Dartmouth’s Best Professors...John Rassias 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’s vivid instruction is something no Dartmouth student should forgo, though a Rassias-taught class is now a rare delicacy.
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 he has a thorough knowledge of early modern Europe and doesn’t hestitate 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. Paul Christesen One of the most popular in the department, and a Dartmouth alumnus to boot, Professor Christesen is also 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 Western Civilization’s development. Christesen is a wise choice for beginning or continuing your study of classics. Listening to his lectures, one gets the impression that Christesen has tailored his lectures for challenging and interesting the specifically undergraduate mind. (We mean that in a good way.)
Hughes sings, dances, and blows things up in class—all in the name of teaching organic chemistry. It’s obvious that Hughes loves teaching: he’s always available for consultation and often stops by labs to help students. While orgo is often feared, Hughes’s crisp (and often comic) explanations make the subject entertaining and fun. While he is notorious for using every X-hour and assigning a heavy workload, students often find themselves inspired to delve headlong into the intimidating material thanks to Hughes’s obvious passion for the subject.
A rockstar in an already strong department, Swaine’s classes on political philosophy make the subject dynamic and relevant. His lectures take a class or two to get used to, as does Swaine’s personality, which is, to say the least, eccentric, but one quickly converts to a fan. There’s a certain mischevious character to his class that’s greatly reinforced by his opening comments on topics like the latest episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Beware though, Swaine makes heavy use of John Rawls in his Liberalism and Its Critics (a must take), and no one likes Rawls. Marlene Heck Professor Heck is one of Dartmouth’s most beloved professors. Her classes in the Art History department stand out for their ability to contextualize art, architecture, history, and culture in their time, weaving each together to give a complete picture. Her class on American Architecture is a must take, as is her Writing 5 class on the founding fathers. Professor Heck’s passions for the American founding, Thomas Jefferson, and colonial architecture are infectious. A Fascinating individual both inside and outside the classroom, with classes and office hours always filled to capacity, Professor Heck and her art history classes will change the way you look at the world. 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 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. 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 the material he covers, asking any less would be a waste of his and students’ time. Timothy Pulju — Linguistics One of the best-reviewed profs at Dartmouth, Pulju combines an exceptional lecturing style with a genuine committment to help individual undergraduates one-on-one. Known for his deadpan sense of humor and skill at engaging all the students even in large lecture classes through question-and-answer, Pulju turns what can occasionally be a dry subject into something thoroughly entertaining. Walter Simons — History Professor Simons is the department’s resident medievalist, a man quietly passionate about a misunderstood but essential period in Western history. He is amazingly accessible to students, even in his large lecture classes, and is very helpful and welcoming during office hours. He gives thoughtful, detailed feedback on papers and assignments, and is quick to refer students to appropriate sources and references on their assignments. Plus, he’s a great lecturer with an obvious passion for his subject. 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. Barbara Will — English Unlike many of her colleagues in the English department, Professor Will provides a savvy, critical analysis of postmodern literature without getting bogged down in the jargon of literary theory. Her teaching style is refreshingly straightforward, and she has the rare talent of making dull-seeming topics interesting. Allen Koop — History A gifted and witty lecturer, Professor Koop teaches modern European history and the history of the American health care system. At the beginning of his History 65: Modern Europe: The Twentieth Century, he says he aims to make it one of the three best courses you take at Dartmouth. You should take him up on that. Possessing a keen interest in cultural history, Koop is sui generis as a guide through history’s bloodiest century. Meir Kohn — Economics Something of a legend in the Dartmouth Econ Department (a commonly traded tale—of questionable veracity—notes that an “A” in Kohn’s class translates into an instant job offer on Wall Street), Kohn is the maestro of Econ 26, a.k.a. “Money for Dummies.” He is one of the most feared professors at Dartmouth, and his classes, conducted in an intense Socratic question-and-answer format, force students to analyze economic questions at a level above simply parroting back textbook information. Devin Balkcom — Computer Science Balkcom, in addition to teaching undergraduate CS, directs the Dartmouth Robotics Lab and recently received a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation. Balkcom epitomizes the balance between research and instruction that Dartmouth profs should strive for. Larry Crocker — Philosophy A former lawyer and law school professor, Professor Crocker has one of the sharpest minds of any professor at Dartmouth. His Philosophy of Law and Ethical Theory classes are engaging, penetrating, and among the most intellectually rigorous courses you can take at Dartmouth. Roger Ulrich — Classics Professor Ulrich does not suffer fools gladly, so do not come to his course unprepared. But for the intellectually alert, the professor’s summer-taught Classical Mythology class—or “story telling for sophomores”—is a must take. His responsiveness to students and dry humor make his classes a delight. Amanda Loud — Latin Professor Loud teaches Latin 1 and 3 at the College, and has a way of making a very difficult subject remarkably accessible. Dynamic, fun, and engaging, she not only teaches the fundamentals of Latin grammar clearly, but also inserts Roman history lessons into her syllabus to spice things up. |
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