Duffy, Susan  

for ls 101 which is only a unit so what do you expect. easy a grade based on attendance, but you can easily work your way around that (youll see) not a bad class.

Dr. Duffy is very organized and friendly, even in the early hours of the morning. You don't really need to buy the handbooks, but just show up to class and you'll receive a C. I do recommend going to some field trips and meetings that are offered to raise your grade.

okay this is by far the easiest class you will ever take. go to class every friday...seriously she takes points for attendance. you can go completely hung over and it doesnt matter just be there for attendance. to get above a C in her class you have to go to a bunch of little meetings. go to the ones that are held on campus because they are the same point value as the ones that go to fresno or off campus. she is a sweet lady and all of the information is helpful for those becoming teachers.

EASY class. Just show up and do a couple outside activities and its an easy A. Grading is based purely on attendance, so just show up to class. All you have to do is fill out three things that you learned each lecture, and the same thing for extra credit. LS majors have to take it, but it is definately an easy unit. It only sucks because its only offered Friday mornings.

IS THE PROJECTOR ON??!!

oh my god the comment below is so funny!!!

This teacher is ridiculious, when she gave us the option to walk out of class the first day, that should of been the first sign. This teacher does not use powerpoints, write anything down or help her students in any way shape or form. She expects the students in her class to write down and remember everything she says, this is not possible, maybe for some, but not for visual learners like me. When asked what will be on the test she just answers, "whatever i talked about in class." After being at cal poly a few years, i can honestly say most professor want their students to suceed, well SUSAN DUFFY is an exception. She does not help her students in anyway. I now understand why she got kicked out of the LS department. Being a former instructor in the liberal studies department i though she would have a better understanding that there are more than audio learners. I advise you not to take this class. THE EXPECTATIONS ARE RIDICULIOUS. THIS IS NOT AN EASY GE CLASS. DO NOT TAKE

This class is extremely boring. She doesn't use power points most of the time and instead just talks and assumes that you can write everything down that she is says because most all of it will be on the midterm/final. It's a huge class so take it if you're desperate for units but I wouldn't suggest it otherwise.

she's awful. expects you to memorize everything she says and it will all the on the final. she doesn't use powerpoints so its impossible to write down everything she says. Also, something else that bugged me: I got 79% on midterm but the scantron misread one of my answers and when I asked her to change it so i could get an 80% she said no because the class was too big. ridiculous!

This is the dumbest class I have taken at Cal Poly. I have been to every lecture, studied all of the powerpoints, read the book, and watched the videos (which are boring as fuck) and got a 57% on the midterm. You are basically buying your grade because in order to raise your grade you get extra credit from going to different performances. Duffy is full of herself and loves the sound of her own voice. I would avoid this class as much as possible.

Stay away from this raging lunatic. She uses her pointless lectures in an attempt to 'glorify' her non-existent accomplishments in life. She just wants to be the center of attention and does it in the worst way possible. Seriously, if you are reading these reviews of Duffy and thinking, "oh, this can't be THAT bad of a lecture," (as I mistakenly thought) please, let me inform you now, you are dead wrong and will be putting yourself through the most miserable 10 weeks of your life. She takes it so personally when you are on your phone or anything that doesn't pertain to WATCHING her. This FAILED and DELUSIONAL thespian-wannabe needs to stop wasting Cal Poly students' money and let someone more qualified and less SELF-CENTERED than her take the job.

(Duffy/Jackson vs. California Polytechnic State University) apparently this psycho had to sue to get tenure-- heed all of the warnings you read about this loser.

Susan Duffy is perhaps both the worst instructor and most unpleasant person I have ever met. Her class is based on memorizing pointless crap she says during the lecture, not the book / stuff actually about theatre. She treats everyone in her class like they are still in high school and flips a bitch if you do something simple like check your pdf of your book on your phone. The upside is that every class is something stupid and pointless like watching a video so you can go to sleep if you want. Did I mention she is an unpleasant person? I forgot to bring a scantron to the first midterm and asked if I could run and get one, instead of just letting me do that she announced to the entire class that I didn't bring a scantron and calls out a poor random girl that if she gives me one I will take her out to lunch. Needless to say that never happened because it was an embarrassing experience for both of us. She structured the class to be 50% midterm and 50% final. Did I also mention she doesn't round up? I got a 59.5 and I'm probably going to have to repeat this to get a better grade. Also the final was probably the hardest test I have ever taken. I am a CSC major and I thought the theater final was the hardest of all of mine (and im in calc 3, pols, econ, and cpe) DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS DEAR GOD DO NOT TAKE THIS

Duffy is an absolutely terrible professor, probably THE worst. The class was 50% midterm 50% final. She is probably the rudest lady in the whole world and her lectures make NO SENSE AT ALL and the tests cover stuff that you have never seen before and the little things she says during her boring lecture. You have to go to the stupid play and pay $12 and she says its required but doesn\'t check to see if you went or not. I learned absolutely nothing about theater. I took theater in high school and liked it, but I am now less interested in theater than ever before because of her. And on the quizzes she asks questions about the play in which she wants to know who was the sibling of who, and who said what. The questions on the final seem easy, but oh, Duffy...she\'ll get you.

Alright so this class was definitely not the best class, but at the same time it wasn't absurdly terrible either. Her lectures are more straightforward than people seem to think they are. If you can stay awake during class, a B shouldn't be that hard. I didn't go to any extra credit opportunities. I only attended the mandatory opera which boosts your grade by 3%. My midterm and final grades were 87 and 88. If you study for a few hours before each test and put good stuff on the notecard you're allowed you should be golden. But honestly, go take music appreciation.

Teacher really just teaches off the publisher slides.

Susan Duffy: •Flabby arms •Nasally voice •Too fat to wear skinny jeans but does any way •Mega bitch •Self-centered •Pay4Grade (Extra Credit) •Dumb bitch •Reads out of the book & publishing slides •Technologically inept •Gross bitch •Plays boring ass videos •Puts you to sleep •No desks •Fat bitch -------- DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. DUFFY IS HIDEOUSLY GROSS AND A HORRIBLE TEACHER.

Class consists of 2, and only 2 tests, and that is your grade. 1 midterm, 1 final (not cumulative). The class was boring. You're sitting in an ill lit theatre, in comfy chairs at 9 in the morning, you're probably going to be asleep 70% of the time. Going to class seems pointless. Just read the book and you'll do fine. You get a 4x6 flashcard (front and back typed) for each test. The only thing that can save your grade is by going to theatre plays. every play you go to is 1% e.c. on your OVERALL grade. I ended with B, but because of my 7 shows I went to, got an A in the class. I would try to transfer out if you could, but if not, good luck, and go see some shows

I hope it never gets worse than Duffy. Boring lectures, bad notes, terrible topics, and your entire grade is based on a midterm, final, and any expensive plays that you might go to for extra credit to save your grade. Her tests are luckily non-cumulative but are so unrelated to the lectures that studying is almost impossible and unnecessary.

No.

