This is by far the best professor i have had at UMD so far! He is very invested in what he does and this transfers to some of the most engaging lectures ever. His style of teaching is very easy to understand. Lecture is him talking the whole time, presenting his views and ideas of the the novel the class is currently reading. This sounds really boring but it is most definitely not! Discussion is just the opposite where you formulate your own ideas. If you take either of his courses (which i highly suggest) go to both lecture and discussion. If you take really good notes and pay attention it is a sure A in the class. Also, i read may about 3 of the 5 assigned books and am still earning an A. For my class we had 2 essays, one test, a few quizzes, and a final and each one of these were graded very leniently.
Peter Mallios
ENGL222

Expecting an A
oldmanjess
10/13/2010
This guy LOVES American literature. I've never seen a professor care more about what he/she is teaching. That being said, most of the lecture is really just him presenting interesting ideas. If you care about literature, or you actually read the books (and not Sparknotes) you'll have a ball in lecture. Otherwise, only a few things in lecture are important to know for the papers and exams. Discussion is very important. Not only are there mini-assignments given most classes, the information for what the TAs are looking for in the papers is given in discussion. Expect about 4-5 hours of reading/week if you're reading the books, much less if you're using Sparknotes. About 5 hours of study and work per month should be enough for papers and exams.
Peter Mallios
ENGL222

Anonymous
04/30/2010
Great professor to take ENGL222 with. He's clearly passionate about the literature of the class and makes several interesting points. He always kept me engaged in the material. The class overall wasn't that hard as long as you went to lecture and took notes there. Although I only read 2 of the assigned 6 books, I still managed to pull off an A so if you need an HL take it with Mallios!
Peter Mallios
ENGL222

Expecting a B
rose11
01/08/2010
A very good professor. It's evident that he is extremely passionate about literature, and loves receiving feedback and opinions from his students. Lecture can sometimes be boring because he talks a lot and it's hard to take notes because he jumps from one topic to another. But the material is interesting and he emphasizes what information you need to know. Work for the semester consisted of one timed writing and two short papers. There is a lot of reading involved, but the texts are not too complicated. Attendance in discussion makes a big difference in your grade, so be sure to show up!
Peter Mallios
ENGL222

Expecting a B
jland23
12/19/2009
This was one of the best classes I have taken so far at UMD. I'm not an English major by any means, but I had to take the class as an HL. I thought it would suck because of all the novels we have to read. But in all honesty, Sparknotes had 80% of the books and I didn't really read any of it. Lectures are pretty good. There like a large discussion section. Make sure you go to your discussions too, there a big part of the grade. I just loved this class not challenging and a lot of fun.
Peter Mallios
ENGL222

Expecting a B
Franchise41
12/16/2009
Profesor's Mallios is a really nice guy, and his insights on texts are nice and refreshing. I didn't really approach him for any special help so I can't speak on that aspect of him but he gives very little assignments, (two papers, one 3 page and one 4-5 page) and he only gives a midterm and a final.
Peter Mallios
ENGL222

Anonymous
12/02/2007
He is a very nice man, and has a lot of great insight into the readings. However, his lectures are very haphazard; he proposes many different points at once, making the original line of thought difficult to follow. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed Dr. Mallios and this course. If you like literary analysis at all, you will like Dr. Mallios.