Call, Lewis  

I guess he gives boring lectures if you're not a liberal arts person (I am), but doesn't take attendance so feel free to miss a class. What makes this class/him good is how easy of a grader he is. For any class he is probably the same way. Hist 111 is one 4 page paper, one midterm, and a final. Reading is assigned but skim at most; no quizzes on it. For the paper, he feels students should be able to use "I" in their writing, and isnt anti-wikipedia, so research is easy. Also, anything discussed in class is considered "common knowledge" and doesn't need to be cited in the paper, which again makes things easy. He will also grade a rough draft if you do one. For the midterm and final, he covers ALOT of information in class, but gives you a study guide and lets you choose between essay or multiple choice, but go with essay b/c he gives you possible prompts in advance. And again he is a favorable grader. So what matters/why you're reading this evaluation: not a class that takes up a lot time and is most certain A/B.

Call is awesome. He is such a genuine guy who really cares about his students. He doesn't take roll, so attendance isn't mandatory, but his lectures are actually pretty cool. You can tell he loves what he's teaching. There's one paper (20 points) and two exams (40 each). The second exam (the "final") is cumulative with a heavier focus on the material after the first exam. You have the option of taking a multiple choice version or an essay version and he gives you the essay options beforehand. I'd definitely say take this class with Call. I learned a lot and he graded very fairly. Oh and random fact: he LOVES Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Dr.Call was a really nice guy and his class was very easy. His notes were always very clear and organized and his tests were very fair. He was very helpful during office hours and approachable during class time as well. Overall this was a great class and professor, my only reccomendation is to keep up on the readings throughout the quarter because there is a lot of them, and they are really important on the final and midterm.

Dr. Call is a really fun teacher. He has an interesting voice to listen to, and it helps you pay attention in class. He also goes very in depth into interesting facts about what he is teaching about, that most professors wouldn't teach about. There are 2 tests and one paper. He also gives you an option to take a multiple choice test or a written test. I struggled in this class a little bit, but only because I didn't go to class as often as I should have. Go to class and take good notes, because his tests are mostly based on his lectures. Also, he has quite a few questions about the first hand sources from the book, so make sure you read those and are prepared for them to be on the test!

Don't take this professor for History 111. There are only 3 assignments (a short paper, a ridiculously difficult midterm and a final exam just like the midterm). If you think you can do well on all 3 assignments, go for it. Otherwise, your GPA will suffer. If you do poorly on the midterm, you might as well quit then and there. There is no chance of redeeming yourself on the final...I mean, it would take a miracle. Oh how I regret taking this class. As for the teacher, his lectures are calm, tends to be super boring and never lets class out early unless your face shows that you're dying of boredom, in which case he'll let class out 2 minutes early.

Dr. Call is a great professor and I would recomend his class to anyone. His interpretation of events in history will be much different than any interpretation you have ever heard, so be prepared for a real eye-opener of a class. He makes every day enjoyable by playing music from popular bands that pertain to historical events, and as for the water bottle- yes he does have one always in his hand but I sat right in front and never really heard any distinct sucking noise. A real plus in his class is that he gives you the option of taking an essay form or multiple choice form of the mid-terms and finals, and the questions arn't that difficult if you pay attention in lecture.

Dr. Call is a very smart man. He relays his information very clearly. However, his tests are EXTREMELY wordy and detailed. A good memory will get you a B, an excellent memory will get you an A.

If you want to work your butt off, take this class. The first test was really hard and very detailed. He gives an option of scantron or essay...they are both equally hard. I am an A student, and got a C on my first two tests. I had to go talk to him about it and he wasn't very good at listening to what I had to say. He is a radical, so if you like that view take the class! Otherwise...avoid if possible.

Call is a character- a total radical!!! He starts every class with an mp3 (from rage against the machine to no doubt to janis joplin...)that introduces the theme to that day's lecture. He always stresses the conservative/liberal/ radical side to every topic brought up- with a blatanly obvious favoritism for the radical. Lectures are interesting but very long, so you can get tired really easily. He's always on time and jams every minute he has. If the class votes on a five minute break, I guarantee he'll use the time to eat his apple.

I took Both Modern History and American History from Lewis Call. I tried to add other professors classes, and found I was very happy not to have gotten in because Calls classes are so engaging, passionate and informative. Both classes felt like enlightenment correcting the teaching of K-12, where America never did wrong. Knowing and learning from past mistakes is how we will learn to never repeat them. Call worked very hard to put together source documentation through history to show truth: biographies, copies of propaganda, declassified documentation. I took his classes in 1999, and occassionally pull out the matterial. My children use it for their school projects. For testing he offered a multiple choice/scantron, or an essay question. He gave 5 questions to study and he would pick one on the day of the test. He also provided a study guide for the scantron test.

Dr. Call understands the material well enough to teach it, but his teaching style is really hard to accept. He walks around the room with an open water bottle or a cup of coffee and pretends he really drinks it. His lectures are a bore, and the reading he assigns is expensive to buy and understand. I wouldn't recommend him as a teacher. Oh yeah, our class average on the midterm was a D. So...just remember, if you take him, go to class all the time, because he sort of explains the readings during his lecture.

Overall, I liked Dr Call's class. Yes, the reading is a bit much. I wish I hadnt bought it, as I didn't do any of the reading after the midterm. I found that listening to him in class, I got most of the major concepts from the reading. His lectures can tend to get a little boring, but Dr. Call is a nice guy. He encourages discussion, even if it has conflicting ideas from his own. If you raise your hand and participate in the lecture, you won't get bored, and you'll learn a lot more. This class' grade was only based on a midterm (40%) short essay (10%) and final (50%). You can choose either essay or multiple choice for the tests.

Dr. Call knows a lot about the stuff that he teaches. He gives a lot of readings and 90% of your grade is two tests. He did curve quite a bit, but he might not be so generous in the future, since this was the first time the class was ever offered, He gives the option of multiple choice or essay on the tests, but both are hard. The guy is funny in class - he starts class with a song and always presents the "radical views" on his topics. There is barely any homewrok in this class, but do the important readings, otherwise he'll nail ya on the tests. If you can deal with the reading take this for a GE - dr. call makes lecture fun.

