History of Rome (Spring 2001; Spring 2002; Spring 2003; Spring 2004):
“Only class I have never fallen
asleep in.”
“As a history course, this is one
of the best I have taken. I came in
expecting lists of names and dates and found a professor that makes
“My expectations, having little
knowledge of Roman history, were exceeded.
The quality of the course is superb.
Strengths include great presentations, engaging lectures,
stimulating
discussions, ability to connect with students, humorous and charismatic
personality. No change is needed; in
fact, please don’t change it! He’s the
best prof I’ve ever had.”
“The Professor! If there was one of him in every department,
school
would no longer be a hassle! Dr. Cline took an already
fascinating
subject and made it even more interesting and fun to learn. I
would
look forward to coming to class and learning what he had to
teach.
He also gave us a great deal of "cocktail [party] trivia" just to keep
things interesting. ... it was one of my favorite courses and it is
hard
to improve upon it.”
“If there was a Professor Cline in every history course, then I
chose
the wrong major! He was an incredible professor who really
facilitated
discussion and made teaching very enjoyable. Class was a great
time
and I definitely hope to take Dr. Cline again. He was one of my
favorite
professors.”
“Dr. Cline is an excellent professor. This was the most
interesting
course I have ever taken at GWU. I look forward to having him
again.”
“This course was probably the best course I have ever taken at
GW.
As a history major, I have determined to now make my concentration in
ancient
studies. Dr. Cline has a wonderful sense of humor and the
material
was just so very interesting.”
“Expected to learn about Roman
History re a general overview of the battles and figures (and culture!)
that
have influenced our own culture so much.
Expectations were met and cocktail party trivia acquired. Enjoyed course and learned a great deal."
“Teacher and TA were excellent, subject is
fascinating and relevant to almost every aspect of modern life! Can’t think of anything more he could do –
already uses multi-media, engages class in discussion, and speaks
clearly. Almost wish class was
longer so
we’d have more
time for all he wants to incorporate.”
“The strength was Professor
Cline. Pay Dr. Cline twice as much and
give him a budget for props and costumes; that would be funny.”
“Professor Cline is one of the
best lecturers at GWU. He is amazing.”
“Realistic about expectations;
fair; load given appropriate – not easy but not too hard; very smart
and witty;
he knows which parts to highlight and which parts to summarize.”
“Prof Cline made the class fun and
used visual aids well to keep people paying attention.”
“I liked the lectures because they
were like stories. He was great!”
“Sometimes talked a little too
fast but overall he Rocked the Casbah!”
“Dr. Cline is great! He is very
knowledgeable and approachable.”
“Good lectures, approachable,
intelligent. Cline – two thumbs up!”
“The class was very enjoyable and
fun and the material was presented clearly.”
“Instructor and presentation very
good. Interesting but entertaining.”
“Excellent knowledge.”
“I expected a general overview of
Roman history and that is what I got.
Prof Cline is very good at breaking decades of history down to
one class
period. He is an extremely good
lecturer.”
“Great sense of humor, varied
presentation method, easily approachable, open to questions during
class.”
“Very interesting material; wanted
to learn more. Grading on tests was
tough.”
“Made dry information interesting.”
“Great lecturer; kept class
interesting.”
“Well organized; good knowledge of
subject.”
“It’s a great course with a great
professor.”
“Strengths were obvious in the
professor – he is phenomenal!! He’s at
the top of his game; nothing more needed!!”
“I was excited to learn about
“Very knowledgeable about the
topic. Good humor made it interesting.”
“Keeping the class entertained is
very important. Prof Cline is great at
that.”
“Lectures clear; material
presented effectively; good use of multi-media; hire writers for
funnier jokes.”
“Very organized and interesting
lectures. Very thorough; feels like we
ran out of time, though.”
“Good lecturer; real cool guy.”
“Interesting subject matter;
lectures were interesting.”
“Funny; tried to get students’
attention as best he could.”
“He has a very engaging lecturing
style.”
“Very well organized and clearly
presented.”
“Clear speaker; interesting anecdotes;
keeps things interesting and students awake.”
“Interesting, concise
lectures. [Professor] animated,
intelligent, willing to interrupt lecture for questions.”
“Strengths were the professor and
the primary sources. Enthusiastic and
engaging.”
“Made class enjoyable and
fun. I liked his teaching style.”
“Professor Cline is wonderful;
funny, informative, very intelligent/knowledgeable.
It is my favorite class.”
“I expected to gain an
appreciation, an understanding, of what [was] both fascinating and
important in
Roman history and this
was fulfilled.”
“Approachable, respectful,
knowledgeable; appealed to a variety of interests and learning styles. He was extremely effective.”
“Good prof; interesting material
presented in a concise coherent manner. Intelligent
and fun to listen to.”
