Elsworth Ray

Dr. Ray is a knowledgeable, engaging professor. I really enjoyed his class and learned a lot.

The other reviewers are right, except that I never felt intimidated to ask questions, on the occasions that they came up. Usually, though, he covers the material well enough that not many questions will be necessary.

Classes are PowerPoint-driven, making it easy to tell what you should be writing down.

He will make the subject matter fun. You will need to do your part by studying for the tests. A couple of 2-3 hour study sessions should be about all you need for each of the 2 midterms and the final. Yes, you'll have to memorize stuff, but try to get the main idea, not just the facts. You'll do better that way.

I loved his sense of humor, and most of my classmates seemed to appreciate it as well. Wry and cynical, and he does it like a pro.

He helped me to figure out which classes to come to in his other section when I had to miss a couple days for a trip, so I think that's pretty cool.

I talked to him in his office hours and after class and he's got lots to say. Also a good person to talk to if you're considering Anthropology as a major.

I'm not an Anthropology student, but this class was actually more fun then I expected. It did have a lot of memmorization and boring information, but the professor managed to make it a little fun. He lectures way too fast though, and it's hard to keep up. The tests are pretty easy, but do require some studying. There's no homework and no projects, so that's good. Overall, it was a pretty good class.

Two midterms, one final. No homework. It is possible to get by in this class just showing up for lecture and never opening the book (though it will really help you to have the diagrams in the book when studying). The tests are pretty challenging and are mostly short answer, fill in the blanks, diagrams, and essays. You will not do well if you wait to cram the night before the exam because there is a lot of memorization involved. The class focues on: evolution, primate groups (you'll spend a LOT of time identifying different kinds of primates), as well as various species of extinct hominids (a.k.a. cave men). Professor Ray uses a laptop and a projector, so his notes are clear and concise with lots of pictures and examples. He shows a couple of movies, too. If you are mildly entertained by the Discovery Channel you should do just fine in this class but you will do much better if you actually take an interest in the material.

Professor Ray reminded me of Dr. Brown from "Back to the Future." He is a wonderfully hilarious and cynical man. He thinks everyone in the class is only there to fulfill a GE (which is, for the most part, true). Funny as hell, in a dark kind of way. If you are a highly-religious or sensitive person, you might not like his style. He can be pretty sarcastic at times, so you should take him with a grain of salt. Don't expect him to do you any favors. Also, I don't recommend asking questions in class. This is a huge lecture-style class and he likes to roll along without interruption. Not to scare you, though. I really enjoyed the class, and was highly entertained by Professor Ray.