The man is truly a character!!! As others have stated he knows a LOT about the subject and is really good about answering questions. I couldn't stay awake during the lectures though because they were straight from an overhead projector and it was the same day in and day out. He's very impersonable and doesn't know anybody's name. There was a LOT of reading which was very hard to understand. The tests were difficult and the class averages for the midterm was about a D-. I got a D+ in the class and I thought that good.

Dr. Call is a breath of fresh air at this university. Instead of simply repeating old facts like a bored high school teacher, he actually engages students in his discussions. His politics are a little radical for this area, but it is refreshing to hear a professor who has actually researched the topic he is teaching. The class is not easy, the tests are quite difficult and I highly recommend attending all lectures for that reason. The curve helps, but I felt I was lucky to escape with a C. If you're looking for a challenge and for someone who is not afraid to present material in a different light, I highly recommend Dr. Call.

First off, Dr. Call RULES! Incredibly smart man concerning any and all subject matters. Definetly has his radical beliefs (I believe he's an anarchist), but this doesn't interfere with providing a undistorted picture. Don't be scared away by the title of this class: Modern Political Economy. It's more like a history of economies, from hunter and gatherers to the mass media and terrorism. Incredibly intellectually stimulating without being too hard. I attended all the lectures but did far from all the reading and got an "A." I highly recommend him to anyone who's the slightest bit interested in the subject!

Dr. Call is an okay teacher if you LOVE and I mean LOVE the history of economics and all it's confusion mumbo jumbo. I worked my butt off in this class and still failed. I read most of the readings that he gave us which was like 30+ pages a night which was REALLY boring with very small print. I spent $170 dollars on his books alone. His grading criteria is impossible.....50% final, 40% midterm, and 10% essay. First of all, he does not explain the tests or essay thoroughly enough. He gives you a few sample problems for the midterm and final and then two essay options for the essay. When he grades all essays, he doesn't explain why he gave you what he did, he just writes the score. He does give you an option to choose scantron or essay form for the tests and when I read polyratings for this guy...a lot of people suggested the scantron because it would be the easiest.....well it's NOT. Choose the essay portion. It is going to be more work and study preparation but at least you can argue a point on an essay which you cannot do for a multiple choice scantron. For the essay portion he gives you five essay questions and then he will choose one randomly from that five and that is what you will write your essay on. So yes....you basically have to prepare for all five essays since you do not know which one he is going to choose. It was only a 50 minute class.....Thank God because his voice is so distinct and annoying...believe me.....you'll see if you dare take him. Plus he always brings a cup of coffee and a disgusting, overused, crunched water bottle which he sips back and forth throughout class. He does ask frequently if you have any questions but I felt so intimidated throughout the whole quarter. Mostly what he said was really confusing and even when I would go to his office hours for help I still didn't understand the concepts. I don't know if I am just not cut out for Modern Poilitical Economy but I do know that I need a professor who is willing to be clear, concise, and patient and who doesn't want to see one of their students fail. The word teacher has the word "TEACH" in it and Dr. Call did not teach me. I took good notes, read his required readings, studied in groups, went to his office hours, and even asked him what else I could do to improve. He told me I was doing everything right. Well, I guess I wasn't because now I must re-take the course. But never, never again with Dr. Call.

Professor Call is the coolest teacher I've had at Cal Poly. His knowledge is very impressive and his socialist-anarchist ideas are even better. He really opened my eyes to a lot of really interesting reading material, as well as ideas. The class is pretty straight-forward, you pretty much just read out of the course reader every week, and occasionally from a text book. There's one short paper that's nothing to sweat, and then there's a midterm and a final. For both you get to choose between multiple choice or an essay test. I would recommend the multiple choice, I thought it was pretty fair, and I've heard it's easier than preparing for 7 different essay topics and then writing on one that he chooses. Yay for Prof. Call!

Lewis Call is the worst teacher I have ever had. Period. I don't know who all these people giving him rave reviews are, but he's not the same man I'm taking at 10am every morning. Any interest I had in learning about the political economy of the wold has been completely killed by this class. To begin with, his lecturing style is completely ridiculous. He talks as if he were reading out of an encyclopedia. The goal of a professor is not to use as many words as he can in a sentence, it's to teach his students something. Prof Call doesn't speak English. And his "song of the day" interpretations are about stupidest things I've ever heard. CAKE knows NOTHING and cares NOTHING about communism. Rock and roll lifestyle is bubblegum rock, get over it. And he actually admitted to writing for an anarchist publication. This guy is a dork. Don't take this class, I have been miserable for weeks. I want my money back.

This teacher is friggin hard. He is interesting and definately knows his stuff, but he lectures about a mile a minute and he uses giant words that no body understands. His grading consists of a paper worth 10%, a midterm worth 40%, and a final worth 50%. So if you bomb one, your screwed. He makes you buy a book that is simply zerox's of other books and charges you like 70 dollars for it, I was able to sell mine back for 2 dollars. Ohh and dont even think his tests are easy either. I studying my ass off, and look at the grade i ended up with.

This guy is tight. If you are not interested in learning, you probably wont like him, because he puts forth an amazing amount of material for you to digest. He really knows what he is talking about, and he loves student discussions. He is the first teacher ever to encourage people to disagree with him. His class was really interesting for me, although i am somewhat nerdy. And the intros must be mentioned. There was Pink Floyd. Rage. Barenaked Ladies. Jefferson Airplane. Dylan. And much more, for your enjoyment.

Dr. Call is a little bit akward socially, but the content of his lectures is incredibly interesting! I really appreciated having a professor who would ask for questions and comments from his students every 5 minutes or so! That was awesome! Some days would be almost all lecture time, while others had several discussions sparked. Which kind of day it would be depended on the students. On the last day there was no lecturing at all! The whole hour turned into a wonderful exchange of information amongst the students (and Dr. Call) concerning terrorism and the US foreign policy. Dr. Call really cares about informing and inspiring his students' minds far more than he cares about getting through his pre-determined lecture material. That was great!

knowledgable, if you go t class and study averagely and it is pie. Good teacher, although I think the book was waste of money. I enjoyed the class, i suck at writing essays so i did the multiple choice which is a great option, and ended up getting an A...

