Taught by: Dr Jonathan Frome
Fang Yiyang (@fangyiyang)
Content (Structure/Organization):
I did not take this course but have worked with Dr Frome in other capacities. I'd strongly recommend to stay away from him. Regardless of the course content and organisation, he is not a person you'd want to work with.
Manageability of Workload:
NIL
Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades:
He is willing to give unusually low grades, maybe out of spite. I'd suggest not doing anything to antagonize him.
Learning Value/Recommendation:
As a general observation, Dr Frome does not strike me as someone who really knows any of the stuff he is doing, yet unwilling to openly admit his limited expertise. Although evolutionary psychology might be somewhat related to things he has done research on, it is still outside his area of expertise (communication studies, video games). If you are really interested in evolutionary psychology, perhaps just take a course in the psychology department.
About the Instructor:
Dr Frome has a tendency to micromanage and gaslight. He wants you to do exactly as he wants you to do, yet he is unclear about his expecations and instructions, and expects you to infer them, and it is your fault if you fail to do so. When you face conflict or disagreement, he will say things that, intentionally or not, questions your character and abilities, and induces guilt and anxiety. He is insensitive and unempathetic.
At first, he might not come across as someone who is like this, but once you start working with him more closely and face disagreements, doubts, etc. and all the problems will arise. To give you a clearer picture, he behaves very much like a stereotypical middle manager in a corporate setting. He behaves more like he's your boss than your professor.
Additional Remarks:
I stand by everything I said and openly attach my name to all the above. I am open to providing more information via DM.
Content (Structure/Organization): 2
The learning outcomes and topics of each class were clear, but the professor himself was not the most structured, and even though we were given notes every lecture on what we would be covering, often the instructions were still hard to understand, and we did not know what to do.
The professor had his own website where he posted all the course materials and writing guidelines, which was supposed to improve the structure. However, it can get hard to find all the information (e.g. formatting guidelines, writing check list) because they tend to be all over the place, and it is very easy to miss one or two and then get penalized for it.
Manageability of Workload: 1
The workload was quite heavy compared with my other courses. There were almost weekly writing exercises (graded) and two big papers. The most stressful part was the formatting, which the professor was extremely particular about. I found myself spending more than 10 hours on a paper draft and an extra hour checking the formatting requirements again and again before submission.
Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades:
Cannot tell how achievable an A is overall because as a science student writing isn't my strong [suit]. However, many assignments seemed to be graded on formatting only, which was very demoralizing. Instructions on whether to use the hanging indent or not, what highlighting to use, what the font is supposed to be etc. are not always clear and it is very easy to miss something out and get penalized (half-credit) for it. The two big papers were not too bad, but I think it's still a lot of effort on average.
Learning Value/Recommendation: 2
The readings were interesting, and there were quite a lot of useful tips on academic writing. I just wish there was less emphasis on formatting of the papers, so I could focus on what was actually important.
About the Instructor:
Prof Frome is very knowledgeable in the subject, and provided many useful and interesting resources that helped with learning. He is very open to reviews and suggestions and is always looking to improve the course. However he can be disorganized and unclear in giving instructions, and also very strict on formatting. Updates on his website were frequent and not always timely, and it was very demoralizing to find out spending 8 hours on the wrong version of the assignment, and getting penalized for not refreshing his website and checking for updates every hour or so. There was once when he forgot to post the revised version of the assignment guidelines (due Saturday 23:59), and only posted (after reminding) after 23:30 on Friday, and did not give extension, which ended up as a submission nightmare. Another time I accidentally did the older version of the assignment (started before he posted the newer one) and got punished for that.
Additional Remarks:
Please reconsider if you hate doing tedious formatting and cannot stand being disorganized for the sake of sanity!
Content (Structure/Organization): 4
Prof clearly communicates the structure of the course and generally provides detailed instructions for assignments. Given the nature of the topic, the first half of the sem is quite content-heavy, covering evolution, evolutionary psychology, and its relation to art (doesn't involve analysing specific artworks!)
