Philip J. Dreyfus

I loved this class, and thought Professor Dreyfus was great. History can be pretty dull, but he really made it interesting. He's also kinda funny, and is generally just an all-around nice guy. One tip if you are planning to take this class with him...don't bother with the book; you won't need it.

Attendance is not important. exams are easy if you pay attention to his lectures and the book. If you were to read the book only and not go to class, that wouldn't be a problem either. But going to class might be better. He's very into the subject. He makes history like a movie.

He is damn good, probably one of my favorite history teachers I've had. This class is a win win situation- if you like the subject, you'll learn a lot and if you don't, attendance isn't very important. Some history teachers suck some serious ass, but he's pretty cool.

You could hardly ask for a better lecturer than Prof. Dreyfus. His command of the subject is tops, the organization of his lectures bring out key themes, his sense of humor keeps things lively. The class is very large so there's not as much discussion as I like, but that's more a function of the survey course. He splits his tests between essays and multiple choice, but makes it as easy as possible to do well with prep materials.

I really enjoyed this class! Prof. Dreyfus really knows his stuff, and his lectures are vivid and exciting. He helps you stay awake when learning History. His tests are not that hard, but you do need to study. Most of the stuff is right from the lectures, so you really need to come to class. He has two essay and two multiple choice tests...and that's it! No homework, which is really good!

very funny guy...knows the subject, makes it interesting even for those who dislike history...tests are fair, essay questions but not too difficult...recommended.

Prof. Dreyfus is a great lecturer. He speaks well and is very funny. I'm not at all interested in the subject but I still enjoyed the class. He knows more about his subjects then almost all the teachers at SFSU. He gives essay tests and is a strict grader, but the class is absolutly worth taking.

All the wonderful reviews for Dr. Dreyfus are true. He is an extremely knowledgeable man. Ask him anything and he'll be able to answer your question without batting an eyelash. Also, he has a subtle sense of humor.

Anyway, I have never been fond of history but somehow, Dr. Dreyfus managed to make history so interesting. It's amazing how he makes complicated events super simple to understand. (try reading the boring book he assigns and you'll see what I mean)

As for class structure, it's basically just lectures with 4 exams throughout the semester -- 2 essays and 2 multiple choice tests. His exams are very fair. Since he gives a list of the terms and essay topics we need to know in the beginning of the semester, there are no surprises whatsoever. For in-class essay exams, you just need to write as many facts as you can from a topic of your choice (He assigns 3 topics to study for each test, chooses 2 random ones to be on the actual test, and you have to choose 1 to write about.)

Take Dr. Dreyfus's class to fulfill your history requirement. I'm quite positive you won't regret it. ;)

such a great professor. he has really well teaching skill. i never got lost on his class. absolutly no home work. the review class is very important to the test. i suggest to record his review class, which include 98% of test questions. contact sfsutests@hotmail.com for test paper

Mr. Drefus's lectures were very inteteresting; he manages to make history an interesting and lively subject. He has two multiple choice exams and two essay exams. His multiple choice ones were fine, but it was very hard to please him on the essay tests.

Dreyfus is an excellent professor. I highly recommend taking one of his classes if you have the chance. I was never really interested in history, but just sitting through one of his lectures I learned so much. He just knows how to present the material in a clear, efficent, and understandable manner. The tests are not difficult as long as you pay attention to the lectures and take his study guides seriously.

I have recommended this professor to every person I talk to about history at this school. His lectures are very easy to follow, and fit into a perfect outline form, which is good when taking notes. He is a cool person and an awesome teacher. I was amazed by how much he knew about the subject and even when students asked random questions, he always had an answer that was concise and informative.

Even though the subject can be quite dry and boring, Dreyfus tried to make it interesting. His lectures were clear and concise and he's funny. Class consists of 3 midterms, no final. His exams were really tricky and is totally based on his boring lectures. Thus, it's pivotal to never cut and to take accurate, good notes. The text is a joke and it's useless. Overall, if U just want a class to breeze through, fulfill the history requirement, or re-live your high school U.S. History class, this is it.

