Joely De La Torre

I write this review a few years after taking Joely De La Torre's class, "American Indian Studies: Images & Issues in Mass Media." Even so, as a teacher, Prof. De La Torre made an unforgetable impression.

Of course, it is impossible to ignore the number of "F"s that students have posted in their reviews of Prof. De La Torre performance in the classroom, although a number of "A"s were posted as well. Evidently, she illicits strong responses from her students-- both good and bad. And that pretty much sums up her time at SFSU. Certainly there was lots of discussion about Prof. De La Torre. Unfortunately and for the most part, students and faculty reacted negatively to her not because she was caustic, incredibly confrontational and lacked many, very basic social skills. She was all of these things and then some. Her sins were many; her defects overwhelming, and surely recognizable during those moments when she dared peer into her own soul. Perhaps there wasn't much to see. I don't know. What I do know is that enlightenment begins when one seeks it. Certainly, many people are forgiven similar egregious faults-- most especially in the lofty environs of academe-- if, and this is a big "if," they do what they are supposed to do--which is teach. The fact is that Prof. De La Torre's greatest sin, given the setting, was professional incompetence, not personal offensiveness. For these reasons, students felt compelled to post, or even vent their negative reviews.

As to the "A"s, I strongly suspect that at least one, if not two or more were posted by Prof. De La Torre herself. I know that I am speculating. Beyond mere speculation however is my belated review:

Prof. De La Torre's lectured were fair to poorly conceived, structured, and delivered. Readings were not well-balanced, and worse, largely polemical in nature. Overall, she had a transparent agenda: Indians are unintelligent victims; white people are greedy oppressors. How wonderful if only things were that simple. In spinning the issues relevent to Indians and the ways in which they are presented in the media in this way, she did herself and all American Indians a terrible disservice. How much better to have prepared better, read more widely, thought more deeply, trod with greater care, sought knowledge with humility . . . and perhaps, peered at all.

I have taken two courses taught by Professor De La Torre, Images & Issues - Mass Media and American Indians and US Laws and have spoke with many students who agree with me Prof. De La Torre is without question one of the finest and most professional instructors at State.

Her knowledge of US Law, American Indian issues combined with her passion and dedication to her students is exceptional. She is an amazing lecturer who, even during night classes, kept our attention. She has an exceptional ability to teach difficult a subject matter in a comprehensive manner while inspiring students to look at the American Indian Community and all people with basic human understanding. As an ethnic studies course, sometimes the material covered is in sensitive areas where we question ourselves, our social fabric and our institutions. Some of my fellow students did not have the ability to open their mindsshe kept her cool even when other American Indian students did not.

If you are a student who is interested in American Indian issues, culture or just want to fulfill your GE requirements, I highly recommend her courses. Also, you can do well if you follow the class lectures. In regards to the other negative reviews found here, I note that many of these seem to off the point of Prof. De La Torre's teaching skills and her courses. I question if these responses are even from her former students at all. I hope that in the future reviewers put their personal issues aside and focus on the quality of the instruction. Her lectures and material tied into and were extremely useful in my other courses, especially International Relations, Jurisprudence and Social Science. I sincerely hope that the American Indian Studies department at SFSU continues to support professors like Joely De La Torre and to maintain this level of quality in it's future courses.

This class is one of the best classes I have had here at State. Professor De La Torre is an exceptional lecturer. You learn not only about American Indians in the mass media but she has the ability to expand the subject matter to all people. This I believe is one of her greatest strength the ability to capture an audience and make you relate to the message she is trying to convey without every walking in the shoes of the other person. I think she is a great role model particularly to young women. She is strong, intelligent and persistent. Overall she teaches the class that your voice is important. She is active in the community setting the example that humanitarianism is not lost in the 21st century. The course work is anything but difficult it just takes effort and time. As long as you keep up on the reading there is not reason you should not get an A. I recommend this course to anyone who wants to learn something about Indian culture, or to anyone who wants to learn about life experiences that apply to all people. It will definately be worth your time and effort.

De La torre is an excellent professor who is passionite about her work. To get an A all one needs to do is show up every day, and take word for word notes. Don't fall behind as shes not forgiving, but no professor should have to be. I strongly suggest taking this course as your G.E. choice.

De La Torre is a very educated person. She knows EVERY thing about American Indians. She makes the course very interesting. To pass the course and make the course more interesting, you will need to view your self as an American Indain. How will you feel if your rights were violated? Why can American Indains have casinos? That are just some issues you'll be learning. Her class is not an easy "A", but there are no reasons to get below a "C" in the class. She assigns many many extra credit assignments for students to do. The extra credit assigments are from going to Indian fairs (POW's) to seeing films. Each extra credit assignment is worth at least 5 points. This semster I done all the extra credit assignments and obtained over 40 points. That 40 points will count towards exams. If I got 60 percent on an exam, that 40 points will make that exam a 100 percent. The course consist of Group Project/Paper 25%, Class Participation 10%, Midterm 20%, Final Exam 25%, Quizzes & assignments 15%, and Library requirement 5%. The group project/paper consist about 5 people in a group which each person writes about 6 pages of a topic given. The Midterm/Final are all short essay/answers with a choice of an essay given writen in the "Blue Book." The quizzes are pop-up quizzes, usually given if the class do not answer to questions in the class. There will be at least three in the whole semester, but if the class do not answer to the questions she asks in class, in the next day there will be a pop-up quize. The libary requirement is the same requirement needed to be done before graduation, that is an easy "A" for that 5%. She is a lazy person, because she does not write on the board when she give important info. out. She will dictate all the important info, so write it down quickly, those are materials usually in the exams. If you like to learn about an interesting topic other than US Goverment, this is the class to take.

In response to the previous "F" evaluation: Prof. De La Torre is an excellent educator and role model for Indians and non-Indians alike. The notion that one "can tell" that she did not grow up on a reservation is an example of your ignorance and not that of the Professors. I found her classes stimulating and insightful; the wealth of knowledge she can impart (if you allow her to) is invaluable. The amount of time and effort she puts into her classes easily shines through in her lectures.

Prof. De la Torre is an excellent professor. Her class is easy to pass if you just follow instructions. She is full of first-hand knowledge of life on a reservation. On the downside, however, she is VERY opinionated. I would not recommend disagreeing with her on any topic--especially in a paper or an essay. If you toe the line, you'll do fine. If you're looking for rational, two-sided discussion, her class is not the place for it.

Professor De La Torre is an excellent professor who is passionate about American Indian Studies and who has a strong want and need to get her students to understand the importance of learning about minority studies and the political process as it pertains to every one of us. The class, being lower division, is not in the least difficult. The answers to the two essay tests come straight out of her lectures, so it is advisable to show up to every class. Homework is minimal and usually only consists of one-paragraph responses that are opinion-based. Professor De La Torre is definitely enthusiastic about the subject, and she transfers that enthusiasm to her lectures, making them interesting, eye-opening, and often humorous. She is always prepared for class and organized in her lectures, but you have to have quick note-taking skills to keep up with them. I found the class to be exciting, fun, and sometimes frustrating, as I learned about the myriad injustices that Native Americans have incurred at the hands of our often hypocritical government. This is an excellent class, and Professor De La Torre is a wonderful professor. I definitely recommend this class to those who need to fulfill the government requirement, those who are interested in learning about the inner workings of our state and local government and the state of this special minority group today, and those who want to experience a top quality professor who has yet to become jaded by "the system."