Accessibility and Asssessment: 4
Yea the prof is excellent and very patient in his explanation, very easy to pick up the concepts. But around midterm he speeds up when submissions are coming so you need to so extra reading to understand, which is expected and reasonable. He is kind of a no nonsense kind of teacher, which I think is a plus.
Manageability of Workload: 3
The workload was quite manageable (readings + short writing exercises/paper-related tasks) until the end of the sem when you're rushing your final paper. You end up writing most of paper 2 in the last 2 weeks of the sem, making it difficult to balance with the rest of your work. I rushed my draft and had to spend most of reading week doing nothing else but working on my paper, but if you manage your time better you should be fine.
Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades:
As long as you pay attention to instructions/feedback and put in consistent effort for assignments you should be able to get a decent grade. He's also quite particular about details (formatting, citations, etc).
Learning Value/Recommendation: 4
The evolutionary psychology concepts aren't very useful to me, but the writing techniques/advice definitely are.
About the Instructor:
Prof is knowledgeable about the subject matter and explains concepts clearly, making an effort to check whether we understand what he's saying. He's approachable and asks for feedback frequently.
Additional Comments/Word of Advice:
There's a no electronics policy during class. Prof prints out compulsory readings and notes for every class, but you might have to print out paper-related stuff when there's in-class peer review.
Content (Structure/Organization): 3
The individual class itself is pretty structured; However while it seems that the module has certain learning outcomes it intends to achieve across all classes, the requirements that each prof has seem pretty different. The professor for this class definitely prefers clarity in argumentation and organisation over bombastic phrasing or flowery language, so take this class if you want to work on clarity over flair.
Topics covered would start from basic biology knowledge (for those without a biology background to catch up, however the onus is still on you to watch the recommended videos provided in your own time, as only 1-2 lessons is spent on the basics). Afterwards, the professor will mix covering EP content and writing skills in his lessons. The EP and art content itself isn't extremely important for writing the paper, and you certainly won't be tested on the knowledge. It's more of to give you sufficient background information on the topic such that you can understand others' arguments and formulate an explanation/response to it, so it's like a medium through which you write your papers.
Paper 1 is a 1.5k word essay where you breakdown, explicate, and (optionally) analyse a specific argument from a source chosen by the professor. Paper 2 is a 2.5k word essay where you breakdown, explicate and (no longer optionally) analyse or even correct a specific argument from a source that you choose, so long as the topic is related to EP and art. You will also use at least 3 other sources to supplement your arguments.
The grade breakdown is as such:
15% Exercises
15% Attendance and participation
30% Paper 1
40% Paper 2
Manageability of Workload: 3
Assignments are split into exercises which are more low stakes grades-wise (they are graded by whether you've fulfilled the content requirement, formatting requirement, and whether you've submitted on time) and Paper 1 or 2 assignments, which by themselves aren't graded but are supposed to contribute towards the final paper. After each class, students are also required to upload a forum post with at least a few sentences of feedback, comments or questions for the Prof, and this is meant to contribute towards your participation grade as well. There are also required and recommended readings every week, split into EP related readings and writing related readings. The EP related readings will usually be discussed in class in small-group discussions of 2-4 students, so it's really obvious when one doesn't do the readings, so I'd prioritise those over the writing-related ones, which the Professor does summarise and go through really well during his writing portion of the class.
IMO, the workload is what you can expect from an NTW. You can expect to spend a few hours every week on the assignments (more if you really want to put in effort on the exercises). The workload will definitely increase towards the Paper deadlines because the assignments will jump from simply submitting a simple draft outline to a full 1.5k or 2.5k word draft within a week, and this peak may also coincide with midterms/finals season. But it still isn't as heavy as some of the other NTWs that I've heard about.
The Professor also gives a 24 hour extension on any assignments given, including final paper submissions, so long as you write an email notifying him, though of course you shouldn't become too reliant on it as it will be the only extension allowed.
Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades:
Getting A is achievable, but hard. It would require both Papers to really meet his expectations in terms of content, language, clarity, argumentation, and formatting. It would also require you to show up and submit (most) assignments consistently and on time, active class participation, and pay attention to formatting requirements, language and grammar rules, and improve your work according to his feedback.
