Historical instructor

JOSEPH BOWLING

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.24/5 from 33 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

What students say

Original student reviews · all captured dates

ENGL 241
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
Lectures were lowkey boring, but not mandatory so it's okay. Super helpful when we met outside of class. But, it's really dependent on what TA you get and how they interpret the rubric, as he doesn't grade any of the assignments.
Rate My Professors ↗
ENGL 241
Quality 3/5Difficulty 3/5
ENGL241 is a lot of reading, but has very minimal assignments. Your entire grade is concentrated in a portfolio of reading responses and reflection that can be difficult to revise if your TA is not accessible. Bowling is a lecturer who is very passionate about the material and encourages a classroom that brings multiple interpretations.
Rate My Professors ↗
ENGL 431
Quality 5/5Difficulty 1/5
Lectures drone on a bit, but they're interesting enough. Assignments were easy and he gave nice feedback on all of them. It's shakespeare so a lot of the reading is tedious, but you can get youtube explanatories of chapters and it works the same. Super easy A and I think Dr. Bowling is a great guy.
Rate My Professors ↗
ENG176 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 1/5
Very nice guy. Easy A if you get all the attendance. The lecture was a bit boring though, but he was trying to make it fun.
Rate My Professors ↗
ENGL/RELIGST 434
Quality 3/5Difficulty 1/5
Lectures are a little monotone and hard to stay interested in for the length of the class. Held class a little late quite often. Grading was labor-based which I see the appeal of, but it can make assignments you're proud of less rewarding since something subpar would have gotten you the same grade.
Rate My Professors ↗

Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with JOSEPH BOWLING

No teaching recorded in Fall 2026.

View last recorded teaching term →

No courses match this selection. Try the full catalog or another term.

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2026ENGL 175Literature and the Other Disciplines
Spring 2026ENGL 241Literature and Culture I: to the 18th Century
Spring 2026ENGL 430Topic in Early Modern Literature and Culture
Fall 2025ENGL 175Literature and the Other Disciplines
Fall 2025ENGL 176Topics in Literature and Film
Fall 2025ENGL 431Early Works of Shakespeare
Spring 2025ENGL 175Literature and the Other Disciplines
Spring 2025ENGL 241Literature and Culture I: to the 18th Century
Spring 2025ENGL/RELIGST 434Milton
Fall 2024ENGL 100Introduction to College Composition
Fall 2024ENGL 175Literature and the Other Disciplines
Fall 2024ENGL 241Literature and Culture I: to the 18th Century
Fall 2024ENGL 431Early Works of Shakespeare
Spring 2024ENGL 175Literature and the Other Disciplines
Spring 2024ENGL 176Topics in Literature and Film
Spring 2024ENGL 431Early Works of Shakespeare
Spring 2024ENGL 680Honors Project
Fall 2023ENGL 175Literature and the Other Disciplines
Fall 2023ENGL 176Topics in Literature and Film
Fall 2023ENGL 431Early Works of Shakespeare
Spring 2023ENGL 155Myth and Literature
Spring 2023ENGL 176Topics in Literature and Film
Spring 2023ENGL 682Senior Honors Thesis in the Major
Fall 2022ENGL 175Literature and the Other Disciplines
Fall 2022ENGL 176Topics in Literature and Film
Fall 2022ENGL 432Later Works of Shakespeare
Fall 2022ENGL 681Senior Honors Thesis in the Major
Spring 2022ENGL 162Shakespeare
Spring 2022ENGL 176Topics in Literature and Film
Spring 2022ENGL 431Early Works of Shakespeare
Fall 2021ENGL 175Literature and the Other Disciplines
Fall 2021ENGL 176Topics in Literature and Film
Fall 2021ENGL 431Early Works of Shakespeare
Fall 2020ENGL 176Topics in Literature and Film
Fall 2020ENGL 178Digital Media, Literature, and Culture
Spring 2020ENGL 155Myth and Literature
Spring 2020ENGL 176Topics in Literature and Film
Spring 2020ENGL/RELIGST 434Milton
Fall 2019ENGL 176Topics in Literature and Film
Fall 2019ENGL 178Digital Media, Literature, and Culture
Spring 2019ENGL 155Myth and Literature
Spring 2019ENGL 162Shakespeare
Fall 2018ENGL 176Topics in Literature and Film
Fall 2018ENGL 431Early Works of Shakespeare

Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.

Instructor identity & provenance 
{
  "instructor_uid": "instructor_2ab4fd1dae4902e26a646396",
  "source": "madgrades",
  "source_instructor_id": "6183317",
  "identity_basis": "source_id",
  "identity_status": "source_identified",
  "name": "JOSEPH BOWLING",
  "email": null,
  "first_observed_at": "2026-09-06 23:14:58.172943+00:00",
  "last_observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
  "ratings": {
    "review_count": 33,
    "quality": 4.24,
    "difficulty": 2,
    "quality_count": 33,
    "difficulty_count": 33,
    "profile_id": "rmp:2449663",
    "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2449663",
    "match_basis": "exact_name",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:30:25.098944+00:00",
    "courses": {
      "course_00825210f2e0cc8154955d31": {
        "review_count": 5,
        "quality": 3.4,
        "difficulty": 2.6,
        "quality_count": 5,
        "difficulty_count": 5
      },
      "course_a88cac555b2d5296b83de4e8": {
        "review_count": 4,
        "quality": 5,
        "difficulty": 1.75,
        "quality_count": 4,
        "difficulty_count": 4
      },
      "course_3c7043e25530bc3ad1e1bef8": {
        "review_count": 4,
        "quality": 4.75,
        "difficulty": 2,
        "quality_count": 4,
        "difficulty_count": 4
      },
      "course_1a093602cd19066f2fa24f0b": {
        "review_count": 1,
        "quality": 3,
        "difficulty": 1,
        "quality_count": 1,
        "difficulty_count": 1
      },
      "course_2d10446e426b7a2a14d94ca8": {
        "review_count": 3,
        "quality": 3,
        "difficulty": 3.67,
        "quality_count": 3,
        "difficulty_count": 3
      }
    },
    "bayesian_quality": 4.021013503225131,
    "prior_mean": 3.6596857835465957,
    "prior_weight": 20
  },
  "grade_statistics": {
    "gpa": 3.746,
    "graded": 2987,
    "counts": [
      2130,
      548,
      180,
      45,
      41,
      16,
      27
    ],
    "sections": 44
  },
  "current": false,
  "courses": [],
  "revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "instructor_url": "/instructors/JOSEPH_BOWLING--instructor_2ab4fd1dae4902e26a646396"
}