“The instructor was able to make
the course interesting and the connections between people/events
extremely
clear.”
“Great professor; great
subject. Prof Cline is funny, has a
clear layout, and engages the class.”
“I expected a basic understanding
of Roman history. I got it and then
some. Learned a great deal in a short
period of time.”
“Well organized lectures, fair
tests.”
“Major strength was the different
means of teaching the course – mixing videos with lectures kept things
interesting. Very well prepared and
knowledgeable about the material.”
“Major strengths were professor’s
knowledge as well as use of multi-media and visual aids.”
“The class was interesting and
intellectual. However, the professor went
very fast in his lecturing, [but] he was funny and
engaging.”
“Good professor; interesting
lectures; approachable and available.”
“Interesting material; some
interesting trends and applications.
Quality lecturing.”
“Strengths were professor and
lectures. Only weakness was workload but
it was worth it.”
“The professor’s lectures were
excellent. He is an incredibly
knowledgeable person on the topics he teaches.”
“The instructor gave great
lectures. Sometimes it is difficult to
lecture about history, but Prof Cline was great. He
has a good
teaching style. I was never
bored in class.”
“I expected an
intellectually-challenging survey of Roman History.
This expectation was met. I
especially enjoyed the supplements of
Livy/Plutarch/Suetonius, but I would have liked to read Tacitus as
well.”
“Prof Cline’s presentations were
informative and amusing; PowerPoint definitely kept my interest.”
“Very engrossing lectures.”
“Professor Cline made the course a joy to come to at 9:30 am.
He always made the presentation interesting with lots of visual aids.”
“The lectures were clear, entertaining, and perfectly represented in
the midterm. The texts were good complements to the lectures, and
most of all, the lectures were so good that I didn't mind getting up at
9:30 am.”
“I don't see any need for improvements for this class. Dr.
Cline
should keep it as it is. He is one of the best professors that
I've
had during my six semesters here at GWU.”
“Professor Cline was always excited about teaching, which made the
students excited about learning. I really enjoyed the course.”
“Professor Cline is a charismatic lecturer who made me look forward
to coming to class. He is easily one of my favorite profs at GW.”
“As always, best college professor I’ve had! Dr. Cline’s
strength
is his diversity of knowledge and passion for classics and
archaeology.”
“Best teacher I’ve had here; amazing teacher who conveys thoughts
clearly.”
“One of the most intelligent yet understandable professors I’ve
had.”
“Very interesting course that is well explained. I enjoyed
every
lecture and feel it is the best class I took during the
semester...looking
forward to taking more of your classes in the future.”
“I really loved everything about it. It's logical, organized,
interesting — everything is well balanced — all topics are
reasonably
presented, etc...Expectations are great and the tests are extremely
fair.
Great course.”
“Informative, interesting lectures. Erudite, entertaining
professor.
Contemporary relevance established.”
“Dr. Cline is one of the best professors I've ever had at GWU. He is
very knowledgeable [about] the material and presents it in a very
coherent
manner. His tests are very fair and he is an extremely fair grader.”
“Very stimulating and interesting class. Best class I've taken so
far
at GWU.”
“Cline is an excellent professor. He is organized and has an
excellent teaching style. He is engaging and uses visual aids
well.
I thoroughly enjoyed this course.”
“It's Roman history. Who doesn't like Roman history?
Everything
was good.”
“Professor Cline was extremely enthusiastic about [the] subject
matter,
which made class much more interesting and lively; he
has a very good
attitude
towards teaching.”
“Professor was engaging, articulate, and kept students involved in
weighty material despite early start time [of class].”
“I feel like I have a good grasp of both the big picture and the
important
details.”
“Cline is an amazing lecturer. The TA is hot.”
“Taught very well; good use of class lecture/notes along with the
texts.”
“Course was an excellent overview of Roman history.”
“The professor managed to be humorous and still convey a massive
amount
of knowledge to the students.”
“Excellent speaker; knows his topic.”
“Very knowledgeable; good lecturer; good use of AV.”
“Very good at lecturing, made material that was tedious seem
interesting,
made it funny.”
“A teacher without weakness.”
“Great communicator; excellent lecturer. Great class.
Very
much recommended.”
“I love his PowerPoint presentations. Bring in more of those!”
“His use of humor and outside media makes the class interesting and
fun.”
“Talks fast; you have to be very quick to record all the
information.”
“Has so much knowledge and is easy to approach with questions or just for discussion. Really cares about what he’s teaching.”
“Good sense of humor; knows his stuff.”
“The combination of primary and secondary sources was very helpful
and appropriate.”
“Great instructor. Hard grader.”
“He is an interesting lecturer, making material more accessible.”
“Clear lectures; good knowledge of info.”
“Great lectures, interesting readings.”
“Engaging, knowledgeable, interesting, well organized.”
“[He is the] epitome of teaching.”