In my opinion I thought that Prof. Duffy was a terrible teacher. I took her for theater because I was interested in the subject and discovered that she does a terrible job in getting people excited about a subject. The class is 2 days a week for 2 hours sitting in a giant lecture hall looking at various power points that she goes through too fast to take notes on and then we watch the occasional movie or video clip that she believes pertains to the class. We read ONLY one play for the class. This is an intro the theater class and we only read ONE play. On top of that, the one play was a TERRIBLE play written by one of her friends at Cal Poly that we also had to pay $15 to go see. Hmmmm....I wonder why she picked that one. It\'s an intro to theater class lady, how about some classic theater reading. Maybe a work not many people have read that would help students appreciate theater. Don\'t get me wrong it was an easy class. I got an A, because the whole class is based on a midterm that you do on Blackboard worth 45% a final on Blackboard worth 45% and a assignment in which she judges whether or not you came up with a good metaphor for the atrocious play that you have to go see. The play was terrible, both reading it and watching it. It makes me wonder if the only reason she made us read the play is so she could make us go see it and help support her friend in the department and help support the Cal Poly theater department instead of trying to gain interest in theater. The lectures are extremely dull and boring. This class serves as more of a history of theater class and the text that you have to read for the class is more of a philosophy of theater. I feel that this was a very poorly run class that anyone in any department couldn\'t have done much worse that her. A baboon with its thumb up its ass could have taught me this information just as effectively. For the midterm and final if you really wanted to, you can have a second lap top or computer by the one that you\'re taking your test on to help you with all the information. Just a suggestion for those of you looking to make this easy A even easier. My suggestion for this course, don\'t take it with Duffy if you\'re actually curious about Theater. She does not generate any excitement and the class was an extreme dissapointment.

Duffy is a horrible teacher but it is ridiculously easy to pass her class. All of your tests are open note, book, and person, and are online. The class is boring in itself but the lectures are needed for the exams. As long as you get with a good group to take the exams, you\'ll pass with an A+

Duffy is an absolutely terrible professor. How she ever got a PhD is a question I asked myself in class everyday. The class was 50% midterm 50% final. She is probably the rudest lady I have ever met. She should never be allowed to teach. Her lectures make NO SENSE at all and the tests cover stuff that you have never seen before. You have to go to the stupid play and pay 12 bucks and she says its required but doesn\'t check to see if you went or not. I learned absolutely nothing about theater and I am now less interested in theater than ever before. Because of Duffy. This lady should be fired immediately. She is beyond rude. She cares nothing about her students and doesn\'t care whether they learn or not. She goes over the answers to the midterm in 5 minutes (60 questions) and expects us to remember what we missed! someone needs to get duffy fired she is absolutely horrible!

I was excited to take this class because I was legitimately interested in theater and the history of theater. I am so disappointed in this class and what was focused on in this course. Professor Duffy was rude, unorganized and all over the place when it came to lectures. I showed up to almost every lecture and was so frustrated that questions on the final were of miniscule importance. She seemed to punish students by asking very specific, ridiculous and tricky questions on tests. I did not feel that she properly reviewed the midterm and being as the final is cumulative, many students suffered due to her lack of exploring previous material. I am so disappointed in the quality of the class and would have to be paid to take a class with her again.

Like on some real stuff.... she is absolutely horrible at teaching. I was told that her tests were online but her old self changed that rule this quarter. Her exams have some crazy bullshit on it... shit that only she would remember. I\'m not gone lie tho... I had the best sleep of my life during her whack a$$ films and lectures. Run from this PROF FASS!!!

absolutely terrible! avoid taking this GE she is absolutely terrible! the rudest lady i\'ve ever met. doesn\'t care about her students and tests you on stuff you have never seen before that she supposedly covers in class(which she doesn\'t) Duffy is unbelievably rude I was shocked at how rude she was! its unbelievable!! Avoid taking duffy! There will be questions on the test that you have NEVER seen. And I mean never! i went to every class and was so lost on the tests. I ended up with a B only because the tests are open notes open book. But so many of the questions I had to guess on. Duffy is the worst professor I have had at cal poly. She should be fired.

Horrible class. The class has absolutely no structure. She expects us to know use a novel called the necesity of theater as our textbook!!! Who does that? All day in class, I would not know what to take down as notes because she\'d go off on the most ridiculous tangents. She expects you to read this horrible play and forces you to go see it. Don\'t take this class because Duffy is a terrible teacher. She has a huge ego problem and anyone can tell she doesn\'t care at all about her students. She is the rudest and most arrogant person I ever met.

such a boring class. even if you have a sincere interest in theater, im sure she would bore you. she talks herself in circles trying to present material. the midterm and final were open note, book, anything you wanted to bring, so if you go to class and can force yourself to stay awake and pay attention, its a pretty easy class.

What a terrible professor and a terrible course. For students thinking of taking this class, here are some information to note: Midterm-50% of your grade Final-50% of your grade They are both scantron tests that are \"open notes\" and \"open book\" This would be very helpful if her test had questions based on notes you took in class, but it DID NOT. Maybe 50% of the test could be found in your notes/book while the other 50% are small details probably from her very terrible lectures. It is not to say there aren\'t very bright students who has the patience to sit through all her lectures and be able to memorize almost everything she says. That is why there are students that are able to get A\'s on her test. I know for sure that a majority of the class did NOT receive A\'s or B\'s in this class, and they all studied very hard. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. Pick another professor and another course to fulfill your GE or take it Pass/Fail

Her class is based on a midterm and final, both worth 50% of your grade. They are open note and open book. THEY ARE NOT ONLINE ANYMORE. They are extremely difficult though. Her lectures are not structured making it very difficult to follow/take notes. The book also rambles, making it very difficult to follow. She will ask questions that are on specific lines from the book and asks who says specific quotes from Hamlet. Too bad there is the tunure system. She was easily the worst teacher I have had at Cal Poly. Don\'t bother trying to crash her class; she won\'t add more students even though there was about 100 empty seats because she would not get payed more. She is extremely rude and arrogent. You only have to sit in her class for about ten minutes to learn that she thinks she is far supior to you and that she has zero respect for you, yet expects you to think she is glorious. She jokes about the fact that she has terrible poly ratings. DO NOT TAKE HER FOR THIS GE. IT WILL BE THE WORST CLASS YOU TAKE AT CAL POLY.

She will NOT move the final or midterm for anything. I had a great oppertunity to attend a confernce in DC but had to turn it down because she would not let me take the final any other time. Also, if you get a 69.9% in the class that is a D+ not a C-. She offers extra credit opportunities but they are plays what you have to pay at least $8 to attend and they only raise your grade 0.5%. DO NOT TAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don\'t take as a GE.

hmm just don\'t take this class. There is extra credit but its about one extra credit point for 10 dollars. The class is pretty boring and you get tested on what she says in class but does not put up on blackboard or include in power points.

i went to this class THREE times (first day, midterm, and final) stupidest class ever and she is annoying. just get the old tests from someone and youll be fine.

susan duffy is the rudest most obnoxious professor i have ever had the displeasure of encountering at cal poly. like a lot of people, i took theater 210 to fulfill the performing arts ge. however i DO NOT recommend taking this class!! regardless of whether or not the tests are online (they aren\'t), she is rude and mean to everyone who dares raise their hands in class. she will ridicule and belittle you in front of the 200 or so others in your class and will basically make you wish you could just shrivel up & die. too bad that\'s what everyone taking the class wishes SHE would do. the class is boring, she sits you in front of some incomprehensible ridiculous \'movie\' about 3 times a month and then doesn\'t test you on it. when she lectures, she rarely uses a powerpoint and speaks so fast that nobody can catch up. many times someone has raised their hands asking her to slow down, only to have her respond with: \"if you were LISTENING and PAYING ATTENTION then you could keep up. write faster!\" which we all know is ridiculous because if you ask a question, then clearly you\'re paying attention. at the end of this quarter she emailed the whole class telling us that her \"opinion of us has changed as well, not that you care\"....because apparently some people were using old tests. ummm understandable because it is impossible to take down everything she says. and the test is open note, so people assumed that anything could be brought in. also, as one of the students who didn\'t have the tests, i do not appreciate being lumped in with the ones who did. sending out mass emails of rage & hatred is unprofessional and obnoxious. STAY AWAY FROM DUFFY!