Wow. What a nerd! This guy is a raging anachist, though he tries to tone it down in the lectures. He really does have a passion for history and politics, and a guy as quirky and anti-establishment as him makes class interesting. His class was a pleasure, even if there were a lot of boring reading assignments. I did about half a reading assignment before I gave it up and just relied on my notes (which worked fine). I reccomend him!

Call is a fair grader, there was a only 100 points total in the class. He is like listening to a broken record. If you are a right winged conservative like me do NOT take this leftist bastard. I couldn't figure out if he was an anarchist, nazi, communist, or just a plain terrorist. He is the most anti American person I've ever met. This Elton John look a like should take his damn coffee mug and get the hell out of the U.S. If you like listening to monotone lectures with pointless details for 10 weeks then take Call. Or else do like me and stay away from this flaming ass liberal hypocrit.

CALL ROCKS!!!!! I took him for 213 thinking it would just be another GE class, but he is so great I decided to take him for 307. I know a lot of people don't like him because they think he is too liberal. Well he is, but he does not throw it in your face, and he presents the material from an unbiased opinion. There is a lot of reading for both classes, but he has awsome power points, and talks about the material so thuroughly there is no way you won't understand. He never talks down tot he students, and always likes to hear peoples opinions. I have learned so much from him, and think he is one of the smartest, and best teachers I have ever had here. I would STRONGLY recommend taking him. It was a great experiance.

Dr. Call is an awesome professor. He presents all the material that you have to know. Also, his office hours are a big help. He is very friendly, and will talk to you about anything. He is a great instructor, and I enjoyed this class thoroughly. Also, it was my only A so far at Cal Poly, so it must be easy.

This was a great class and Dr. Call was an excellent teacher. His voice is a little dry, but the material he presented was very interesting. He gives you a choice between taking a multiple choice test or an essay test. He also gives a list of five to six possible essay questions, and one of those questions will be the exam question. I took the multipul choice tests and got an A even without doing the reading. Just be sure to go to class and look over your notes a couple times before the test. He also has a two page paper that is really easy. Take this class; It is easy to get a good grade and you learn a lot.

Dr. Call is a fair teacher with honest intentions. His lectures are very boring, however. He talks like a computer! Tests are fair as well. I didn't do any of the readings because they were ridiculously boring and still pulled out of there with a B. There is 1 midterm (40%), 1 final (50%) and a paper (10%) and thats it!

Call was a refreshing change to the "norm" of Poly's teachers. Definetely take him if you are interested in learning and not just to get an easy grade. Multiple choice or essay tests are given, so you can choose the best way to convey your knowlege on the subject. Be prepared to read music lyrics that are shown while the song is played before class. Not that you will be tested on them, but you'll learn something from them even if you won't be tested. Enjoy!!

Dr. Call is a great teacher and History 213 is an interesting course, in my opinion. Although some other people rated him as boring, I would tend to disagree and say he is relatively interesting. He gives you lots of chances to speak and makes you feel comfortable answering questions that may or may not have one right answer. His grading system is also not too difficult as I did very little reading. I highly recommend him for filling this gen-ed requirement.

I thought I had a good handle on the material because I went to class everyday and took good notes. But when I took the first midterm, I realized that didn't matter. Dr. Call's multiple choice tests are incredibly hard no matter how hard you study because he adds "none of the above" as an answer. It totally fucks with your head and makes it impossible to use deductive reasoning and general knowledge about the topic.

Overall this class is pretty chill. Dr. Call has one paper due (10% of your grade), a midterm (40%) and the final which is 50% of your grade. I felt that his lectures were interesting, occasionally a little dry, but as long as you got some sleep the night before you'll be fine. Just try to pay attention and you wont have any problems. He does have required reading, but will almost always go over the most important parts during the next day's lecture. I would strongly recommend Call's class for general ed or your major!

call was a pretty cool prof... he lays everything out pretty clearly. there is quite a bit of reading sometimes... but i stopped reading less than halfway through the class and got a B so if you need to fill whatever GE dont be afraid to take this class

Most people would say he is pretty out there, but he knows so so so so much about what he is talking about. He is a great teacher he really makes you think about stuff that is really important in life. His tests are hard even if you do multiple chouse be ready for it and you really need to know your stuff. Most of the questions well have the last answer be

I loved Dr. Call's lectures. Like most people said he is VERY liberal. I'm have moderate views on politics but i could see how people could get offended. I understood everything he lectured in class. The class is only out of 100 points which can really suck. I got a 9/10 on the essay. That wasn't too bad. But the midterms SUCK. You should dothe readings(which are long and boring) to get a good grade. Because you have a choice of multiple choice or essay. For the midterm i chose multiple choice. It was HARD. I didn't do the reading which was my fault but the way he worded the questions were rediculous. For the final I chose the essay which i thought i did exceptionally well but my grade only raised from a C- to a C. I suppose he's good but i'm bitter by his tests and grading policy. Everyone should get an A in his class.

Professor Call is awesome! He is very liberal (or maybe even Anarchist), but that shouldn't bother even the most stubborn conservatives (as long as they don't mind hearing a point of view very different from their own), because all of the class material is covered in a completely unbiased manner. He makes it obvious which of his arguments are his own opinions and which aren't, so that shouldn't be a big deal. The lecture material is incredibly interesting - don't let the name fool you, this class is all about comparing societies, finding the historical and ideological links between them, and applying all of this to our modern situation. There is a good deal of economic theory and that kind of thing, but all you really need to cover in that stuff is the big points, a limit that keeps it from being too dull. This class has a pretty easy grade breakup: 1 midterm at 40 questions, worth 40% of your grade; one 2-3 page paper, worth 10% of your grade; and one final at 50 questions, worth 50% of your grade. You can take the midterm and final in either essay or multiple choice format, but I found multiple choice to be fairly easy and didn't want to stress over writing a good essay in class. To do well on any of these, the only really important thing you need to do is COME TO CLASS, because Call throws tons of information at you every lecture. It is manageable, however, as long as you pay attention and take good notes. He also says that there is tons of reading for this class (one week had 100 pages of boring economic theory), but all you really need to do is copy down what he says about the reading during class, bring the books to class and highlight the excerpts he reads off, and spend an hour or so skimming the week's reading and highlighting important things over the weekend. That's enough to know about 80% of the reading questions he'll ask on the test. I only read one full assignment (because that was the only one that interested me), but I went to class, took good notes, highlighted important things every weekend, and studied my notes and highlights before the test (which is alot, but is all you really need to do) and got an A in the class. I would suggest this class for anyone, but especially for those interested in history and our modern social and political roots.

