ARTH 2491

I do not recommend wasting your time with this class. Even though I am very interested in photography, I found lecture to be a waste of time because Prof. Raymond wouldn't show us the names of the photo titles or photographers' names that we needed to know for the exams. She just wanted us to focus on the images. This made lecture a waste of time because she was expecting us to have the photo titles and photographers memorized, but I didn't know how to spell any of the necessary information. Also, don't bother asking her any questions because she will make you feel stupid for asking. She acts as though you're wasting her time by asking her questions - both in person and through email. I disliked Prof. Raymond's teaching style to much I had to drop the class.

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. I don't care if you like photography or if Art History is your thing. Don't take it. This class may potentially ruin photography for you. Professor Raymond is a strange one and is not a good professor at all. She's not very approachable and gives boring lectures. Really boring lectures. I fell asleep during many lectures and half of our class never came for them. But seeing as she takes attendance and it's part of your grade, you're kind of forced to attend the boring lectures. She also typically assumes you are stupid and usually only believes her interpretations are the right ones. If you open your mouth in class, there's a good chance you may get shot down if you don't say exactly what she's looking for.
In terms of the photographs she chooses, it seems that she really only shows you the ones she likes. And in class she'll have you record the name of the Powerpoint, but won't have any titles, dates, or photographers, displayed for the photographs. She'll tell you this information for you to copy down when she puts up a picture, but you better write quickly. And she usually gets it wrong, so you have to go on Collab to find the true titles of the photos. And for her midterm and final, she'll expect you to memorize all those titles, dates, and photographers and will then only quiz you on about 25 or so (but you don't know which ones). She has you write 2 papers during the semester and gives group work at the end of every class on the readings. The class is low-key really difficult and it's not worth the work. She's also weird about showing nude photography in class (even though she did the whole semester).

If you love or have any appreciation for art, don't take this class.

This course definitely might seem a little dry for anyone without a background in art history. All the photos are great and I learned things I didn't know from before, but Professor Raymond is vague both in her assignment descriptions and her grading. there is focusing on a few specific concepts throughout the course that aren't very easy to understand (partly because of the textbook and partly because of her explanations) but you can muddle through. the two papers are pretty easy. the midterm and the final both require a lot of studying for slide ID, which again isn't awful for someone with an art history background but is awful if you don't. a ridiculous amount of the class (fifty percent) didn't show up to lectures even though they were required. it's not a difficult class and you can get an A, but you have to take notes on the concepts she lectures on because you won't get them anywhere else.

I really loved this class. Claire Raymond is extremely informed on the subject. The lectures were very straight to the point and it's a good idea to take a lot of notes, because those will be your study materials. It can be dry, but if you love photography you'll find the lectures and material to be very interesting. Raymond can come off as condescending, but it's mostly because no one in my class ever participated.