Stanley Bailis

He put it right out there in the first half hour of the first class: expect hardwork. This course required not only a great deal of reading, but intense comprehension from an ecclectic variety of scholars. If you don't need the course (also AMST400) don't take it. If you need the course be prepared for a lot a reading and tough discussions. Three blue book essay tests averaged for final grade. He really knows the subject thoroughly and encourages open discussions.

It should first be said that Bailis is very intelligent and articulate...however this doesn't make him a great professor. The problem is that there is ZERO variety in his class. He just lectures every single class from the beginning until about 5 minutes after class is supposed to end, and while the content has the potential of being interesting Bailis himself does not. Furthermore he requires about 6 very challenging books to be read, but if you are not a procrastinator it's do-able. The main problem though is not the multiple essay exams or difficult reading it's the professor's attitude. He is extremely unapproachable and seems to enjoy the "authority" he has for having tenure. (something he will remind you of.) Bottom line: Intelligent guy with a power trip!!!

I adored this man and his course. It was a night session in 1995, and our section was engaged, entertained and challenged. I went on to become a Social Studies teacher at a prep school, and I use a lot of the material from Bailis' class in my work. A worthwhile professor, to be certain.

Prof. Bailis was an interesting case. Definitely one of the quirkier professors I've had. His lectures are fascinating, and long, and wordy, and complex. Expect to have to think. Expect to occasionally be puzzled.

He does come across as somewhat unapproachable. But I think he's probably a softie under all that. I didn't find him hostile or anything like that.

It's true, the T/F exams are challenging. But he does tend to use his own wording. If you think very logically, and if you attend all the lectures and review your notes, you should do fine on the exams -- I did.

There is a LOT of reading. I got behind, and didn't think I'd survive, but I made it through in spite of being behind on the reading. But I don't recommend that approach! Be prepared to do your reading early and often. If you fall behind you may be doomed.

The T.A. that we had for a few days was a lot more popular with most of the students in the class than Prof. Bailis was.

I should add that I took this class, SOC 330, in the fall of 1997 so things may have changed since then.

Dr. Bailis is clearly a brilliant man, far ahead of his time. I wish I could understand him. He is very difficult to follow in that the subject matter is abstract. I have to give him credit for not talking down to the students, it would be easy for him to do, but he encourages us to think with him and learn at his level. If you like to think outside the box and if you like the challenges of the abstract, then this class is for you. If you want to avoid trick questions or do better with essay questions on exams, then this is not the man for you. This class will challenge you! This teacher will expect 110% of what you have. Not for the faint of heart or the over loaded student. But even those who are giving less than stellar performances should appreciate this class.

This is an excellent professor to have. He can teach a person so much beneficial knowledge. His language is so academic that even if I didn't understand it, it would make sense later. He is a very challenging professor. He challenged me to the fullest and I can't thank him enough. I have learned how to find contradcitions in every discipline of the social sciences that I can argue with a psychologist and both agree and disagree with him. Dr. Bailis is a definitely an excellent teacher who can make you challenge yourself and your mind to the fullest.

What can I say about this man .... He truly is exceptionally ahead in his field. Being pedantically anal (??) as I am, I love taking notes. He's perfect for the role! I love it when he lectures b/c he is soooo smart! I mean, you sit there for over an hour, writing frantically on your paper (and I'm NOT exaggerating when i mean FRANTIC). IT's crazy! But I love it!! Yeah, people have complained about it being too much or he's so off the wall about what he wants on test..which he is. But honestly, when he does lecture on what you were assigned to read, it's like he's telling a story. He really does help you to understand clearly what was to be grabbed out of the book. Too bad he's not that way about what he wants ON the exams, which I did really poor on. Plus, they are so not updated which is unfair when you think about it! You can take the exam from someone who took his class semesters before, and the questions are similar!! IT's mADDenING! Lastly, his final paper - it really isn't difficult when you actually do it.

Mr. Bailis knows his stuff. But he does not teach it well in my opinion. The tests are fairly easy (T/F), but he does give trick questions and mixes up statements that can cause the student to make an incorrect judgement. He does not lecture well. He drones on in a monotone voice. The books he chooses are not very interesting, and he does not give enough background on them to help the student. He does not lecture only on the book, but on related material other than the books assigned.