Dr. Dreyfus is one of the best professors I've ever had the pleasure of taking a class from. He defined crystal clear objectives for the class, his lectures were animated, informative, and thorough.

Using a mix of films, lecture, and class participation; Dr. Dreyfus created a great atmosphere in his class for learning. During the semester he gave four exams, two were multiple choice, and two were essay exams. Prior to each exam he clearly identified the areas where we should concentrate our studies.

By no means was this an easy class. There were two text books to read and it was necessary to take a great deal of lecture notes. However, it was clearly established that, if you were willing to do the work, a good class grade was achievable.

Whether you need this class as a GE requirement or as a general elective, I highly recommend both the clas an Dr. Dreyfus.

Prof. Dreyfus made history interesting to learn. This is especially useful if you're not a history buff, but simply using the class as a GE requirement. He has a strong grasp on the material and presents it in a well organized manner. His lectures are humorous, interesting and useful. There are four tests in the semester, each of which is graded equally. Two are essay tests, and two a multiple choice...pretty fair regardless of what you're good at. His essay tests are straightforward, but the multiple choice tests are somewhat tricky. Pay attention to the questions and don't miss his review sessions! Overall, it's a great class.

Dreyfus is by far one of SFSU's best teacher. His knowledge on American History is excellent. I was never a fan of history, but Dreyfus made the class fun, interesting and very informative. He never failed to humor the class with his witty jokes. His exams were all based on his lectures, nothing very fancy from the text book, so prepare to take high quality notes. His clear and vibrant voice makes it even easier. Big reminder: DO NOT MISS HIS TEST REVIEWS, he does it on the last class before the exam. They are very helpful especially if you skip classes regularly. He doesn't take roll, which makes it very tempting. Two thumbs up for Dreyfus!!

Dr. Dreyfus was a terrific professor. His lectures were very informative, interesting and entertaining. He was organized and had a thorough grasp of the material.He also welcomed questions and always gave in depth answers to those questions. His multi-choice exams were quite tricky, though. Great job. I highly recommend him.

He's a very good lecturer. If you do like history, you will like his class and his lectures. Three exams in a semester, but all of those exams were very difficult. Be very careful of the first exam because it would be extremely difficult and would effect your final average GPA. He's a fair grader, but I think that he didn't curve at all. Just observe the performance of our grades, and beware of his explanation of the way he's grading... Sometimes he didn't stick the words he said in class about the grading system he mentioned in class. Overall, his class was a lot of fun.

I actually had the pleasure of taking Dr. Dreyfuss' classes while attending CSUH. I'm now persuing my master's degree at SFSU and heard him lecturing in a classroom while I was walking down the hall. He is so knowledgeable and interesting, that I found myself sitting outside the door and inconspicuously listening in for 10 minutes before I realized what I was doing!! He is that good.

Dreyfus is a very knowledgable and humorous professor. I consider myself fairly knowledgable about U.S. labor history but I found myself always leaving the class full of interesting and insightful stuff that I hadn't come across or thought of before. His class consisted of a couple of book reviews, an in-class mid-term and a take home final, all weighted equally. Everything was pretty straightforward and with good notes anybody should be able to swing at least a "B".

Dr. Philip Dreyfus is undoubtedly one of the most knowledgeable and most humorous teachers that I have met during my years of pursuing education. I do enjoy attending his wonderful class and litsening to his famous saying: "Eat the corn, drink the whisky, have a rabbit, and take a nap."

Dreyfus has been given a rather difficult assignment: He is to teach forty students with varying english skills the entire history of the United States - in one semester. He is doing a great job. He obviously knows very much about History, and is able to answer the weirdest questions satisfactorily. Dreyfus has a way of talking about historical people and events as if they happened in his backyard right before he went to work. He'll not only teach you what happened, he will explain the motivations of the parties involved and the situation surrounding them, and at the end of class you will remember it. He uses funny and simplistic (bordering on infantile) examples, and his class is never boring. In order to squeeze 30.000 years of native American, and 500 years of Euro-/Afro-American history into a few months, he has made priorities. To me it seems that he has made the right choices. I am left with a feeling that I actually know some things about U.S. History, and with a desire to know even more.