I took an 8-week course with Dr. Timothy Furnish for HIST 1111, and I really wish I’d known what I was getting into. Here is an honest review for everyone else that needs to know how his class really is.
We had an essay due every single week except for spring break. He’s a very harsh grader and nitpicks everything, even small things that most professors wouldn’t care about. He claims a rubric will be provided, but what he gives is just a set of vague instructions with no actual breakdown of how you're graded, which makes it impossible to know how to meet his expectations.
He insists on papers being in MLA format, but never actually says this anywhere in the instructions. He’ll just take off points if you don’t use MLA. He also has his own personal way of citing things, and if you use standard MLA or APA formatting, he’ll still count off. When students point out that something isn’t standard, he responds with, “That may be how your other professors do things, but it isn’t how I do it.”
You’re not allowed to use any sources other than the ones he provides, even if you use credible, academic ones. He’ll deduct points if you include outside sources. Strangely, if you include a Works Cited page (even in MLA), he’ll take off points for that too.
Papers must be at least 700 words- but if they’re under 1000, he’ll say “Could have been longer” and usually take off a few points. His feedback is inconsistent, rude, and unhelpful. He capitalizes most of his words in reviews (ex. LIKE THIS), which make its feel like he's virtually screaming at you. On one of my better papers, he said: “Very good job! Only quibble: you missed the video point about 20th c. Indian politicians resurrecting/exploiting Ashoka as a symbol of Indian nationalism.” Then deducted 5 points for that.
He answers emails fairly quickly and provides his personal phone number, but that doesn’t help much. However, when I called him (per his emailed request as he had given me someone else’s grade based on their word count), he said he was too busy and told me to call back later. Not professional.
Discussion posts are technically optional, but they’re the only way I passed. He offers extra credit for them, and they’re usually based on opinion questions. They're easy to complete, but if your opinion differs from his, he will let you know in his comments (though thankfully, he doesn’t take off points for that).
Bottom line: Avoid this class if you can. It’s way too stressful for too little reward. I’m posting this here because RateMyProfessors doesn’t give enough space to explain how frustrating this course was. I did the work, I passed the class, but I don’t think anyone else should have to go through what I did.