She changes the class from quarter to quarter, but you can expect you\'ll be reading one play, the horribly written book on \"The Art of Watching,\" see one play, and either listen to her lecture about random theater topics or watch a movie on any given class day. All of the other comments are true, you won\'t really have enough time to write anything useful down, but it will probably show up on the test. Both the midterm and final are 100 question scantrons. More than half of the people just show up to take those and never go to class, and probably pass. If you absolutely have to take this class, I would just take it credit/no credit like I did and just go whenever you feel like it. If you want to get an A, it\'s pretty easy if you just show up to class, and do all the extra credit opportunities. Basically any Cal Poly PAC event, some community theater events, and some movies at the Palm count. You answer a few quick questions, staple your ticket to the form, and get 1 point. Each of these extra credit \"points\" adds +1% to your final grade, so if you go do all like 15 of them it\'s +15% and nearly impossible not to get an A. Are you willing to shell out $150+ and 30+ hours of your spare time to buy a grade? Some people are, I\'m not one of them...

This bitch sucks. I'm not even done with the class yet and I hate her. I currently have a 92%, but I am astonished that I have this grade at this point in the year. Her class is based off of the most specific tests that are made up of questions from a horribly written book that is arguing for the necessity of theatre in a pathetic manor, and questions from lecture that are very difficult to answer because her lecture consists of her rambling on about theatre extremely quickly and even if you are trying your hardest to keep up with her, you will not. don't take this class. it will be the demise of your sanity

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS OR TEACHER. She is horrible.

This class is by far one of the more pointless classes I've ever taken. The textbook is a joke, it basically is a philosophical view of theater. The text teaches you nothing except one person's perspective on societies need for theater. She rarely used visual aids except with the occasional pp or video (which she tests on pointless info to make sure you attended class). I went to class almost everyday and still had no clue about certain questions on the test. This was odd because she said her test are created for the students who show up. A lecture usually consists of rambling about the history of theater with no chronological order. She does have a lot of extra credit which proves extremely helpful, but is around $10 per point. The only people that got A's on her tests were students who had previous midterms, which was frustrating because I actually studied and got a C and a B on her tests. She clearly doesn't read reviews because from what I've heard her teaching style hasn't changed. I would try and avoid this class. If you end up taking the class though, make sure you know other people taking it so you can compare notes because it is nearly impossible to catch everything she talks about in class.

If you have to take this class, take it cr/nc. I am SO glad I did- and many of my friends in the class tell me they wish they would've. Some classes we take are really hard, but if we get a good teacher that explains it to us we can manage- like chemistry. Dr. Duffy does the opposite. She makes Theater 210 unnecessarily hard. She says on the first day that if you go to class there is no reason for you not to get an A, but I am proof that she totally lied on that one. I take good notes, I never missed class, and I would have gotten a C in this class. I gave her an F rating for every aspect of her teaching. I feel sorry for you if you are reading this before you register for TH210. good luck!

I took this class because I heard it was an easy GE WRONG. It used to be an easy GE before she decided to completely change it. Her lectures were usually less than an hour and a half long, which was great, except for the fact that she literally taught nothing. There are only two tests (midterm and final) and extra credit. The tests are EXTREMELY detail oriented and can cover anything she possibly talked about or might have talked about in class. And when she's "telling you what's on the test", she asks the class to ask her questions, but then answers them in such a round-about way that she there's no point in asking her questions. She basically says anything she has ever said in class, anything from the stupid "textbook", and anything from the movies we watched are fair game. And that's it. Nothing specific, nothing to emphasize, absolutely nothing. She is a joke of a professor and this was a joke of a class.

This was a terrible class, along with a terrible teacher. She was completely rude, and thought she was the funniest person ever.. she wasn't. She would make jokes and she would be the only person laughing at them. The class almost never went the full two hours which was nice, but that was about the only thing nice about this class. The final grade is based on the midterm and the final only, and it's mandatory that you go to an opera at some point during the quarter. The midterm and the final were both ridiculous. If you try to ask her what you should focus on studying her reply is "anything that we've covered in class is fair game." This could anything any little detail she said, and movie or random youtube video we watched, or any play she said was mandatory to see. There were a lot of little details she mentioned during class on the final. This class was terrible and i dreaded going to it. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS!

This class is one of the most obnoxious classes at cal poly. Your grade is based on two 100 question tests, with extra credit opportunities in the form of seeing productions on campus and writing about them. The only way I got an A in this class was by not only writing down every single little thing she said (and her questions are on the most minute details that she only casually mentions in passing) but doing tons of extra credit and looking at old midterms and finals. If you want to spend a huge amount of spare time and worrying about showing up to class every single day as well as going to extremely boring productions on campus, and studying like crazy to get an A in a GE, this class is for you. In conclusion, this is a terrible teacher, and i would highly recommend taking another class to get rid of this GE.

There is so much to say about Susan Duffy that I don't even know where to begin, so let's start from the beginning. I went in to the class with an open mind, hoping to have an interesting (and easy) quarter of watching theater alongside one of my friends, what could go wrong. And then Duffy took the stage and began to tell about the course and walk the class through the syllabus. Between her high and mighty attitude and her excessive hand motions, she immediately began to irritate me. She was overly theatrical with everything she said, but that was to be expected from a theater teacher. Then Duffy began to lecture, and even though I wasn't the least bit tired, I struggled to stay awake. My friend and I tried to stay positive as the quarter dragged on, and continued to try take notes on her aimless ramblings she called lectures. Every day I was amazed when I would check the clock, expecting the class to be over and the 2 hours to finally be over, and we would only be 45 minutes into the lecture. One thing Duffy did do extremely well was make 2 hours feel like an eternity. By the time we made it to the midterm, which was worth 50 percent of our grade by the way, I looked over my notes and realized there was nothing of importance that we had learned. The midterm was on random, specific facts that she might have mentioned in passing at some point during the quarter, so unless you studied off of a past midterm (which she said she was aware that they had leaked and made changes to the test, which she didn't) you were screwed. The second half of the quarter was more of the same, except she did show us more movies during class. She even made us a home video, what she called a tour of the different aspects of theater at Cal Poly, which consisted of her walking around with a shaky video camera, speaking extremely loudly into the mic, and not being able to tell anything that was going on....anyway she's wasted enough of time so I'm not willing to spend any more time writing this. She's a horrible teacher and a horrible person, don't take her unless you're prepared to buy your grade

Duffy-genuinely a nice person...However, she needs to get the hook. She is an awful teacher. She assigns a lot of extra credit but each extra credit costs about $9. She expects you to go to a bunch if you really want an A. Fuck it. Not worth the money. Also, it was proven in class that she actually got the answers on the test wrong and yet she didnt change it! WTF is wrong with her. SHe was wrong, every yelled at her, so she just ended the class...Sack this woman.