I really liked this professor, and I normally hate history. He was really into the subject, and used powerpoint to highlight the important parts. It's really helpful to read the assignments before going to class because they help you focus. The readings relate heavily to the tests, so it is very important to read!!! The midterm is 40% and the final is 50%, and you can choose between an essay form or multiple choice. There is also a short essay that is worth 10%, if you're not a good test taker you may want to take another class. Perhaps office hours would be a good choice. I didn't try them though.

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS!! This was by far the worst class I've taken. While the material is not so bad, it was the teacher, tests, and lack of help that was awful. Normally, I like history, but this class was too much. In terms of grading, the class is only worth 100 points-10% for an essay, 40% FOR THE MIDTERM, and 50% FOR THE FINAL! Yes, you have an option of essay or mc tests, it doesn't matter--it sucked. Worst of all, the final was cummulative--AND HE DIDN'T GIVE US A STUDY GUIDE!! If you wanted the MC test, he gives two "sample" questions on the board, but that's it. Also, he likes "none of the above" for possible answers for most of the test, which makes everything more confusing. Yes, I did the readings, and studied the quotes he gave in class, studied for many hours for the midterm and essay, and still found it ridicously difficult. For the essay, he gives you 4 or 5 questions, and picks 1 for us to answer (normally with the essay option, most teachers five you a choice between two options--Call didn't). He sounds like a DJ, "Well, good morning. That was Chumbawamba today with..." which is cute at the beginning, but very annoying at the end of the quarter. DON'T TAKE THIS CLASS UNLESS YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO!!!

Professor Call was for the most part a good teacher. You do learn a lot of new information, but the reading is extremely overwhelming and long, and it

Professor Call is probably the best professor i have had yet a cal poly. Although initially you might be distracted by his repetitive tone of voice, he proves to be very enthusiastic about the material. I thought he managed to present information on some relatively boring topics in a very comfortable and clear way. He is great with responding to questions, be they stupid or not, without making you feel stupid. He grades based on two tests, either mult. choice or essay (much easier), and a short essay. The class is easy to get an A in if you keep up with his notes (posted online) and show up.

First of all, this guy is really frightening to look at (you don't know where his head and neck separate) and he isn't all that friendly to people that he has negatively stereotyped. Don't wear NIKE other "commercial" shirts or shoes because he will hate you for it and never listen to a word you say and give you dirty looks. This guy is not open for discussion unless it's along his belief realm: I learned this on the first day of class when he shot a guy down for voicing a view contrary to old Lewis' lecture. Needless to say, he hated this guy every day since and gives him dirty looks everytime he walks into the classroom. It's also annoying to hear his pubescent voice (high/low pitches) and his breath stinks really bad of dog shit coffee so sit a few rows back! I don't know why this guy lives in America (he's from Canada) because he trashes everything about this country yet I think he wishes it all was his and his alone like every other greedy jerk! He wrote this terrible book on Anarchism that is on reserve in the library and I feel he pushes this view onto the class. On a positive note, I learned a lot in the class about different types of political systems, but his tests are really hard so don't expect to get an A for minimal work! I think his grading policy sucked on the midterm paper - he's so biased and like I said, if you don't say that being an "ungabunga" is the way to live in life, then he will give you a C - he gave almost everyone a C. I put in a mother fucken two weeks on this paper - gave it my all, yet he fucked me over because I did not agree with his "ungabunga" mentality! He seems like the type who would hide ammunition in his basement bunker waiting for the New World Order War with George Bush. I think they should deport his ass back to the great white north!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He gives 2 critically thinking multiple choice exams and a short essay which are very hard. It's necessary to adapt to his worldview in order to keep afloat in his class because he will create difficulty for you if you disagree with his "closed mind." He does have interesting things to say, however, I recommend taking Sociology instead.

HE GRADES ON STEREOTYPES!!! He thinks coorporations are evil, so if you wear any kind of logo, on any article of clothing, pray to God he doesn't learn your name. The reading is boring, the lectures are boring. Don't let him catch you reading a newspaper in class, he'll hate you (but with cause). He liberal, which I like, but other people might not. The class was terrible, and I contribute most of that to him. I was taking 2 history classes that quarter, and I accidently put the wrong course number on the essay, and he took off a substantial percentage of my grade.

Professor Call expects everyone to love this class, it is more economics than history and it is very dry. The material is not exciting and there is a ton of reading! He spaces it out, but dont let it pile up. I would recommend taking another teacher to fulfill this GE because although he was a nice guy, the class was boring.

HE is soooo boring. I could drink like 5 monster energy drinks and I would still fall asleep. For a subject that should be interesting he makes it incredibly boring because he thinks he knows everything. When you write your essay, just write all his ideas because he will eat them up. Also if ur gunna take him, don't take him during spring or summer bc he sweats.

Dr. Call is a very interesting person. He is an anarchist who has different views than the mainstream. This made for an exciting class. I felt like he graded harshly on the paper (he gave people mostly C's) and his multiple choice tests are really hard due to the inflated language. I learned a lot about different political economies.

I actually really liked Call and thought he was very interesting. Of course, there were some days where I would have to fight to stay awake during the lectures, but most of the time he kept my attention very well. I read for the first half of the quarter, but then slacked on the last half. I still was able to do the multiple choice without a problem. To succeed in this class, you just have to be a good note-taker and be able to pick out what you think is important. Then you just read your notes over before the test, and you'll do fine. I thought mostly everything on the test was from the notes, not the readings. He'll mention the important aspects from the book in the lecture, and you just write it down. That's about all there is to it.

I really enjoyed Dr. Call's lectures. He requires a lot of reading, but if you take good notes in class (which means don't miss class) you should be fine doing just some of the reading. I went for the Essay write on his tests instead of multiple choice and I got As on both. If you choose this option, I suggest you develop outlines for each topic you are about to be tested on as well as a few quotes to use in your essay. I'd highly recommend Dr. Call even if you are not a history major. I'm a Computer Science major and I did just fine.

