Lucas, Nancy  

I thought she was a man-hater, maybe I hated her, who knows? She gave me the evil eye one day. I was a mess that semester and she's a tough-old-broad anyway, so we were like oil & vinegar (she was the vinegar though).

NAncy lucas, althougha very sweet woman does not allow her students to think creatively at all. Most of the peopel I've talked to (and I agree with them), say that she won't allow you to "think outside the box." She has definite ideals about what is right and wrong, and so grades people poorly based upon what she thinks they SHOULD have done, not on what they did. Interesting topics should be avoided as something outside of her own private scope will most likely be graded harshly. Despite all of this, if you do EXACTLY as she says and do not stray from conventional thought and pay attention to everything she tells you to do, it shoul dbe fairly easy to get a grade in the class, although learning anyhting may be difficult.

Dr. Lucas comes off as a sweet person, but behind that facade she is a narrow minded individual.She has "her way" of presenting the material and if you do not agree with her view, you risk getting a bad grade. She does not like to be challenged by her students.

The people who evaluated Lucas before me must have gotten her before she lost her ability to teach. Out of every core class I have taken, Lucas is by far the worst one. She was uninspiring and did not promote any sort of intelligent discussions. I dreaded going to this class every single day, and I am an English major. Here are some of the things she did over the course of this quarter: 1.) She came in late to the one midterm of the class. She claims she forgot what time our class was, but we had been taking it for 5 weeks at the same time. 2.) Even though she was 30 minutes late, she didn't give us anymore time to work on the midterms. A bunch of people got D's. 3.) Having gotten a D on the midterm, I went into the office to talk to her. She looked at it for 5 minutes, said I didn't deserve a D, so she gave me a C-. She claimed that she had to grade them fast, and that she didn't really read mine thoroughly. Definitely not the things you want to hear from your professor. She is a nice person, but avoid her at all costs. She has grown senile and lost the passion to teach.

I'm an English major as well. I think part of the problem may be with the Core itself. I like the concept of the Core. Chronologically take us through the history of English Lit. Right on. That's pretty cool. Except, we may need more than 10 weeks to cover 125 years of literature...BOTH British and American. Wow. That sounds psychotic. It was psychotic. Dude. I'm now responsible for late Victorian through Contemporary lit on two continents. I've got "Howl" all mixed up with "The Lake Isle of Innisfree." It's like Grandma's Leftover Soup Puree--boil a bit of this and that then run it through the food processor. Who can tell carrot from cauliflower? It's mushy vegetables with a coriander base. It must be lunchtime. Lucas. I think she's over it. She's semi-retired. And she's got the impossible task of basically reviewing 250 years of lit in a quarter. Come on English Department--get real. Even the most attentive, energetic, organized professor couldn't swing a survey of this proportion. I think the last three cores need to be restructured. It seems like Kann, Hampsey, and Lucas are just as overwhelmed as the students. If they don't have a handle on the material how can we do well? I'm hearing a lot of frustration from fellow students. I feel it too.

I took this class in 1997, and still remember what a great experience it was. Nancy is very knowledgable and excited about British Victorian literature. I'm not even a lib arts major, but enjoyed it! Ms. Lucas remembered me 2-3 years after I'd taken her class. She is fun and smart. You will have to work in her class and do the reading, but it's worth it. I highly recommend her for ENGL 334.

Dr. Lucas is a lively and exciting professor. Yet she also stays on topic and delves into many deeper issues that ring around in your head for hours after class. I looked forward to her class every day; partially because of her teaching, but also because of the class discussions she promotes. I would highly recommend her to any non-english majors (I've heard she's hard on them), who want an engaging and thought provoking class.

It is evident that she understands the material and she really cares for her students. This is the second class I've had with her and I recommend her to anyone. She is flexible and willing to work with you if you have scheduling problems or issues with the class. This quarter I've found her to be way more sympathetic to non majors - she has cut the long paper out and instead you only have to write two short papers (3 pages). If you keep up with the reading, come to class and can write a decent essay, you should easily pull off an A or B.

Dr. Lucas is a wonderful teacher who creates a fun atmosphere for her class. I was not particularly interested in modern lit before taking this class, and it is still not my favorite. However, Dr. Lucas presented the material in a way that made sense- I actually enjoyed her class and was sad when I missed it. She is a difficult teacher, but she is willing to work with you if you are having problems.

Non-English majors- beware! I would avoid this teacher if you are not an English oriented student. Lucas grades and expects her students to analyze literature and write essays like an english major. This is a general ed class... and Lucas forgets that we all aren't talented stellar writers. She also grades down if you don't agree with her interpretation of text, which defeats the purpose of learning the text. Lucas was boring and the class was definately a drag, avoid it if you can.

this was one of the few classes that i looked forward too last semester. i thought the discussions were more very interesting, and yes she is oppinionated in her views of the texts, but she is not closed minded to other views. prof lucas has a great personality and loves literature, and if you do not then don't take the class, but she is more than flexible in my oppinion with the sylibus. she was frequently absent last quarter as well...

I enjoyed Dr. Lucas's lecture material and the stories and poems we read in the class, just don't expect to be able to think for yourself about the course material. It's based on "her way or the highway" and she offers no positive feedback what-so-ever on any questions you may have. She also makes it required to speak in class about the homework; which would be great if she didn't openly shoot down students' honest attempts to interpret the poetry. If you want a decent grade, make sure to regurgitate her opinions ONLY and forget about your own talents as a writer.