Mr. Bailis is a great instructor. His lectures are difficult to understand, but you will go away learning about the four fields(anthropology, history, sociology, and ?) of social science that is discussed in the course. There is approximately 6 T/F questions which gets easier as you take them. You must understand what he means when he says something like "what is the material field of sociology?" He usually repeats the important stuff more than once so pay attention to things that are repeated if you take his course.

Bailis is a knowledgable porfessor and in that sense, he's very hard to understand but very intelligent. Although, you may not understand what he is saying in his lectures, attending class regularly does help at the end when it comes down to writing the final paper. You may not understand him at first but you will when you're writing the final paper and when you review your notes.

He's a very intelligent man. He's vocabulary was very hard to understand, so if you decided to check the words in the dictionary I bet you will be amaze because he can tell you word per word what appears in the dictionary. He's class need to be change a little a little joke maybe to keep the students awake.I feel like he is very serious when he teach so sometimes it is hard to keep on track on his lectures..

This instructor I felt had good intentions as a professor but he just was REALLY difficult to understand ALL of the time. I found that his lectures to be extrememly difficult to grasp and therefore felt behind constantly through the smester. His tests are fair in difficulty on the plus side but he assigns a tremendous amount of reading so if you do take his class be sure to do it on a lighter work load semester.

Dr. Stanley Bailis is one of the best instructors I've had. He is enthusiasitic about the social sciences. His classes are hard. If you are looking for an easy class, take someone else. If you are looking for someone who will challange you, someone who will provide you with the opportunity to use the grey matter between your ears, and partake of a truly fine learning experience, then Dr. Bailis is for you. If you are looking for the best education possible, then be sure to take ss300 from Dr. Bailis. The class consist of: reading 4 books, 2 papers, 6 true/false test(don't think T/F test are easy, his test require complete understanding of material covered), and 1 paper.

I took ss 300 from Bailis because it is a required core class for the liberal studies degree. His class is a fast paced experience. There are 6, twenty question, true false exams, and a final term paper of about 1500 words. I would not recomend this class to people who don't like to read assigned books because there is a lot of reading (five books, three articles)which can be complicated, but also very interseting. There is reading due each class session, and an exam every two weeks. I saw a lot of people fall behind quickly in the course because they fell behind on the reading. The exams can be pretty tricky because Bailis uses some complicated language on them. However, if you take good notes and at least make an attempt on the reading, you should do pretty well on them. The class is strictly lecture with question and answer periods occaisonally. The class covers some very interesting material about human adaptive behavior, and i think Bailis really knows his stuff. I gave him a B+, instead of an A, because some people thought that he wasn't able to explain complicated ideas, in a way that everyone in the class could understand. Overall, it was a good, but very challenging course. To succeed in his class, you must show up, take adequate notes, do the reading,and I recomend using study groups for the exams.

Prof. Bailis is a very intelligent man, however, he has a problem with making the subject easy to understand. It pays to read and pay very close attention to his lectures, especially his definition of things. He tends to use his definitions verbatim in his tests. He tends to use big words, some of which I think are not even real words. Even though you may hate the way he is trying to get a very simple point across it pays to not lose your patience because there is something very interesting to learn from the class. I think you will find the class rewarding, only near the end of the course when the conceptual pieces are put together. Be sure to put time into reading the books, and attend EVERY lecture and take notes constantly so that you don't miss anything. If you have no choice but to take his course and this prof. try to make the best of it with my advice.

Prof. Bailis is an extremely well educated man. The fact that he does not "play down" to his students is something he should be commended for, not crucified for. Yes, the tests are difficult, but if you spend time with the professor during his office hours, you will be able to better comprehend the class materials.

I think Mr. Bailis is a superb lecturer. He repeats relevent information many times, so as long as you are willing to attend every lecture, you will probably hear everything more than once. The T/F tests are difficult, but that just means you have to study hard. I found that the best way to study for exams was to tape the lectures and take notes from the playback. After awhile, I could tell when he was saying something that would be on the test, and I was sure to write it down verbatim. The book are difficult, but he only tests on the parts of the books that he covers in lecture. Therefore, you really don't need to read the entire book, although it helps to scan it a little before he begins lecturing on it. Overall, I think Mr. Bailis is an impressive instructor. Most of the people who hate him are people who don't show up for class most of the time---and missing lectures is devastating in this class. If you're willing to work hard, you will be rewarded with a good understanding of the Social Sciences. If not, you'll end up failing and hating the instructor.