Professor call is a brilliant brilliant man. He knows absolutely everything about modern political economy. Sure its a history class and we pretty much counted down minutes everyday, but he is so passionate about the subject. Plus he sounds like the movie phone guy so its not some stuffy mono tone professor who doesnt give a damn about whether or not you are understanding. His notes are clear and precise. He doesnt trick you on the tests at all. Just go to class and skim the readings and you will be fine...

I had very mixed feelings about Professor Call's class. First of all, I could never stay awake, even on days when the lecture material was kind of interesting. His voice always seemed to lull me to sleep. Second, I did not know what to expect for the first midterm, and ended up doing poorly because he makes none of the above one of the answer choices for almost every question. After the disastrous first midterm, I took meticulous notes during lecture, and did well on the final. He is a nice guy however, and had some interesting opinions. If you're really interested in the subject, and like reading and taking notes, it's a decent class. Otherwise, I would recommend picking something else.

Professor Call is a very good teacher. It was amazing to see just how much he knows about history and economics. This guy definitely deserves the Dr. in front of his name. He was a very fair grader for the one essay he assigned, and if you just skim the readings and take decent notes in class, you should be fine on the midterm and final. Take Call for an interesting GE!

Dr. Call is a cool teacher. The 213 class I had he always asked our opinion about a certain topic or concept. He plays music at the beginning of every class and then relates it to the days topic. He is always relating the history you learn to present events, especially with the economic crisis and all. He does an ok job of giving both opinions but it's not too hard to tell how liberal he is. Definitely was or still is a big stoner...I'd smoke with him though.

Call is a quirky guy but he is really sweet and never put down anyone's comment or opinion during class. Your grade is based solely on a small paper, a midterm and your final so make sure to not slack on any one assignment. The tests aren't bad I didn't study a minute for the midterm and got a B.

I really enjoyed professor Call's class and would recommend it to anyone who needs to take a GE in this area and wants an interesting class. His class has 3 grades, 1 midterm, 1 final, and an essay. He has a very interesting way of speaking too, you'll see what I mean on the first day of class. As with most professor's in the History department, he has his own sets of biases which is transparent in the course material, although he tries to present both sides of arguments some of the time.

Dr. Call is a pretty good professor overall and I didn't have to put much effort into the class which was nice. I am not particularly fond of how the class is set up since it's only out of 100 points made up of one paper, the midterm, and the final. To get a good grade you have to go to class every day and furiously take notes on everything he says for an hour. The class also has a ridiculous amount of reading which I didn't do any of. I recommend doing it but you don't really have to if you know all the rest of the material. Pretty chill class, not the easiest A, but you can easily do well if you just study for the midterm and final.

Enthusiastic lecturer, simple class notes. Beware: messing up on the midterm will screw your entire grade over. There's lots of required reading. This class may seem easy at first, but there's only 3 assignments that go into your total grade, which makes it really hard to get a decent grade in the class. Overall, Lewis Call is a great professor, but hard grader.

Dr. Call is a quirky but great professor. Although his lectures could sometimes feel dull, he tried to make them interesting and was very open to questions from students. There was a LOT of reading for the class. I took it CR/NC so that lightened the reading load slightly, as I skipped some readings or did the readings way later than we were supposed to. Despite all of the readings, there were very little class assignments: only one short paper, a midterm, and a final. Interesting class that I would recommend.

Dr. Call lectures in a very easy to understand way. He is always willing to answer any questions about reading or lecture, and encourages class participation during discussions. There were two midterms and a final, each of which could be taken as a multiple choice exam or an essay. There was also a short (3-5 pp) paper. His class required no more than 20 pages a week of reading.

Call ia a self congratulating egotist. He thinks that he is soooo smart. He is in fact a lousy teacher from who you will learnlittle of any worth. He was however with his option of easy+++ multiple choice or even easier essays, the first effortless "A" that I have gotten at Poly. Seriously, I am an very good student, but felt that Lewis Call was a total waste of time.

Call ia a self congratulating egotist. He thinks that he is soooo smart. He is in fact a lousy teacher from who you will learnlittle of any worth. He was however with his option of easy+++ multiple choice or even easier essays, the first effortless "A" that I have gotten at Poly. Seriously, I am an very good student, but felt that Lewis Call was a total waste of time.

I disagree with the other observations of Call. He tries hard, but also throws his own political agenda subliminally into each lecture. He is extremely Leftist, admitted to writing for anarchist publications, and constantly bashes America, to the point where myself and several other students took offense. He went as far as to have an entire lecture about why the USA is "atrocious" for dropping the Atomic weapons in WWII. Apparently Dr. call doesnt realize anything about WWII, or he might see that this saved lives, ended a WORLD WAR, and brought American Soliders home. I would avoid Call, unless you want to be brainwashed into hating the country you live in.

one of the most entertaining teachers i have ever had. two of my roommates had him for a different class. provided us with hours of entertainment after school.

despite what some fascist's think who gave Call a bad rating, he is a great teacher. his lectures are clear and easy to understand, and best of all they are interesting and entertaining. you get 2 midterms and 1 final, and a 3 page paper for your total grade. the best part about this is you get to choose either multiple choice or essay for the midterms and final. the class averages on two midterms so far are 40 and 41 out of 50. (if you know your math you would know this is a "B" average!). i would suggest take this class because Call explains the material very well, and his lectures make sense and are easy to follow, all you have to do is show up everyday and take notes, and do the readings, and you will do fine.

I really enjoyed Dr. Call. Ill admit he is a little socially strange, but is very interesting. He is a great lecturer. You are practically guaranteed an A or B in this class as long as you go, which isnt a problem since it is an enjoyable class. He gives you the option of doing an essay or taking a multiple choice exam for all the tests. If you want an A in the class then do the essay tests, or if you want a B take the multiple choice exams. Simple as that. Definitly take Dr. Call if you can.

Call is not a bad prof, but the material itself can be boring. However, theres not much work only some light reading and 1 paper. He is radical liberal but never tries to propaganda you. As long as u go to class about 75% of the time, pay attention, and study b4 exams u will at least get a B.

