Professor

John Duncan

AD
4.3
Overall Ratings
Based on 33 Users
Easiness 2.5 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Workload 2.4 / 5 How light the workload is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Clarity 4.2 / 5 How clear the professor is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Helpfulness 4.3 / 5 How helpful the professor is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

Reviews (33)

2 of 2
2 of 2
Add your review...
Dec. 16, 2015
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A

I took Korea 50 with Duncan, as a disclaimer.

A very, very easy GE class if all you do is read the material religiously and go to discussion.

The way he designed the course was very good and it gave me a general idea of Korean history even though he himself said it didn't paint the whole picture of the subject.

Class consists of readings, discussions, and the exams are T/F, matching terms, and short essays of at least 3 key subjects. Very simple, just do the reading.

I rarely went to class after the midterm and got an A, that's how easy this class is.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Dec. 21, 2018
Quarter: Fall 2018
Grade: B

Taking this class with Professor Duncan was a bad experience overall. He has a very soft voice so he uses a microphone, but he mumbles into it so it's still difficult to hear. His voice stayed monotonous throughout every single lecture throughout its entire duration. His lectures were disengaging and very boring. The material was interesting, but the way Duncan presented it was flat and often confusing. Half of the class stopped showing up to lectures by the fifth week, and many of the students who did show up either fell asleep or did not pay attention (which I guess isn't entirely Duncan's fault). He used slides, but they provided hardly any information, and more often than not they were not relevant to the big picture idea. The photographs he showed on the slides were always horribly pixelated and poor quality.
He also assigned way too much reading per week. I'm pretty sure no one read everything he assigned. He would assign about 2-3 chapters from the textbooks and about 10-20 pages of extra reading from pdfs he chose that went more in depth. Some students said the textbook was unnecessary, but I relied on the textbook only. I read all of the chapters to prepare for the final, because I walked out of every lecture not having learned anything.
As for the discussions, participation and attendance matters. It's impossible to participate if you don't know what's going on, so try not to fall behind.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Dec. 27, 2018
Quarter: Fall 2018
Grade: A+

Dr. Duncan was a nice and approachable professor, and it was awesome getting to take a class with one of the leading scholars in Korean history. The lectures weren't super interesting, but I left the class with a solid foundation in Korean history and current events. Readings are super important, and they will pretty much determine your grade in this class!

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Jan. 10, 2019
Quarter: Fall 2018
Grade: N/A

Highly recommend this class and Professor Duncan. He's a really great guy and is very passionate about this subject. He gives interesting lectures and the class isn't very difficult to get an A in as long as you show up to lectures and discussions.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Feb. 28, 2019
Quarter: Fall 2018
Grade: A+

As long as you pay attention in lecture and read the textbook, the exams in the class are very straightfoward and Professor Duncan will lead you through possible essay questions. However it is sorta hard to hear him very well during class so sitting at the front would be the best idea. The hw is a little bit annoying to do but if you read the chapters, it shouldn't be that hard to come up with 3 questions a week.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
EA STDS 99
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
Dec. 16, 2015

I took Korea 50 with Duncan, as a disclaimer.

A very, very easy GE class if all you do is read the material religiously and go to discussion.

The way he designed the course was very good and it gave me a general idea of Korean history even though he himself said it didn't paint the whole picture of the subject.

Class consists of readings, discussions, and the exams are T/F, matching terms, and short essays of at least 3 key subjects. Very simple, just do the reading.

I rarely went to class after the midterm and got an A, that's how easy this class is.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
KOREA 50
Quarter: Fall 2018
Grade: B
Dec. 21, 2018

Taking this class with Professor Duncan was a bad experience overall. He has a very soft voice so he uses a microphone, but he mumbles into it so it's still difficult to hear. His voice stayed monotonous throughout every single lecture throughout its entire duration. His lectures were disengaging and very boring. The material was interesting, but the way Duncan presented it was flat and often confusing. Half of the class stopped showing up to lectures by the fifth week, and many of the students who did show up either fell asleep or did not pay attention (which I guess isn't entirely Duncan's fault). He used slides, but they provided hardly any information, and more often than not they were not relevant to the big picture idea. The photographs he showed on the slides were always horribly pixelated and poor quality.
He also assigned way too much reading per week. I'm pretty sure no one read everything he assigned. He would assign about 2-3 chapters from the textbooks and about 10-20 pages of extra reading from pdfs he chose that went more in depth. Some students said the textbook was unnecessary, but I relied on the textbook only. I read all of the chapters to prepare for the final, because I walked out of every lecture not having learned anything.
As for the discussions, participation and attendance matters. It's impossible to participate if you don't know what's going on, so try not to fall behind.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
KOREA 50
Quarter: Fall 2018
Grade: A+
Dec. 27, 2018

Dr. Duncan was a nice and approachable professor, and it was awesome getting to take a class with one of the leading scholars in Korean history. The lectures weren't super interesting, but I left the class with a solid foundation in Korean history and current events. Readings are super important, and they will pretty much determine your grade in this class!

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
KOREA 50
Quarter: Fall 2018
Grade: N/A
Jan. 10, 2019

Highly recommend this class and Professor Duncan. He's a really great guy and is very passionate about this subject. He gives interesting lectures and the class isn't very difficult to get an A in as long as you show up to lectures and discussions.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
KOREA 50
Quarter: Fall 2018
Grade: A+
Feb. 28, 2019

As long as you pay attention in lecture and read the textbook, the exams in the class are very straightfoward and Professor Duncan will lead you through possible essay questions. However it is sorta hard to hear him very well during class so sitting at the front would be the best idea. The hw is a little bit annoying to do but if you read the chapters, it shouldn't be that hard to come up with 3 questions a week.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
2 of 2
ADS

Adblock Detected

Bruinwalk is an entirely Daily Bruin-run service brought to you for free. We hate annoying ads just as much as you do, but they help keep our lights on. We promise to keep our ads as relevant for you as possible, so please consider disabling your ad-blocking software while using this site.

Thank you for supporting us!