Susan Duffy is one of Poly's worst. Her arrogant attitude combined with dull lectures almost unbearable. She did not improve my appreciation for theatre and although I enjoyed the mandatory Operas and Plays I would not accredit it to her. I hate to diss on a teacher but this truly was awful. I know it's a pretty common GE and if you are stuck with it you'll live. But if you are trying to increase your appreciation for theatre don't let Susan Duffy ruin it!!!

Before I get into this, I'd like to say that she seems to be a genuinely nice person, just not cut out to teach. Stay away from this class. As she says on the first day, anything, anything at all, that she says is fair game on the tests. And she means this. Also, the class is the most boring thing you'll ever experience and the tests are quite difficult. I haven't met anyone who liked this class.

Coming from a devoted theatre "kid" and lover I can honestly say I disliked this class dearly. She acted like everyone hated theatre and tried to present it in a "cool way," when in reality she is making everyone hate it. :/ Her textbook is pointless and I would have much rather read Uta Hagen or something then the philosophy of theatre (which makes people good. are you kidding me?) As a theatre kid I never hated theatre so much... :/ Her tests were basically anything she has ever said during class...and I mean ANYTHING. If you don't have a decent background of the theatre, you are gonna have to do a lot of time with google. And the whole idea of paying for your grade really bothers me. If your willing to pay extra money to get an A then I guess do it, I could not afford it :P

Duffy is a poor professor in every way imaginable. She is extremely rude, and does not understand how to accurately teach a large lecture course. Studying for her tests is almost useless, because she takes questions randomly from her lecture material, which may or my not be on the powerpoints she shows. 50% midterm, 50% final? Doesnt work if you cant teach. Id say, STAY AWAY

I am not a bad student and I like to stay on top of my work. This class, however, makes me so unmotivated that I ended up with a C+. I spent about $70 in extra credit which is ridiculous. This is because your grade is just the mid-term and final. Just drop this class. I wish I did because it screwed my gpa and took away my money. Don't take this especially if you are just a bad test taker. Also, the seats are so comfy that you'll fall asleep.

So. youre thinking about taking duffy. ehhh not the best decision. The only reason i am in this class is because i hda 8 units the first day of classes and duffys th210 was the only thing open. I went to the first day an hour late because i had just added and when I asked her for a permission number after class she looked like she wanted to backhand me, then proceeded to say nothing and point to a pile of cut-out numbers. you could say shes pretty theatrical. you can trust me when i say its one of those classes where when you go to class you say, "WTF did I come to class," but when youre not in class youre thinking, "oh god shes probably saying some random shit right now that will be on the final!" anyways bottom line is she presents her material pretty poorly. I find it very hard to go to class, but when it comes time to teach myself the material in 2 days before the midterm and final, i actually find the material somewhat interesting, she just has this preonceived notion that no one likes theater and it seems like she wants to force everyone to like it when really if she just presented the material in a strcutured, more interesting manner, the class wouldnt be bad at all

fuck. this. class.

At the beginning of the quarter, I looked forward to this class. I've always had an interest in theater and I thought this would be an interesting way to learn about it. I couldn't have been more incorrect. This class was the most uninformative classes I've ever had. The textbook was 200 pages of the author's opinions and they're so out there that it's hard to follow, let alone agree. The lectures are the worst part about this class though. You sit there for an hour and a half as she dumps random facts on you, but you have to remember them all because she'll take one sentence from a lecture and make it a question on her final. If you have any other options, don't take this class. You'll regret it.

Went to the first day of class, midterm, and final. And somehow i got a B. I am a badass haha

This lady is the devil. I found myself trying so hard to find reasons not to go to this class. The lectures were random and she tested on questions and sentences she had said once in class. The only thing good about this class was that every once in a while she'd put on a 20+ minute film, which gave me the opportunity to take a nap. Do not take this if you don't have to.

Duffy somehow managed to take a subject that I love and turn it into something I hate. I'm trying to switch to be a theatre major and just took the class last quarter. I dreaded going to class and listen to this woman laugh at her own jokes and talk about mimetic theatre. Honestly. The class is awful. I wish someone else taught it because she gives the theatre program here a bad reputation. That being said, the class is very easy and as long as you go to the lectures and kind of listen you should do fine. Ugh.

GO TO CLASS. I went to every lecture, skimmed the books, put all my notes in the book for the tests and took good notes. I got an A easy. She gives extra credit for going to performances which, though expensive, give you a significant amount of Extra credit. She talkes fast and runs through the material sporadically and your notes will be all over the place with random gaps but if you study with like two other people it is pretty easy to fill in the gaps. Class is very boring and i slept at least once during every video. The tests are open note and she gives you a notecard (which you dont really need because you can write everything in your book). JUST TRY but dont take if you dont have to....

I felt that Theater was super boring. But having Duffy really helped make it not as boring. Her class was really easy. I just showed up for the lectures and took decent notes, not excellent but decent notes and paid attention to the movies and I got an A in the class. I would advise anyone who wanted to take an easy class that is straight forward and not complicated, to take it with Duffy.

This class is incredibly boring.. so here's my advice. RENT the book. Go to class ~ 2 hours per week, so that incase she shows a movie/play, you can at least catch half of it (she will ask questions about the movie on the tests) and for the lectures that you miss, just get the material from the book. The questions are almost directly from the book. She allows a notecard for the test so I suggest writing the highlighted/important playwrights and what types of plays they wrote. Most of the other information is easy to remember. I skimmed the chapters a couple days before the test and fully read what seemed important, completely forgot my notecard for the midterm and still came out with a B. Overall, Duffy was one of the most awful teachers I've ever had.. but the class is passable. Don't expect an A unless you put in some serious work. CONSIDER CREDIT/NO CREDIT if you don't feel like trying.

"Karma's a bitch!" A lovely direct quote from Susan Duffy, a know-it-all theatre professor who takes her extremely basic general ed theatre class way too seriously. Not only does she make her students afraid to be called out during class for simply checking their phone for the time, she embarrasses people and, mainly herself. If she hates students so much and takes so much pride in what is essentially a high school art history course, she should quit. Instead she stays, probably because she's a power tripper and loves hearing the sound of her voice. She isn't helpful to students at all, and in fact acts like she hopes everyone fails. If you take this class (most people have to), don't get on her nerves. She isn't very professional about handling her emotions...

I ... HATE THIS LADY!!!!! This is the worst class offered at all of Cal Poly!!!!! Honestly I'm an idiot for even giving her the benefit of the doubt even after ready all of the horrible poly rating but I thought what the heck! ... I went to every class, took great notes, read all the chapters, watched all the movies, and studied my ass off. I'm not a good test taker and considering the class is 50% midterm and 50% final I ended up with a 69.5; YEAH YOU CAN GUESS [she] DIDNT ROUND UP! I hate this lady so much! In al of my major classes, I am being challenged and still getting A's and B's because my teachers are amazing... I fell bad for the Theatre Department and there sad sad excuses for "professors" HATE HER !