Call is rather interesting. The class can be an easy A if you take notes and study for test. My gripe is that he uses primary source documents. These are the unclarified readings on famous inventors, scholars, politicians, and infamous dictators (who all think they are linguists.) The readings are very boring and take awhile to comprehend. My advice is just skim them and take good notes of what Prof. Call says about the reading in class (save yourself a headache). There is a lot of material but when the test are Multiple Choice, failure is something you would have to strive for. As the politics in class. He is obviously a radical thinker. He has written about Anarchy an loves to focus on it. Think of it this way. hen you are being taught about a fascist gov't by an Anarchist it can be pretty entertaining. I would recommend Prof. Call to anyone who needs a history GE Cred.

Lewis Call is the blizzy bomb shiznit! His lectures are very informative and interesting (his voice is kinda funny too), and he answers any and every question anyone has in major depth! His class is based on a couple tests and a pretty easy paper, so if you take good notes and WRITE DOWN what he says about the primary sourses, you can totally ace this mother! I loved Call's class and would definately recommend to anyone with even the slightest interest in history! In fact I think Lewis Call should change his name to Lewis COOL!

I'm right wing and he's an anarchist. That doesn't mean he's not a hell of a teacher who provides information without bias. It was really a valuable learning experience and not hard. Take him, especially if you like Pink Floyd or Rage Against the Machine etc... he likes to find music that pertains to the subject material and play it.

He's super tight and easily approachable

For starters, i love history. Lewis Call made me bored. Not only does he sound like a game show host and do that wierd smaking thing with his mouth, but he assigns WAY more reading than necessary. Im talking 20pg of useless and pointless documents twice a week. By the time the test rolls around, theres no way you can memorize all that the readings claimed, plus, there's only one questions per reading....yeah it seems ok just to forget the reading, but 6 wrong answers on a multiple choice test in tought on ur grade. He also claims to grade fair on the one paper you have to write...dont buy it. He didnt give one student above an 80 on the paper. And my god is he a raging anarchist. Everything had to do with anarchy. Im so frustrated that i doubt this makes any sense. Good luck with him. He doesnt help you in anyway, even if you ask him. (Oh yeha, and he never answers any question that would disprove his point. He always gives a round about answer, or doesnt even try to answer it in the first place.)

I walked into this class expecting a raving anarchist's wild-assed view of history. Instead I found Call to be pretty fair in how he deals with the material - its hard to tell what he thinks personally. The class format is unusual: desks are arranged into a circle, we listen to some music, and the rest of class is about half lecture, half dicussion. I really enjoyed the class because it's full of provacative ideas that are easy to have an opinion on. Time goes fast when youre having a good arguement, um I mean "discussion". This is really more of philosophy class than a history class; if you have any interest whatsoever in philosophy, I would recommend it.

this class is so boring like unbelievably boring. if you can find a dif class instead of this one to fullfil this ge, do it. he is a decent teacher but the material is basically philosophy and he gives out insanely long papers that are not worth the grade that you will get for the effort you put in. hes a nice guy but the class is not worth it unless you have way toooo much time on your hands to read all the books he assigns and have no life

call is awesome. he knows everything about this subject. the class was super easy if you do it the way i did. so ill tell you how to get a guaranteed b probably an a with no effort. the class has a ton of readings. that doesnt matter. dont do them. go to class and take notes about the points he talks about. he will give you page numbers from the stuff he says. write this down next to your notes. there are no tests in the class, just one 4 page essay and one 8-12 page essay, the final is also essay. he gives you the topics you have to write about, you have like 4 choices to choose from. you can just use things he talked about in class to write your essays on, and use his page numbers that he gives use in order to cite the books. it looks like you did the readings. there is nothing you need to know that he doesnt talk about in class. so just go to class, dont miss many or this plan may not work. he is a very very easy grader too, so that helps. im not that greatest of writers and i got a b+ in the class. almost an a. but i knew some people who got like a 100%. he gives you a note card on the final so you can write anything on that, so no worries. take call

His class is pretty easy, only read the books that you're gonna do your papers on. Your entire grade is based on a short paper (4-6 pgs, 30%), a long paper (8-12 pgs, 50%) and a final (20%). You have to go to class to understand the readings because they make no sense when you read it yourself. He encourages class participation but no one ever talks. His lectures are pretty boring but he gets the point across, it's usually just him talking with himself. The class is pretty easy and doesn't require too much work.

Dr. Call's class was a horrible experience. This is not a good GE to take. He has you read a ridiculous amount and its pretty excruciating to hear him up talk every sentence. He does not grade hard at all but he expects a lot of work and comprehension out of a GE class. Especially if you are not in liberal arts. It is difficult material and its extremely hard to hear him recite quote after quote and go on awful tangents. Don't do it to yourself unless you're very fond of philosophy.

Call is a great professor who has an awesome understanding of intellectual history. If you like reading philosophy or history, you will love this class.

The title of the class His 307 was a little misleading, at least to me. I didn't think I would be reading philosophy. But it was, and I did. Granted I hated philosophy when I took it the first time, but this time it wasn't that bad. The reading load is a little rough, but an in depth reading of each book is not needed, or I don't think expected. The class grade is just based on 3 essays, one due during midterm season (30%), one during last week of school (50%), and one during the final exam (20%). His grading is fair. As for his teaching, it takes a while to get use to but overall if you go to class and listen you will learn a lot. And as a bonus, every day he plays music that relates to the days topic. If you just go to class, and read as much as you can you will do fine!

Great teacher -- his grading is very reasonable. He looks for an argument, support (with your own critical thinking), and quotes to illustrate the philosophy you are talking about. Edit your paper (or have a friend do it) to solve any mechanistic problems, and you will have a solid paper. Yes, the reading is rough because it's philosophy, but understanding it word for word is not required because he gives very good summaries of each philosopher's ideas. However, you should still read the assigned texts (many are available online or at the library) and pick out quotes. Other than that, speak up in class. He'd rather make class a discussion than a lecture.

This class is tough, but worth it. Professor Call clearly loves what he does and he goes above and beyond to help any student. This was my 3rd time taking one of his classes and I\'m glad I did. His lectures are interesting and he encourages discussion and debate.

