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Houlgate, Larry

Cumulative GPA: 2.85/4.00 with 14 evaluations
Presents Material Clearly: 3.08
Recognizes Student Difficulties: 2.77

Philosophy Department, Cal Poly, SLO
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PHIL 231 Sophomore Grade Earned: B General Ed 3:37 pm, Apr 19, 2006 Report Evaluation		He's a nice guy and he's got a good subtle sense of humor. Definitely knows his philosophy and all of the books word for word. Can't pull anything over on him in essays. Good Teacher

PHIL 231 Sophomore Grade Earned: A General Ed 10:35 pm, Feb 27, 2006 Report Evaluation		Coming to class is very important. He assigned 4 books to read, none of which I ever opened. If you come to class, and take notes, you will be fine. Before the test he gives a study sheet and takes test questions DIRECTLY OFF THE STUDY SHEET. I really liked this teacher, and the discussions in class were very interesting. He knows his stuff. Reccomend.

PHIL 335 Junior Grade Earned: B General Ed 5:47 pm, Jun 9, 2004 Report Evaluation		Larry is a cool professor. He's retired, so he's pretty relaxed. His lectures are a little dry at times, but he is very clear about what is important to know for exams and such. Professor Houlgate is very friendly and he even bumped up my test score a little when I came into his office hour. There are 3 exams, the first was all essay, the second was short answer, and the final was multiple choice (but cumulative). There is one five page term paper on a topic of your choice. He uses a textbook he compiled himself, so all you need to use are essays from it for the paper. I had his class at 8 in the morning TWRF, and I didn't think it was that bad. I missed a few classes but it's easy to catch up. Take this class because it satisfies USCP and C4 and it's probably one of the better GEs in this category. Go Larry :)

PHIL 335 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 4:54 pm, Dec 9, 2002 Report Evaluation		Dr. Houlgate is a very nice man. He is VERY liberal! if you have conservative views and dont like liberals, stear clear of him. His lectures can be boring at times (he kinda has the monotone voice) there are pretty interesting discussions, it is a pretty controviersal class, he talks about abortion and gay marriage from a Phil point of view. there is one paper due at the end of the quarter and 3 or 4 tests (including the final) it is a pretty easy class. The tests arent hard if you do the reading and go to some of the class discussions. He is very available during office hours if youhave a problem, he will even read your term paper early (if you get it done) and tell you what to fix. I learned some things from the class so it wasnt a waste of time, and Houlgate is extreamly smart without being an ass about things which is kind of nice. I dont recommend taking him for longer than hour I can see the lectures getting boring. I had him 4 days a week and it was the perfect dose of him.

PHIL 335 Junior Grade Earned: N/A General Ed 4:26 pm, Dec 6, 2002 Report Evaluation		His lectures never deviated from the text, which is probably because he compiled the book himself. Class discussions are totally bland and puts me to sleep. I thought philosophy was suppose to be interesting and touch controversal issues, but we never talked about anything BUT his book, and certaintly never anything interesting. The tests are straight from the reading, which was nice. Overall, he can't lead or encourage any classroom debates or dicussions. He just basically reads out of the text. BORING!!!

PHIL 231 Sophomore Grade Earned: B General Ed 2:19 pm, Nov 17, 2002 Report Evaluation		I highly recommend Prof. Houlgate if you have to take Phil 231. He's "retired" so he only teaches a few classes a quater, but if you have the opportuinity to get him, go for it. He's nice and he knows what he's talking about. And everything on his tests comes directly out of lecture. If you are the kind of person who skips class a lot or just doesn't go at all, then you probably won't do well because you'll be totally lost in the reading. But if you are coherent at all in class and listen to Houlgate explain Plato and Locke then you will do fine on the tests and in his class.

PHIL 231 Sophomore Grade Earned: No Credit General Ed 9:27 pm, May 15, 2002 Report Evaluation		This guy is the worst teacher I have ever encountered!!! Not only did this guy completely waste my time, but he made me leave his class hating philosophy and having to retake it. His lectures are extremely dry, and his test are completely ridiculous. He did seem very intelligent, but when it came to getting important material across to students he definately failed. I wouldn't even take this teacher if you needed the class to graduate...and if you do, I am so very sorry for you!!!