Although I slept through most of the movies that she played, it is nearly impossible to stay awake. You might as well not even show up to class. In order to get a good grade, you would need to take detailed notes of the chapters that are assigned in the book. Her powerpoints don't do shit and she goes over the material way too quick. Avoid this cunt at all cost.

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS UNLESS YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO! beware, you have been warned. If unfortunately taking this class is your last resort...alas you have come to the right spot for advice. Keep reading these reviews and take note of what works! I recommend you attend every lecture and take notes on what she SAYS. The power points are posted online so don't bother trying to copy them down since she just talks very fast through them. Your better off noting what she mostly brings up in class because those are the important concepts, people, plays, etc. Also, when she shows a video take notes on the main idea of the films (main characters, plot, etc) Guest speakers? Random Films? You betcha they're going to be on the test so ATTEND LECTURE! As annoying as the sound of her voice is you must bare with it for the whole quarter. Rent the textbook don't buy it. Actually read the textbook and take noted on what the main concepts are. Attend as many extra credit shows as you can. good luck, you need it.

what a jerk of a person. this woman is not only a terrible teacher but also a meanie in general. she always was quick to remind us how poorly we were doing and how terrible all of us are. she would do things that where just plain douchey like when it was asked what chapters the tests were going to be on. she would name them really fast and only once. thanks duffy, you just communicated to us that you want us to do poorly. just avoid this course. i had to take it, it hurt my GPA, and it was overall just a terrible experience you should spare yourself from.

i received a c+in this class. im not complaining cause she didnt round up or anthying, but this woman is a straight up b**ch. I went to every class, listened, took notes, studied hard for both the midterm and final (your only grades beside x-cred), and never got anything above a c. she makes her tests as hard as she can for an other wise simple class. Oh, and th best part, you can pay for a better in the class! ya just shell out 10 to 15 dollars for every production on and off campus. If only i spent an extra fifty bucks I could have gotten a B. Pointless class. Dont take this teacher. she doest care that she teaches a class that every student takes for a ge, she wants to make it as hard as possible, even for those that attend class every time. i hate duffy. the end.

Susan Duffy is ... out to get you and fuck you over. This class is a GE, yet she makes it so hard on purpose just to get revenge. ... DO NOT TAKE HER! Seriously, getting a good grade requires like $50 and a voice recorder. She goes off topic all the time and bitches about stupid stuff. She doesnt show up for office hours and refuses to help you in anyway. I took this class first quarter of freshman year and its the worst class I've ever taken. I would rather take COMS than this shit. Susan Duffy is a whore and I hope she reads all these reviews because the bitch needs a reality check.

She's definitely no where near as bad as most of her polyratings say. Going in to this class, I was terrified. This was one of my first classes here at Cal Poly and I was not looking forward to this so called "bitch" and her 50% midterm/ 50% final grading system. However, after actually taking this course, she's fine. Is she the best teacher ever? No. However, she's really passionate about theatre and if you show up to class every day, pay attention, and don't fall asleep during her plays/videos you will easily pass this class. She isn't mean. She's actual an adorable little lady. So if you're interested in the course, take it!

She thinks she's so smart, but she's not. She gets all of her powerpoints off of a website and doesn't lecture; she simply reads the sentences off of the slides. Every class I couldn't help but wonder how she has tenure or how she even got this job in the first place. The only way you can get an A in this class is by going to plays/operas that she assigns as extra credit. Basically, you have to pay for your grade. Some classes she would have us watch YouTube videos of music. I am not paying tuition to watch random videos that don't add to the academic value of the class. After leaving every class I felt like I had wasted 2 hours of my life. Don't waste your time.

This was my last GE I had to take, and it really wasn't any worse than any of the other GEs with 200+ students. Professor Duffy tries to seem a bit harsh at first, but I think she's a nice person. The tests are relatively difficult just because she isn't very good at telling us accurately what is on the test... she seems to get fixed on one subject and ask a bunch of questions on that one particular thing. But she lets you have a 4x6 card front and back which was very helpful for me. And when it comes to the extra credit, I know it doesn't seem that awesome that you have to pay for a better grade, but when it comes down to it it's a theater class so how else are you really supposed to learn other than by going to plays. Don't be afraid to take this class, its fine.

If you want to keep your sanity, DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. Worst class and professor I have ever experienced

If you did not read all of the polyrating warnings before taking this class and are now stuck in it as I was here is some advice: Go all extra credit plays! There is no way to get an A in this class otherwise. I was one of the few students that stayed awake every class and took notes on every sentence she said and I still only got an 89.5%. Also, beware the true or false questions on her midterm and final which make up roughly 20% of these exams! They all seem as though they could be true and false, even if you study and know the material. Do not take this class if possible.

She does not know how to prepare her students for her tests, wether it be your midterm (50% of your grade) or your final (50% of your grade). She will blatantly say anything is fair game…. She does not reiterate the more important topics which will be tested on or what pieces to study for.

Avoid at all costs.

Honestly, people give this class a bad reputation because they are lazy. This is a twice a week lecture that usually only lasts 90 minutes. We always got let out early! Sure there is a lot of information, but you get a notecard for each of the two exams (worth 50% of your grade each). All you need to do is take decent notes during class (and put the most important content on your notecard) and read the book (and even that isn't the most important thing). You also spend a good amount of time watching videos, it's super relaxed! Duffy is a bit intimidating but I would behave in the same manner if I had such disrespectful classes every quarter. Don't be afraid to take this class for your C3, getting an A is totally easy. There's also extra credit that is worth way more than it may seem!

You know the theatre teacher from High School Musical? This is literally her.

So I took this class dreading it because everyone on this thing was talking about how horrible of a class this was. Welp... I understand if you're not into theater then maybe the class would be a bore. But I personally love theater, so I found a lot of the information covered interesting. We always got out of class early, she puts her powerpoints online, most of the videos were kinda awesome and the required performance we had to see was actually pretty cute. Didn't really study much for this class minus making my notecard for the tests. It's not the most awesome C3 (idr exactly which GE this was), but for me it went well. I might be the only one on here, but I kinda liked Duffy. It's not all that bad people!

Really, this class is not bad at all and people make it seem much worse than it really is. All you have to do is read the assigned chapters and go to class. The tests are relatively easy if you've done the readings and gone to lecture. The majority of her test questions come from the highlighted words in the book, so as long as you know the definitions of those and the main points in the chapter, you will do fine. Duffy is actually a nice professor and her class is made out to be so much worse than it really is

Avoid at all costs. PolyRatings does not lie. Warning to freshman who get automatically blocked into this class, GET OUT!!!!!!

Let me begin by saying that i am not a good student. i am smart, but not a good student. i believe Duffy knows the material, she just doesnt have a decent way of presenting it. Her lectures persist largely on power points that are too fast to take notes on and hardly (if at all) explained verbally, thus leaving the students in the audience with a lack of determination to even attend class being that you will have to eventually relearn all the material from scratch in the required textbooks (never used). She does not know how to engage the class and in one of the few personal interactions i had with her i had asked an honest yes/no question before an exam and she replied with a rude, snarky, sarcastic response. I truly studied hard for the final exam and didn't pass. I am very disappointed for the time wasted there. Even if you do pass, you will walk away knowing as much as you did walking in. Duffy is an embarrassment to Theatre and Cal Poly in general. She does not belong.