Professor Call is an excellent teacher. The reading for this class is tough, it\'s a philosophy class with an element of history - so the reading is all philosophy. Dr. Call does an amazing job of summarizing the readings in class and picking out quotes and passages that illustrate the main points of the readings. This is purely a writing class, so your grade in this class is based on 3 essays: a shorter essay (4-6 pages) due around the 4th or 5th week, a longer essay (8-12 pages) due during the last week, and an in-class essay that makes up the final during finals week. He is an extremely fair and reasonable grader: as long as you make an interesting thesis and can support it with quotes from the reading you will do fine.

Not a good grader or teacher. why? because No one would show up to class , one day we had less than 5 people show up out 20 students. the only time the whole class shows up is when there is an essay due. No one shows up because there are no pop quizzes, no hw due, no participation points, no exams, just 3 essays. I showed up to every class, took all the notes, payed attention, got C- on every essay. My classmates barely showed up, didn't take notes and ended up getting As and Bs. He tells you what he wants from the essays after he grades it. he basically says i want you guys to show thesis and evidence in ur essay then when he grades it and gives it back: he gives u a whole list of what the essay should have been like. U do not need to read the books he assign because he won't give u a pop quiz or make u speak but u do need to know about the books (so come to class and note down what he says about the books) because u need to use it for quotes in ur essays.

TO his credit, Dr. Call is a very good lecturer. However, his grading policies are impossible to figure out. The class is based on 3 essays, which is fine, but he does not make it clear what he wants. Even after going to his office hours and adjusting my writing style to suit what I thought were his grading preferences my grades showed no improvement. I've gotten A's and B's in every writing course I've taken and a C in this one, so you be judge of what that means. Overall, do not take this class.

Seriously guys History Majors, if you want to protect your G.P.A, Please don't take this class. This Professor is so vague about what he wants. I showed up to class, did all the essay assignments, I even participated, Even when no one wanted to participate. But this Professor continued to give me C's and not just me the whole class was getting C's. He will write on your essay things that you will correct, even when you do, he will still find some thing wrong with your essay. I asked him in-front of the whole class if anyone ever gets an A in his class and he said NO. he doesn't give out A's. So you judge for yourself. I wish I read this evaluation before taking this class. This girl Ashley in the History counseling class advised me to take this class. boy was she wrong. I wish I knew better because I have a G.P.A to protect, you can't get into law school with a lousy G.P.A and this professor he out to ruin every student's life. STAY AWAY FROM LEWIS CALL. Please save your selves

Dr. Call's tests were extremely hard. He picks out the littlest details in the reading assignments and includes them on the test. I felt his lectures on historical events to be fairly biased and sometimes leaned towards persuassive propaganda. I left the class with an unbalanced perspective of the motives behind many U.S. policies.

If weird noises in class bother you don't take him. He sucks on a water bottle all class. His tests were straight from the notes. Overall good teacher if you can get past the sucking.

If you like theroy based history you will dig this class. Dr. Call is all about teaching theories such as Darwinism, Marxism and lots more while relating them back into historical events. This class is not for the weak minded. Yes he sucks on a water bottle and it makes weird noises, but if you pay attention to what he says you walk away with a ton of knowledge! He uses music to introduce every lecture topic which is really cool. He makes you think about how "we" just believe blindly of what society throws at us. This class is for you if you can stray from the norm..

Dr. Call is a great prof., but I found this to be a really difficult class. I usually pimp on multiple choice tests, but his had this sort of 'can't narrow down the answer' funk. Basically I enjoyed going to class and it is an interesting subject, but I was scared out of my mind about the grade I was getting the whole time. Strangely I got a B-. This must have been a mistake, I thought I was gettiing much lower. Anyways, not a bad class I guess (though it is a lot of work), If you take it, be sure to pay carefull attention to his lectures.

I found Dr. Call's classes pretty interesting, and he is definately very enthusiastic about the subject. He does give a lot of reading assignments that I found very dry and pointless, but doing the readings is the difference between an A and a B. There was also a short one page paper, which I got a C on, as he is pretty picky with his grading. He gives a choice of essay midterms or multiple choice...TAKE THE MULTIPLE CHOICE!!! There are 2 midterms and the final. On the first midterm, several people took the essay version, but by the next midterm, they were all taking the multiple choice one! Know your notes very well, he's pretty picky on details. I thought I had about a B+ in the class, but I ended up with an A, so he must have curved the class somewhat.

Dr. Call's class was really the only class that I looked forward to going to. He encourages discussion and debate more than any other teacher I have had, and it is the discussions that bring the class to life. He will take it as deep in the rabbit hole as you want to go. I do not recommend taking his class if you plan on going to it just to have him stand in front of the class and repeat what he has said in hundreds of lectures before. You have to make it interesting for him and he will in turn make it very interesting for you. For all the future revolutionaries his class is a must.

I was taking a philosophy class during the same quarter that I took 315 from Lewis Call. I was never certain which class I was in. Call, though entertaining if you ignore the nasal voice, taught little if any history. He should quit trying to be a historian and enter his true vocation as a philospher. Truthfully, I think he regards himself as vastly superior to all the other members of the history faculty. He has put some of them down in my presence. That doesn't make him a better teacher. I wouldn't reccommend him to students who wish to learn history.

This guy is probably the best teacher I've had thus far at Cal Poly. Very intelligent cat. Yes, his class is note-taking intensive, but you really get a good approach to modern world history. Plus he starts each class with a cool song. His tests a moderately easy. You just have to get used to the fact that he talks like he is fresh out of an IV league school. Great sense of humor excellent professor.

Call may sound like he is from an Ivy League school and perhaps that's part of his problem. We at CAL POLY try to live in the real world, not "Ivory Towers." Call is so busy trying to sound intelligent that he misses the whole point of studying modern world history. Oh well, it was an easy A that I really didn't deserve. Still, I would like to know what really makes the modern world tick.

Dr. Call is a total badass! I'm not at all a history fan, but Dr. Call managed to somehow interest me into coming to class everyday. His tests are almost straight off his lecture notes, so go to clas and PAY ATTENTION.

Prof. Call was my least favorite GE teacher so far. He seems uncomfortable lecturing and it makes his class boring. If the subject hadn't been interesting, there's no way I would have made it through any lectures. Take someone else.

