Dartmouth's Best Professors

Thursday, September 22, 2005

John Rassias – French

Rassias is perhaps Dartmouth's most famous professor. His innovative theories on the teaching of foreign languages led to Dartmouth's LSA programs, drill sessions, and language lab. His teaching style verges on the outrageous. In class, he dresses up as Montesquieu, throws raw meat around, breaks eggs on students' heads, and rips his shirt off–all in the line of teaching. Rassias' vivid instruction is something no Dartmouth student should forgo.

P. David Lagomarsino – History

Perhaps the best professor in a department full of gems, Lagomarsino has won practically every award the College offers for teaching. Imperial Spain is his forte, but has a thorough knowledge of early modern Europe and doesn't hesitate to share it with his students. Not afraid to buck the trends of political correctness or conventional wisdom, he teaches that the Inquisition was more just than most judicial procedures of its time. Even if you're not a major, Lagomarsino is not to be missed.

Edward Bradley – Classics

A thoroughly old-school professor: No caps for gentlemen, no snacks. Save the nonsense for another class.Though he suffers fools poorly, Professor Bradley will take you into the West's foundational texts as well as anyone. Bradley tells students that he hopes the works of Homer, Ovid, Vergil, and Appolonius will become "good friends" who will stay with them for a long time. He tells stories about the old days of Dartmouth, which are always hilarious and related by a master storyteller. This year will be his last before retirement, so take a class with this legend while you still can.

Alan Stam – Government

Stam is one of Dartmouth's youngest professors, but he's also one of its most brilliant. He's an expert on international relations, and a prolific author of several highly regarded books. But he's also a perennial favorite among students and his classes almost always have a long wait-list. It's easy to see why–Stam is an amazing, highly-energetic lecturer. He's never boring, even when dealing with stale material. He's also got that rarest of qualities among academicians: a sense of humor.

Ellis Shookman – German

Professor Shookman's passion for German is clear from his energetic lectures and thought-provoking class discussions. One of the world's top Goethe scholars, he's a perennial favorite among both majors and non-majors alike. You don't even have to speak German to appreciate his teaching skills, as many of the classes he teaches are in translation. It comes as little surprise that he was recently voted the best professor at the College.

William Cook – English

A lecture by this man consists of serious, learned literary criticism leavened with all manners of asides, anecdotes, and aphorisms: in short, a virtuoso performance every time. Watch him rattle off lines from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in perfect Middle English while discussing Eliot's "Waste Land." Hear about Robert Frost and Walt Whitman at Dartmouth (and what Kate Sanborn, of Sanborn Library fame, thought of the Good, Gray Poet). Stop by and say hello; you can't miss him: he's the bald black man with a white beard smoking cigarettes outside of Sanborn. Just don't ask him about either Edgar Allan Poe or George W. Bush.

James Tatum – Classics

Even if you can't fit a class with Professor Tatum into your schedule, The Mourner's Song: War and Remembrance from the Iliad to Vietnam–published earlier this year by the University of Chicago Press–is a must-read. Tatum is an expert on Apuleius and a sophisticated teacher. He uses Greek call-and-response to keep his classes awake, attentive and involved.

Peter Saccio – English

An engaging lecturer, Professor Saccio is Dartmouth's premier Shakespeare scholar. Saccio truly loves the material, and this is readily apparent in class. His flair for the dramatic manifests itself in his teaching style–this is a man who used to wear a cape around Hanover. Saccio's lectures are even sold nationwide on audiocassettes for a hefty sum; you may have seen advertisements for them in assorted magazines. His comments on students' papers are especially helpful. This fall will be your last chance to take a class with him, though: he's retiring at the end of the term.

Javed Aslam – Computer Science

In a demanding subject such as computer science, teaching skills and accessibility are in high demand. Aslam's lectures make difficult concepts less cumbersome, and the long hours spent with his door open make his courses in high demand. An expert on cryptography, he is an eloquent critic of government control of private computers.

Ehud Benor – Religion

Professor Benor takes the time and risk to question deeply held beliefs and assumptions about his very own discipline. And best of all, students are invited to challenge his own theories. He's better known for his Judaism classes. He's an encyclopedia of classical, medieval, and modern Judaism, and his lectures on the rabbinic revolution and mysticism are masterful.

Donald Pease – English

Pease is a leading Americanist and a highly respected scholar in the field of American Studies. His dense lecture style takes some getting used to, but if you're able to get beneath his jargon there's something deep and profound to be had.

Dale Eickelman – Anthropology

Eickelman's readings are carefully chosen, and classroom discussion borders on genius. Professor Eickelman squeezes the best work from his students; given the depth and breadth of material he covers, asking any less would be a waste of his and students' time.

Michael Mastanduno – Government

Professor Mastanduno's remarkable ability to present both sides of any issue is particularly rare and worthwhile. The students who line up outside his office to discuss foreign policy are a testament to his appeal.

Paul Christesen – Classics

One of the up-and-comers in the department, and a Dartmouth alumnus to boot, Professor Christesen is the most popular adviser to classics majors. And his lectures provide compelling evidence for the importance of classics; he has a firm grasp on the value of understanding of Western Civilization's development. Christesen is a wise choice for beginning or continuing your study of classics.

Lindsay Whaley – Classics and Linguistics

Professor Whaley holds joint positions in two departments: Classics and Linguistics, where he serves as chair. He is serious about his subject matter, but he does not lack enthusiasm. Whaley is very approachable and eager to help students.

Barbara Will – English

Unlike many of her colleagues in the English department, Professor Will provides a savvy, critical analysis of postmodern literature without dwelling on self-aggrandizing literary theory.

Walter Simons – History

Professor Simons is the department's resident medievalist, a man quietly passionate about a misunderstood but essential period in Western history. Among the many things he does well include writing his lecture outlines on the board, assigning good and even great books in class (Augustine's Confessions, Huizinga's Waning of the Middle Ages, among others), effectively moderating discussions, and being helpful and patient with his students during office hours.

Douglas Irwin – Economics

After the anti-WTO protests in Seattle, Irwin took to the pages of the Wall Street Journal to defend WTO trade policies and criticize President Clinton for "caving in to pressure from labor interests." Irwin is an unqualified expert and an excellent teacher.

Samuel Velez – Biology

Velez is an outstanding professor in a department not always recognized for its teaching. His exams are onerous, and require extremely thorough knowledge of the topic, but his animated lectures and easy accessibility to students make it all worthwhile. Velez explains the brain's foundations through analogy, story, case study–whatever is needed to transmit the information to his students. His "Crayfish Experience" in Biology 34 is not to be missed.

Angela Rosenthal – Art History

Judging by some of the courses Rosenthal teaches–Women Artists and Gender Theories; Orientalism, Race, and the Power of Representation–one might be surprised to find her on this list. But don't let her dabbling in Gallic theories dissuade you from taking her courses. Unlike far too many, she actually appreciates artwork, instead of considering it a mere vehicle for racist and misogynistic culture, waiting to be decoded by the enlightened deconstructionist mandarins. That said, steer clear of her theoretical offerings, but if you enroll in her other courses, you will find her to be among the more talented and engaging professors at Dartmouth.

Dartmouth's Best Professors

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