Susan Duffy, It's professors like you that make me wonder why I have to take GEs. This theater class was, without a doubt, my least favorite and the most pointless class I have taken in my 4 years at Cal Poly. Your snarky superiority complex is not only unnecessary but absurd. You teach an intro level GE. Get over yourself. I am a bio major and have brilliant professors who have gotten PhD's from Harvard and Stanford (in BIOLOGY – an actual, hard subject – not theater...) that think less highly of themselves than you do. You are not helpful nor kind, and I have no idea why you teach if you apparently hate students and people in general. Your attitude does not make people want to come to class, so if you look around and its empty in Spanos it is YOUR fault. Your less than one star, 0.97/4.00 Polyrating is far too generous. One of the few reasons I am excited to graduate is now I never have to listen to professors like you. Sincerely, What Everyone was Thinking P.S. It might be nice if you said “please” to Daniel or whoever else is working the lights and videos!

The class itself isn't unbearable if you apply yourself. That being said, "Professor" Duffy completely fails at fulfilling her duties to TEACH her students any valuable material. I can't even count how many times she would just lean over and read off the slide and then say, "There's a lot of that in there." Like...a lot of what? In where? I'm an extremely efficient student and I was so frustrated at her inability to teach. I went to every lecture, and multiple extra credit productions, but her tests are incredibly unfair- almost laughable when you're taking them. I just wish a faculty member would sit in on her lecture and re-evaluate her position here at Poly. Her attitude was obnoxious. BOTTOM LINE- if you NEED to take this class, you'll survive. If not, avoid at all costs.

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS! I BEG OF YOU! SAVE YOURSELVES FRESHMAN!!!!!! If you see TH210 on your schedule right now, get out! get out! GET OUT!!! Not worth it. You have to spend tons of money on performances (2 are required for the class and the rest get you extra credit), and the only way to even possibly get a good grade is if you go to the extra credit performances. Your grade consists of 1 midterm, 1 final, and going to the 2 required performances. Some of the questions on the tests are ridiculous and are impossible to remember.

This class is more of an advanced theater class. If you think you are getting into an easy GE, you aren't. Unless you take this class credit/no credit. During lectures she goes extremely fast and it is impossible to keep up. The tests also ask super specific questions. You must read the book, the tests ask super specific questions from it, and often after reading and studying I could not recall such specific details for the test.

Dammit Duffy!

This the worst class I have ever taken in my entire life. Duffy actually is a nice lady and an okay teacher but it doesnt really matter because the course material itself is SO BORING. I don't know how this class is listed as a fine arts GE because the material is hard to comprehend. The class is in the morning, in the comfortable chairs in the theatre, and in low light. It is nearly impossible to stay awake in this class and I drink coffee every day. THATS HOW BORING IT IS. DO ANYTHING TO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS I AM WARNING YOU NOW.

If i could give her negative polyratings i would. the material is interesting and could be easy but she is such a narcissistic person. She goes through the lecture slides way to fast to the point where it is impossible/ pointless to take notes. the only reason you need to go to class is to see the videos she shows which unfortunately appear on tests. Duffy should be fired

I am a nice person. I don't hate a lot of people. I hate Susan Duffy.

Don't be scared of this class, it's not that bad. Try to go to all the classes and try not to sleep when she shows videos, because she asks test questions on them. Other than that, there's barely anything you need to do outside of class. The night before the midterm and the final, I typed the majority of my notes from class onto the 4 by 7 index card you can use on tests. Make sure to write notes on the characters from different videos and plays. I went to a couple extra credit performances, but they weren't necessary for me to get a B. All in all, I studied about 8 hours this whole quarter for this class, and if I did a little more, I probably could have gotten an A. Yes, Duffy is kind of full of herself and a bit theatrical, but she is not the devil.

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS!!!!!!!!!!! Listen to all the other reviews hat are raging on this class. this is the worst class. there are only two grades in the class the midterm and final and the material on the tests are pulled from no where. besides only having two opportunities to do well in this lass it is mandatory to see one opera (costs around $15+) and the play that is being performed by cal poly students during the quarter (also cost around $15+). If you dont do well on your midterm you can get extra credit by seeing plays in SLO and analyzing plays. All of the plays cost money meaning that in order to raise your grade in the class you have to be rich. also Duffy just sucks.

She really really is a poor teacher. I have never failed a class at poly and i typically try very hard and am able to recognize the classes i need to work hard in. Duffy is an extremely extremely unorganized professor. During her lectures (if she is actually lecturing and not showing a video) you have no idea what she is talking about because she will use 3-10 powerpoints in one lecture. not to mention she will let you out 20 minutes early every class period, which seems great but when she does that for 9 weeks, that is a lot of class time that actually would be helpful to be learning/having her teach. 1/3 of her class got a 67% of lower on the final, that is not the students fault anymore, that is the professor. I would recommend going reading the book, taking your laptop to take notes on because she is so quick while lecturing, and finding a friend in the class so you can each go to different performances and both get points for them! I would also just say don't take the class. Also, anyone who has experiences this same frustration please go into the liberal studies department and complain about Duffy, thanks.

These terrible reviews are not exaggerated; Duffy is probably the worst professor I've had in my 4 years at Cal Poly. Not only is she a terrible lecturer, she is also completely useless when you email her or ask for help outside of class. Whenever I approached her she was condescending and impatient. It's possible to get a good grade in the course, but it's not worth the time and the headache. Take another GE if possible. If you can't avoid it, I passed by focusing on the text book rather than her lecture material. I also made sure to sparknote the major plays and productions that we watched in class. The tests have questions about plot points, major themes of the work, and character quotes. It was too much work for a GE and this only got me a B. To get an A you'd probably have to drop a couple hundred on performances and literally buy yourself a 10-20% grade bump.

Duffy clearly read her Polyratings and tried to improve as a teacher overall, I've heard numerous horror stories from previous years to know she has tried to change. Being said, the class is based off of two tests alone. If you attend the lectures, watch the big movies (Hamlet, School for Scandal, etc). take good notes you'll do OK. If you truly want an A in this class, use the Quizlet flashcards online & ATTEND AS MANY EXTRA CREDIT AS POSSIBLE. Each show is worth 1% of your grade, it is worth it trust me. Good luck with the Duffs, you can do it.

By far the worst professor I have ever had at Cal Poly. Your grade is based on two grades: the midterm and the final. If you do not attend the opera, 3% is deducted from your grade. You can also attend extra credit performances, each worth 1%, so you basically buy your grade. Her lectures are dry and disorganized, with her lecture slides literally cut and pasted from the book. She doesn't even elaborate on the material when lecturing, she just reads straight from it. There are about a million sets of lecture slides on the polylearn page and she seldom knew which one she was lecturing from when asked. When not lecturing from her boring lecture slides, she shows countless clips from movies followed up by a stuttered explanation attempting to tie it in somehow to the class. The final takes A LOT of questions from the mandatory play you must attend and from the movies showed in class. Basically, it doesn't seem as though Duffy puts any time into this class. She seems totally unprepared every day. She is on a major power trip and is extremely rude and condescending to her students when approached. She bluntly told a student that she is smarter than him in front of our 200 person lecture. Do not take this class.