I hated this class. I hated it because he made us buy a book that was just reprinted takes from other books for $ 90 bucks and then we were not able to sell it back because the stupid class was cancelled. His tests suck. They do not reflect what you have learned in class. The correct answers were whatever or however he saw the world. I thought I understood the material fairly well and participated in class, because I thought it was interesting. But that doesn't count. He turned me into a history hater. Avoid him.

This class is sweet, 3 papers (5pgs, 8pgs, and the final) on very complex subjects that you can write about for days. Oh did I mention I didn't read anything? It definetly would of helped, but honestly unnecessary as long as you can provide an opinion and support it with evidence. Easiest GE yet.

Professor Call is a really problematic dude. He fetishizes queer people and has a really strange perspective on sexuality. The first day of class, he declared that he was a "queer straight person" which angered me, an actual queer person, to no end. He's the kind of guy that gives liberals a bad rep. He talks about how his two very young children are both queer/ genderqueer even though they're both under age 12 and it really seems like he encouraged them to declare their identities at a super young age, which I find a little concerning. Anyway, beyond the issues I have with him as a person, his teaching isn't the best. His lectures are boring, the visual aids suck, and the reading is incredibly dense and advanced for a GE / elective course. Overall I had rough time in this class. Take a more productive class that will actually facilitate good discussions around queerness instead of just confuse everyone.

Dr. Call's History of Network technology class was a joke. This class is not about computers at all, it is his philosophy of computers and how they changed the world. The guy is super liberal and if you say anything in class he disagrees with he either straw mans your argument or he starts talking down to you like you are an idiot. He definately goes on stereotypes and is the typical liberal grader. If you are liberal you'll probably love him because he says everything you want to hear, if you are moderate or conservative avoid him at all costs as everything is his way and there is no dissent in thought. I would never take another class from this man.

One of the most relevant classes at CP. Lots of reading, but really you don't have to read at all ... just take notes and create a study group. Also, make sure to pre-write for the midterm + final essays.

This guy is a joke. He is totally for state run stuff yet he doesn't seem to read anything else but what he wants to hear. Example: He went on and on about how great muni- WiFi was and how it was going to save the common man. Yet this comes out: "Municipal wireless may deliver too little too late. A leading wireless consultant thinks that a great many municipal wireless projects are doomed to fail because they end up not being free and because they don't have indoor coverage. He also believes that WiMax will have problems too. He believes that the edge the technology provides will only last 3 years and that is not enough time for a return on investment." Not even close to being about computers either. It is just him ranting against corporations and bashing Bush and how evil the Cal Poly administration is. Weird guy, weird class, bottom line.

Summary: Call needs experience with what he lectures on or he needs to drastically change his lecture style. Call isn't the right Prof for this class. Something has bugged me about him from day 2. I thought other reviewers talking about avoiding it if you know subject might be overstating the problem or failed to enjoy the history aspect. I love both history and computers, being familiar and studying both. The basic reason to avoid this class if you know anything about online environments is that Prof. Call doesn't have any experience with what he lectures on. This might be excusable if we are talking about Spain discovering the new world, but we are talking about a key stone of modern society. I wouldn't care as much if he displayed some experience with some technology, community type , or activity he lectures on. The basics of a online community about working on cars is similar to that of one talking about WW1, but he has nothing. It shows up again and again every week. A member of community really needs to describe it, a dictionary of hackers, the Jargon file ,was written by a hacker .. not by a law prof, believable experiences of the online future come from people like Neal Stephenson who was a coder.. not neophytes. Call himself should know about this problem with his lecture if he pays attention to his material. The Internet community will only listen or give respect, once an individual has demonstrated ability. It doesn't matter your background. If you can sit down at a computer and steal movies or create a new user manual for VW Bugs, then you have at least some ability. Otherwise people like Call aren't worth the time. Lack of experience can be overcome in these cases, by involving the audience who has experience. But that would require him listening to input and not ram Roding back on viewpoints of the books, because that is his only source of information on the topic. His books and reading material are well researched and informative but they lack contrasting views and he fails to add them in lecture.

OH.MY.GOD. I had this class for one hour 4 days a week and was bored every day. Although he tries to make things interesting by playing songs and videos at the beginning of lecture, he is really not engaging at all. I wish our tests had been multiple choice and not just one essay. He is really awkward during office hours, and his assignments have vague and strangely articulated directions. But I guess he means well.

Lewis Call means well and the material for the course is actually interesting and you can tell that he is interested in it as well. His manner of conveying the information however leaves the large majority of people in the classroom disinterested. Grading is completely compromised of essays (3). He is a pretty lenient grader but a lot of preparation reading is needed for the essays. If you enjoy doing large amounts of reading and don't have any issues falling asleep in class then take Call.

Dr. Call explains the course material clearly and will answer every question (relevant or not)that often leads to side discussions. He is very approachable and gives every possibility to students to be prepared for tests. He makes it very clear what he expects. If a student receives a sub-standard grade, it could only be due to lack of preparation and certainly not because Dr. Call failed to clarify the material.

If writing is not your strength, do NOT take this class. Your grade is solely comprised of 3 essays. He grades these essays as if he is an English professor. Extremely annoying, especially considering this is an area F GE. I am an A and B+ student, and I will most likely be getting a C in this class because he grades on your style of writing and on if he agrees with your argument or not (not if whatever you are arguing is supported by adequate evidence and reasoning). If you have the option to take another area F class, do so! Totally regret taking this class.

Dude's a total creep. Reminds me of Bolbi from Jimmy Neutron. Creepy smile and given the fact that he's obsessed with sexual power relations and computers hammer's home the status of the guy from south park WoW episode. Looked him up to find the syllabus on his own website and found an unbelievably extensive wikipedia page that he had to write himself. Bottom line, total weirdo (not the good kind of weird).

The worst class of my academic career and I've taken Ethnic Studies at my local CC taught by a 102 year-old Confederate Civil War vet

Dr. Call led very insightful discussions, and although he had some strange mannerisms, he did teach us a great deal. His tests were fair, and his grading was more than fair. Keep up on the reading in his classes, or you will find yourself very very far behind.

This is the first C I have recieved in my entire life. I hope that says something to all of you out there watching their GPA. Do not take him--this class was a nightmare!