Learning Value/Recommendation: 4
I think learning under a professor with such strict formatting and citation requirements and who prioritises clarity is really good for FASS majors who will have to write many more papers.
About the Instructor:
The professor is definitely very open to feedback! There are compulsory anonymous forum posts at the end of every lesson where you can provide feedback or comments for the Prof, and there are also other avenues to communicate any concerns (midterm feedback, MS Teams, etc).
The professor is also very detail-oriented and pays a lot of attention to how you're breaking down and explaining an argument and your grammar usage.
However, there's a no devices policy in his class and he prints out all lecture notes by hand and you can only write down notes, which makes it a bit hard to keep up with what he's saying because lessons are fast-paced.
Content (Structure/Organization): 5
The structure was logical and clearly communicated to us. Prof Frome is very diligent in this aspect. But content coverage is a bit excessive, ranging from academic paper analysis to writing it yourself, to understanding evolutionary psychology and art😭
Accessibility and Asssessment: 4
Yea the prof is excellent and very patient in his explanation, very easy to pick up the concepts. But around midterm he speeds up when submissions are coming so you need to so extra reading to understand, which is expected and reasonable. He is kind of a no nonsense kind of teacher, which I think is a plus.
Manageability of Workload: 3
A lot of readings, but I got through most classes without reading them because he goes through them again briefly which is perfect for me.But please do your readings.
Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades:
Nope, A is hard. A- is very achievable though! and B+ should be average. I got a B+ although I did not put in a lot of effort.
Learning Value/Recommendation: 5
Amazing, evolutionary psychology is really a fundamental topic integrated into everyday activities and this module helped me to see our appreciation for art and the world a little different.
About the Instructor:
He is very knowledgable, and willing to share his experience and wisdom accumulated through his personal experiences or previous studies in class.
Content (Structure/Organization): -
not sure how applicable my reviews will be for next sem because i think Prof Frome has mentioned many times he's seeking to improve this new mod as much as possible, but the module was 1) a lot of readings (i think a lot of ntw mods are like that though)
Accessibility and Asssessment: 4
largely accessible, but it's possible students with no biology background will be a bit more lost at the start. also the whole readings/writing thing for ntw mods in general is a bit demanding so if you're not familiar with those be prepared to put in a bit more effort
Manageability of Workload: 1
weekly x2 readings + almost weekly forum post/mini writing assignment + multiple sets of outlines/drafts for the midterm and final papers ... this mod took up the most time and energy and i was writing to 2359 all the time (often exceeding the deadline a bit for the lesser assignments) T-T if your time management is better than mine it might be a bit more doable though. ntw is all like that i think?
Ease/Difficulty of Attaining Grades:
i seriously don't know how to compare but i really tried very hard and i think the Prof acknowledges effort at least. show up sincerely, engage with the class content because class participation counts (and you'll get more out of it too)
Learning Value/Recommendation: 4
the concepts and the field is quite very interesting i enjoyed the later readings lots. in terms of writing and reading i think i definitely learnt quite a fair bit too. just wish i was less stressed out so that i could properly enjoy the writing process a bit more. do not really recommend overloading with ntw.
About the Instructor:
Prof Frome is very receptive and reasonable and logical about a lot of things, he asks for feedback or questions through anonymous comment cards after every lesson and responds seriously to everything. he makes the classroom a comfortable enough place to safely express any opinions or clarifications. however he doesn't really focus on engagement in the sense of diverse activities or multimedia teaching, and the seminars can often feel like mini lectures, but if you find the concepts intriguing enough and try to properly engage in the learning/discussions it can be interesting! he is certainly very familiar with the field! i didn't exactly feel like it was a bore to drag myself to seminars or anything but the experience can vary. also he practices a no electronics policy! if accessibility is an issue i think can talk to him about it though
Additional Comments/Word of Advice:
note!! evol psych and art has no media analysis aspect to it!! our midterm paper was largely about evolutionary biology/psych concepts and the final paper was about evol psych and art in a research/analytical sense, we were not taking any particular art piece/work and breaking it down as you would in NGN for example.... i think i was quite disappointed because of this so don't have this expectation going in and i think it'll be fine. yeah. jiayousz