Attend every lecture and take notes on the videos she shows you THEY WILL BE ON THE MIDTERM & FINAL. Know the key terms in the book and you will be fine. Professor Duffy is very nice and willing to help you with your studying if you go into office hours. If you go to class, it's an easy B.

Worst professor I have ever had.

If you can take anything else to fulfill your GE, DO IT. I have never dealt with such a dreadful teacher before. There are only 2 grades, the final and the midterm. And they are impossible to study for. The questions are so meaningless and specific that I'm surprised anyone passed. The tests are designed to trick you, not to see if you've learned anything. You are required to go to two performances but if you want a better grade you better be ready to buy it. Extra performances = extra credit but it ain't cheap. Going to class helps but I rarely felt the need. It was such a chore to listen to her that I opted to skip and read the book at home. Admittedly I probably would have done better if I showed up a little more often, but I'm not sure it would have been worth it. She's that awful.

I got blocked into this class as a freshmen and it's terrible. The lectures are super boring and she spends most of the class playing long boring movies and then tests you on the smallest details about them. The tests cover tons of stuff that you never learn and no matter how much you study you'll never be prepared. The only way to get a good grade is to spend $100+ dollars on extra credit. A doable class if you're willing to pay.

WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. Duffy is a nice person but DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS WHATEVER YOU DO. There are too many reason to not take this class.

Duffy is unorganized, unprofessional, and an overall poor teacher. She lectures incredibly fast and either puts like 1 thing per slide or 50. You can get extra credit but you essentially have to buy your grade, which is ridiculous. She is also very poor at writing tests. Her tests are not clear and she occasionally throws in material that she did not cover and was not in the assigned reading. It's great. As a bonus, she occasionally is rude to students who speak up in her classes and is also rude to the person running the light booth. I would NOT recommend taking this class.

Professor Duffy is one of those Professors who thinks of herself very highly- not because she is "of the arts", but because she holds a Ph.D. She is an alright lecturer, but she has a seriously misguided view of reality. My problems with her class are: the grading system, the extra credit points, her emails, and the lack of direction the lecture goes in. So, professors at Cal Poly have been told to make their classes extremely rigorous to compete with the larger, more prestigious schools. Cal Poly doesn't want to "seem easy." So they put impossible standards on the professors (which they could easily revoke and not adhere to) to have a certain percentage of their students flat out fail. But I don't want to take all the blame away from Dr. Duffy. Her class is a joke. I've learned so much about theatre and life and even about myself from this class. I apply what I've learned to many modern things outside of class. Am I (or anyone else) graded for what they took out of the class? No. There are only two chances to receive a grade in the whole quarter-long class. Just two. The midterm and the Final. You must attend one opera and one play. They are only the ones listed on her syllabus. Thats fine. But you only get one point for every opera/play you attend. One point that is not weighted. It's one point. Tickets are as low as $25 for the cheapest opera and I've paid $99 for a single ticket (Jerry Seinfeld) at the PAC. Excluding the Jerry Seinfeld show, I've paid $120 for only 6 points of extra credit. Actually less than that, because one of the operas and one of the plays count as the last points to getting a hypothetical 100% on her damn final. While I enjoyed the plays immensely, I don't think you should pay approx. $20/<1pt extra credit for any class. Let alone a GE. I could have taken this class for $120 at a JC and got an A and not have had to pay Cal Poly to support such lousy grading policies. In addition, you will get emails from her (twice at a time) that have a "holier-than-thou" tone. It's annoying. She mass emails students for stupid things about grades (saying "some of you are having a 'tiddy' about the grades.... For those of you...It's on the syllabus like I said..) and on and on and on... Her lectures keep me guessing what the hell is going to be on her exam. For only two shots at getting an A in the class, she does JACK to guide you toward the questions possibly asked on her exams. If you want to pass her class: don't miss class (duh), use the pre-made cards on quizlet to study (I found out too late that she heavily tests on bold lettered words and captions in the textbook), pay attention to the motives and significance of characters in the videos (25% questions on exam1, 15% questions on final) and just go to one opera and one play. Or take this at a GE and pray this class gets pulled off the list.

Although I ended up doing okay in the class, that was purely by luck. There's literally only two grades you get in the whole class, the midterm and the final. With each weighing 50% of your grade, its pretty much necessary for you to do well on both. The 3 points you get for attending an opera do help, but what really helps is the extra credit. There are quite a few extra credit opportunities, but they're all $10-$20 for each one plus writing up an analysis form for each one, just to get 1% added to your grade. They help but it's pretty sad that you basically have to buy your grade. Duffy presents a shit ton of information and makes you watch a bunch of videos and then the questions on the test ask you the tiniest details about a specific scene in a movie or a random fact from a random slide on one of her 5 billion powerpoints she has on her website. She's pretty disorganized during class but going to class is definitely necessary if you want to get a decent grade in the class. This class stressed me out more than an elective for a C3 should, and if you have any other options you really should take those over this class. If all of her polyratings are bad, take that into serious consideration when you think about taking this class. I highly recommend you avoid this class if at all possible.

Great teacher, tried her best to keep people awake. Very caring, helpful, and passionate about the class. Her only downfall was that history in the class is about as boring as it gets.

DO NOT TAKE DUFFY! She is not a good professor. Her lectures are boring, I either would skip her class or sleep during it. She has no care in the world if you pass or not. The only graded assignments are the midterm and final. There are extra credit plays you can go to, but they are extremely expensive.

I'm really not sure why everyone hates on Duffy so much at all. Yes, her lectures weren't exactly the most thrilling, but that's usually the case with huge lectures. I went to a total of 7 lectures and got an 87% in the class, by reading the book. That's truly all you need to do, READ THE BOOK. All the information is in there. It's really not that difficult. Her tests are straightforward and not cumulative - 1 midterm, 1 final 50% of the total grade each, 100 questions. Extra credit is offered throughout the quarter by going to different shows and performances throughout the quarter. Honestly one of the easier GE's I've taken. The horror stories of this class are completely unnecessary.

This lady is the biggest joke of a professor I have ever encountered. I have no idea how she got tenure(probably sued the school or something; oh wait...). Anyways, boring lecture and all she does is read off her powerpoints for about half an hour(download them and look at the notes on her slides and she is just reading straight off them with added bs. Like a middle school kid giving a class presentation), then she'll put on some youtube videos about theatre and let them do all of her work. And then she tests you on how well you memorized random information instead of on what you learned. Avoid if you can. Not difficult, just an annoyance.

This class does have a worse reputation then it should. That being said I wouldn't recommend taking it. The class in general is boring and Duffy doesn't do a good job of getting people excited for it. Her lectures are boring and at times pointless. To do well you must read the book and show up to class. If you expect to get a good grade in the class you cannot skip every day. I got the second highest grade on her midterm (which is half her grade) from reading/studying the Vocabulary and attending class. You do have to go see an opera which is really boring and it is mandatory to see a few other plays. You can buy your grade by going to different plays either at the PAC or other places throughout San Luis Obispo county. Each extra play would be an additional one percent added to your grade. Overall, avoid the class and if you can't show up and do the reading and I promise you will do fine.

