John J. Glanville

Dr. Glanville simply brings you up in his consciousness and allows you to really see with exactitude and meaning all that is to know about ancient history of philosophy. This man is sublime!

taken in Spring 2000. This man is in his later years, which means he has has decades to ponder and reflect on his field, and it shows. As regards ancient and medieval thought, this man has an interpretation or opinion about everything. He literally knows every sentence of Plato, Aristotle, Plotinuns, St. Augustine, etc. in their original Greek ir Latin renditions. As an absolute authority in his field he's very critical even of the textbooks and translations he assigns; he continually corrects and revises what other experts have to say on the subjetc AND MANAGES TO INCLUDE HIS STUDENTS IN THIS PROCESS.It seems his mission is to enable students in philosophizing rather than merely reading and remembering abou medieval philosophy.

I am just a tad bit confused by the critiques I have just read. Glanville shamed me from the very beginning of his course. Not only was he blatantly rude to ALL of the students (even his pets, which he most definately had) but he was so pompous that he expected all students to bow to him. Yes, Glanville is old, and this does attribute to his disrespect to the students. It is obvious he was taught in a day where you greatly respected your professorts, regaradless of your personal opinion of them. However, he needs to modernize himself a little bit. Not only is it 2001, but considering that we are in SF, you would think he would be a tad bit liberal.

Glanville had an enthusiasm for the subject as well as great command. However, he failed to respect and engage his students enough so that they gained something from his knowledge. I left the class being revolted by the subject matter, philosophy as a whole, and especially GLANVILLE. As a philosophy and religious studies major, I am absolutely ashamed to have a man who is so damn RUDE be teaching at SF State. I don't care if the man in Jesus, if you feel your students are nothing more than a horses ass find yourself a new job.

Yes, I did learn a lot from this class but I would have liked to have learned more from a more talented instructor. Glanville, BITE ME!

Dr. Glanville is the most erudite person I've ever met. It's been nearly four years now since I had a class with him, and I still reflect on the things he taught me. I still chuckle in awe at his amazing lectures.

The man is a living encyclopedia. I kept thinking, "What is a teacher of this caliber doing at a school like this?" If you want a clear and detailed understanding of a complex subject, take this class. The work is hard, but well worth it.

Glanville has been know to blow his top in class, but not wihout provocation. To see him tear into some bonehead frat or sorority type is truly delicious.

If you have any interest whatsoever in the subject of philosophy, Professor Glanville will fuel that interest, and make you want to know more. Although at first glance his essay tests look incredibly difficult, he is a fair grader. While he expects good answers in "your best English", he does not expect expert answers. He is an expert in his field, and if you are patient with him, you should get a lot out of his class. Professor Glanville is able to weave the philosophical story using history, linguistics, current attitudes, psychology, and philosophy.

This professor is a treasure trove of the foundations of Philosophy, from the pre-socratics, through medieval Philosophy. He is also one of the last of the true gentlemen. If he gets short with someone because of a misunderstanding, he will be the first to admit when he has made a mistake and he will apologize. He tries always to be sensitive to the feelings of his sudents and is very generous with his time (but don't bother him while he is setting up for class. He has a routine that he follows and it stresses him when this is interupted since he wants to start class on time). He ALWAYS takes roll, so it pays to always be present. Professor Glanville always grades fairly. There is no guessing; if you take careful notes and review them after class, do all the reading assignments, and apply yourself to your written exams and papers, giving sound warrants and grounds and coming to valid conclusions, you can be sure of an "A". This assumes that you know how to form paragraphs and have reasonably good composition skills. If at the start of the semester, you tell this professor that you are a serious student and wish to earn an "A" in his subject, he will take you seriously and try to help you over any difficult spots you may encounter, but in the end it's up to you. I like it when I can predict my own grade based on the effort I expend. You never have to be afraid of subjective grading in any of Glanville's classes. gives you what you really earn. He is consistant so you know where you stand in his classes. You alone control your final grade. I wish I could say that with all of my past instructors. True, I have a 4.0 GPA, but I nearly had to kill myself with overwork in some instructors classes. Some of them seemed to think that theirs was your ONLY class, so they would load it on.

Professor Glanville always puts more on his syllabus than he is able to complete because loves his subject so much that he gets carried away with making it clear to all of the students. By the time the semester is over though, you have such a solid foundation that you can breeze right through the remainder of what he didn't cover on your own.

I highly recommend this Professor. Not only can you learn a lot from him, but you can earn the grade you choose (povided you have established good study habits and keep your goal in sight).

especially sfsu students want their course work fed to them, their idea handed neatly on a platter, and their philosophy delivered in a neat little package. those tiny few who actually desire to learn in college, be challenged by some of the most difficult problems which centuries even millenia have struggled over, who want to experience a teacher who actually knows more than the textbook... they will appreciate dr. glanville. students such as the other two who wrote shameful critiques of perhaps the most intelligent teacher in the csu system, well go take a walking or basket-weaving class

He claimed to have given some vital information in the lecture, but the whole class did not agree. Could the whole class be wrong or did Glannville teach one too many philosophy courses? I think he got confused with another class he taught at another time and in the same place. It gets confusing after one has taught so long. He gave a homework assignment and half the class failed to do it correctly. Somehow I got a B because I knew what he wanted to hear and that's what I wrote.

This man is ancient!! Although i don't really have any authority to rate his teaching style ( I dropped the class after 1 week) I can say that he was very monotonous and OLD. Not that being old in and of itself is so bad, but he was so monotonous i had trouble staying awake in his class. If you like lively, interactive instructors, i don't think you should take this class.