PHIL 231 Sophomore Grade Earned: A General Ed 1:17 am, Apr 6, 2002 Report Evaluation		Houlgate is very straight-forward. His class is totally relaxed and was much easier than i thought it would be. He emails you the notes from his lecture so you hardly need to write down anything in class. His test questions come straight off his lecture notes that he emails you. I bought the books but never read anything on my own. i only used the books to follow when he referred to certain sections in lecture. i only studied for the tests by reading over his lecture notes and i easily pulled an A-. He requires a weekly journal of 300 words a week for an easy 16 points or no credit (tests are about 36 points x 3 and final is 50 points). I did all the entries the final week and got credit. Houlgate is actually quite funny also. he isn't a comedian, but he throws in a couple jokes in his lecture which are quite funny. And no, is isn't biased at all in his lecture even though he is running for state senate. I was trying to guess what party he was running for and got so curious i had to look him up. I kept waiting for him to slip in his own opinion on a few issues but he always ended up asking, "what would locke and mill say on this issue." i would recommend houlgate.

PHIL 231 Sophomore Grade Earned: A General Ed 1:39 am, Apr 3, 2002 Report Evaluation		Prof. Houlgate was a good, solid teacher. He was very articulate and knowlegeable in the subject he was teaching. He emails you the notes from class and they cover everything that you need to know from the books, which don't really need to be read. Just study the notes and go to class for clarification - you should be fine. Another nice thing is that he lets you argue over exam questions which you feel were vague or could have multiple answers. Be prepared to defend your answer, and you might walk away with another point or more. The final exam is comprehensive, but you'll recognize most of the questions from the previous exam. Go into his office hours and study the exams before taking the final. Overall, he is highly recommended. Also, he is currently running for state senate.

PHIL 231 Freshman Grade Earned: N/A General Ed 5:26 pm, Feb 22, 2002 Report Evaluation		Cool teacher. If you do the reading you'll get the A. His tests are very easy.

PHIL 230 Sophomore Grade Earned: A Required (Major) 8:42 pm, Aug 1, 2001 Report Evaluation		He is enthusiastic about the class and enjoys getting into discussions about the subjects with the class. He also only test and quizes on what he has lectured. This means that he will tell you how to decipher the information before he tests you on understanding it. Also his quizes are almost identical to his tests, so he is very consistent.

PHIL 231 Sophomore Grade Earned: A General Ed 7:46 pm, Jun 18, 2001 Report Evaluation		Prof. Houlgate is a fair professor, almost all of his tests are straight out of the lecture, almost to the point that you dont need to read the book (not that you would understand what Locke and Mill are talking about if you did). The only problem is that it takes him a week or two to return a scantron midterm. But, considering the ease of the class, its worth it.

PHIL 230 5th Year Senior Grade Earned: N/A General Ed 10:45 pm, Mar 1, 2000 Report Evaluation		This professor was terrible. I had extenuating circumstances and requested to add 2 monthes before the class started and he told me "it looks like Capture is full." That was helpful. I signed an add list on the first day of class and another one on the second (he lost the first list). Somehow after attending class every day for 2 weeks I wasn't on his list when he called of our names to see who he would add. He did finally let me in. His lectures were very vague and full of personal opinion and bias. They had nothing to do with the text. His tests were poorly written. Overall he was unorganized, arrogant, and a poor professor. Worst Poly GE teacher that I have taken.



PHIL 230 5th Year Senior Grade Earned: A General Ed 8:25 pm, Oct 21, 1999 Report Evaluation		Houlgate is very straightforward and really helps students focus on the proper material. He also hands out study guides for all of his tests. These TOTALLY help with understanding the material but without spoon-feeding it to you. His tests are challenging but very reasonable. His lectures are usually interesting, easy to follow, and thought-provoking. I would highly recommend Houlgate as enjoyable philosophical experience.

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