I have never seen such an undeserved rating! Honestly it baffles me. Maybe its because many freshman take this for their first quarter? I don't know, but she's at worst, a decent professor. While the lectures are rather bland and traditional, there is nothing inherently bad about them. You don't even need to attend the lecture to succeed-she posts all her powerpoints and her lectures follow the book closely. Easy A if you attend lectures and go to the required performances. Take the class and read the book. this isn't terribly interesting or engaging, but its a fine class. Take it if you have a low rotation, spots are always open.

This class is very very easy, you get 3 percent extra credit on your final grade for going to an opera and 1% for any other performance. This class will bore you to tears, but you can probably pass by only showing up for the final, the midterm, and an opera. Or you can go class, go to some performances, and get an A. I loved theater and it was still super boring though.

Duffy is pretty boring but you can get away with doing basically nothing in this class and pass. I think i made it to maybe 3 lectures and pulled off a B. All you need to do is buy the tickets for the required plays (she makes you turn those in), google what happens in those plays and take the Theatre 210 quizlet online to help you study for the midterm/final which is what your grade is made up of. Don't buy the book it's not worth it. Plus she gives you 1% extra credit for every play you "see." Take this class it's easy.

Fuck Duffy

This class is so difficult just because she makes it difficult. She grades unfairly and there is definitely a bias and favoritism. Worst kind of professor and not encouraging.

I took a M-R one hour a day class, and it really wasn't bad at all. It was fun to watch how passionate she is about history and education. There were some confusing points at the beginning, where she would ask a question that nobody would know and she chastised us for not listening to her say it the day before (she obviously didn't, one of us would have heard it.) But it got better. We had a few short presentations in small groups; basically we researched a topic we were interested in and told it to a few other people. There were 3 midterm tests with mc, fill in the blank, true and false, and labeling maps. A 15 minute presentation to another group of students. An essay for the final out of class. I don't know, I was really interested in the course material, so maybe that's why I liked her.

Professor Duffy's lectures were confusing because she would just stand in the front of class and tell us random information. She wasted a ton of paper handing out a bunch of handouts all the time, and we didn't even go over a lot of it. She wouldn't tell us anything about what was going to be on the test, so you basically had to guess what she thinks is important out of a ton of scattered information. The best part of this class is the movie. I thought the movie was really interesting. Prof. Duffy is nice, but the class was a little random.

Duffy is very boring, and her lectures are very confusing. She doesnt know the material very well. Most classes offered by her are required, so there is no other teachers to choose from. I reccommend not taking a class from her that is two hours long.

Duffy loves to talk and sometime goes off topic but shes pretty good...she knows the material and explains the information quite clearly.

This was absolutely one of my favorite classes! Even though Dr. Duffy seems to annoy some people, I found her a very kind and understanding professor. She never assigns reading that is boring, and we watched a lot of movies in class. The tests weren't difficult as long as you read over all the material she gives you. You only receive 5 grades: 3 midterms of 100 points each, 4 papers that equal 100 points, and the final. Make sure you stay on top of book reading. The chapters are really long, so once a test is over, start reading over the new material immediately. This class was very interesting and informative!

I did not learn much from her class. She is instructing majors and non-majors at the same time, but all the majors didn't learn anything from the class. Class time was spent watching filmed versions of plays. It was fun!! A very, very low-stress class.

Dr. Duffy is kind and passionate about theater. Most of the class consists of watching recordings of plays, so Dr. Duffy's presentations are usually brief. They're also full of tangents, but those tangents are usually interesting. If you watch the plays and skim the text, her tests are very manageable.

This class was WAY better than her huge Intro to Theater class. There was only a few of us, and she doesn't take anyone who's not on the waitlist... but if you get in the class size will drop to only like 20 people. She doesn't care about attendance, let's you choose if the midterm/final are multiple choice/short answer, and you basically watch movies. She's a really nice lady and she really wants her students to get something out of the class. I would take this class again no question!

Overall. this class is OK, a B-rating. Duffy is nice and understanding. She is better than most liberal arts professors I have had (for GE). Unlike most, she doesn't cram flaming liberalism down their class' throats. Instead, her views are subtle and we can arrive at our own opinions. I like professors like that, even if they do agree with me. The material is racy at times, just a warning. Her tests are relatively fair, and to make up for some weird questions, she curves the class.

I went into this class extremely nervous because I had heard horrible things about Duffy from friends who had her for intro to theater. However, i was very pleasantly surprised by her TH228 class. It was really laid back, all you do is watch different classic movies or plays every class. The midterms are pretty easy and sparknotes is a huge help for the plays that it has summarys for. The final was a bit harder because she does require you to go to a play outside of class which she tests you on but she gives you a few options to choose from and I heard they weren't too boring or expensive, but I didnt go to one myself, otherwise I probably would've gotten an A in the class. Overall, Duffy was chill, pretty funny, definitely knows her shit, and TH228 WAS AN AWESOME CHOICE FOR A C3! TAKE THIS CLASS!

Professor Duffy isnt a horrible person but for being someone who is teaching people how to be teachers she sucks BAD! Do not take her class unless you absolutly are forced to with no possible way around it! Hearing that voice at 8:00 in the morning is enough to kill you alone! She will give you big projects and assignments but wont tell you how to do them or what she wants. You will be lost the entire class and if you ask her to be clearer she just talks alot and confuses you more!

Annoying. Annoying. Annoying. Her voice gave me migrain headaches everytime I left the room. She is a very hard grader and expects too much from her students when her instructions are too vague and the task is impossible. She sucks. She team taught with Dr Gish- read what I wrote about her. Please do not take this course with either of them they are aweful and have made me re-evaluate my major. Oh, and Dr. Duffy- your jokes are NOT funny and your laugh is annoying and fake.

Dr. Duffy was very hard to talk to. She did not keep the class up to date on assignments and was not clear on what was due when. She was very un approachable and hard to talk to. She would not listen to students when they had questions and was not very willing to help those who struggled. She was very disorganized and would assign projects at the last minute leaving very little time to do a good job on any assignment.

The work is reasonable. She is a great lady who is extremely knowledgable about the course material. SHe absolutley loves everthing there is to storytelling. BUT- you'll fall asleep in her class. She's not the best at presenting the material. I'd take her, just bring some caffeine!!

I saw a lot of negative comments about Duffy, so I was a little pessimistic going in to her class. It turns out, she is not bad at all. There is a lot of reading, but you can sparknote a lot of the readings. She gives two midterms and one final. She lets you have a notecard for each test, and let you write the essay at home. The essay is worth 25 points and she gave just about the whole class 25/25. She does not grade so much on content, but on spelling, grammar and factual errors. She will call you out if you are on your phone or computer and ask you what you are doing, so make sure to avoid that! Overall, not a bad class, I recommend taking it for a C4.

Fuck this guy. Id like to stick my tounge up his ass.

Dr. Duffy does not teach anthropology 606 or any other anthropology course. The same comment made in the review above appears verbatim in reviews of other faculty who have also not taught the courses evaluated by this individual.