Lucas was a good teacher, but the readings were pretty boring and if your the type of person who likes to miss class,then she's NOT the one for you. She takes role practically every period and she also gives many pop quizzes. The great thing about this course was that it filled the GWR requirement as long as you got a C in the class and submitted a good piece of writing which came from the two midterms. Overall, I'd recommend this class unless you have a tendancy to skip.

DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT take this evil professor. You will learn nothing in her class because she is horrible at teaching. She was no help whatsoever in office hours. The reading will just be a whole bunch of bs pushing her narrow minded agenda. You will fail unless you say what she wants to her. She will not recognize whether students are having difficulty even if they tell her they are having difficulty. DO NOT take any class she is teaching for GWR credit because you will only have two chances total to attempt it. She also pretends we're in grade school and takes roll every class. She is a disgrace to Cal Poly.

Interesting class, in a good way. The stories, poems, and essays were all very interesting (some rather disturbing). Dr. Lucas is fun; she is really into the reading material and tells hilarious random stories. She really gets you to think about women's place in society and how writing reflects that, among other things. Tough midterm and final essays. Good teacher, interesting class. I would take it again.

English 345: Women Writers Of The 20th Century. Definitely the class I was dreading taking, being a guy and not being an English major. However, I must say I was pleasantly surprised. Granted, I couldn't relate to about half of the subject matter, simply because I don't have a uterus or haven't given birth, but it was definitely a good class. Some of the readings are a bit tedious and annoying, but overall, as long as you do a decent job of skimming the material and show up to class, you'll do fine. Just pay attention during the discussions and participate every once in awhile. Oh, and when in doubt about a reading, it has to do with lesbians.

I am NOT an English major and I hate taking english classes, having said that...I thought this class was easy. You do have to show up to class everyday and read the assignments (which I actually liked) b/c she calls role or will give a quiz. There are four in class essays in order to give you a chance to pass the GWR along with a group project (super easy you just have to teach the class about a reading that was assigned). I do not think of myself as a good writer, but I passed the GWR with the first essay and got good grades on the other 3 also. She is a VERY interesting teacher (and funny)and she includes the students in the class discusion, we usually sat in a circle and just talked all period. I would recomend this class to anyone who needs the GE/GWR and is not big into english classes.

She rocks. First off, let me say I'm a guy. I left most of the classes feeling inspired to break the shackles of society and be who I really am despite the expectations of others! So if you're thinking you're a guy so why would you take this, get over it and take the class. If you're like me you innitially decided to take the class because it's a C4, GWR, USCP class all in one! She really creates a good atmosphere for discussion. I'm not the type to talk in class, but I actually found myself talking just about every class. One thing I will say about her is that she's a TOUGH grader. Especially on the quizzes you'll have probably about 75% of classes (so don't miss class!) My most importnat criteria for a good class however.. is whether I look forward to, or dread the class.. I definitely looked forward to her class 4 days a week so take her!!!!

I agree she had most definitely lost her ability to teach. She is a senile old woman with almost no short term memory left. Although her lectures were interesting because of her off color character, the grading scale was a mystery to everyone including her. She had no idea the percentage of any of the pojects or tests and relied on her husband to calculate the grades. Her grading was inconsistant to say the least. She has her favorites - if your not one of hte 'chosen ones' i recommend getting out of the class ASAP. She is not worth the headache.

I walked into this class with excitement, and I left with dissapointment. My biggest problem with Dr. Lucas is that she is so inconsistent when it comes to grading. Through the class, you have three in-class essay attempts to pass GWR, plus the final. And they are only 50 minutes long! Dr. Lucas wants to hear her opinion throughout your paper. She wants to hear her thoughts on the work regurgitated in your essay. I'm an English major, and sometimes I don't neccessarily interpret a work the same as my professor. But with Dr. Lucas, you really can't have your own opinion. She thinks its "not quite the right idea". Her lectures are okay, but I didn't really learn anything new. Overall, I wouldn't recommend Dr. Lucas to anyone who wants to write about their OWN opinions.

When you think you have nancy all figured out, you dont. She doesnt even know what she wants. Grading is inconsistant, she doesnt ever rememeber what she has already taught so she repeats herself all the time and basically the class is a waste. Not a big fan of lucas. The only plus is for guys because there is an abundance of hot chicks in this class

Reading these evaluations of Nancy Lucas makes me sad. It is hard to believe these comments, and I wonder how these students can be so insensitive and selfish. I was originally a biology major and because of Nancy Lucas, I went on to graduate school in English and now have both an MA and PhD in English. An essay I originally wrote in Nancy's class is now a book-length memoir. My teaching career and my path as a writer were discovered because of Nancy Lucas. I wish the mean comments would be removed from this rating system. They are unfair.

To the idiot below: Did you notice that your evaluation of this professor is based mostly on your own shortcomings as a student? You don't have to be an English major to write adequately or to analyze a text appropriately. Congratulations, you're a shining example of Cal Poly's other motto: "Blame the professor."

Taking this instructor is like being in a Twilight Zone episode. You just can