James is so awesome. He encourages debate and conversation in his class and you can tell he absolutely loves to teach and he loves philosophy. This class was easily my favorite I had this semester, I would recommend him to anyone.

Probably my favorite teacher that I have ever had. Hilarious, engaging, and knows what he's talking about. No matter what argument someone has he is ready to provide a counter which makes the discussion during lecture fun every time. I genuinely think this class has made me a better critical thinker. It is easy overall and you'll never be bored.

Extremely inviting and cool lectures. Brings everyone together and knows everyone's names while having great discussions. Not to mention he is hilarious. Recommend to everyone.

Find his classes and take them.

James is one of the best professors I have had in my four years here in Madison. He shows his passion for teaching and philosophy in every lecture and is the funniest professor I have ever had. He is incredible, I think every student interested in philosophy should take a course with him before they graduate.

As a philosophy major, James is a gem in the department. He is energetic and funny, constantly making the material easier to understand with his humor. Attendance and participation matter, but he is very understanding in personal cases. We were graded on four papers and five discussion posts.

I took philosophy 101 with Professor Messina and it was my favorite class of the semester. His lectures are very interesting and engaging.

I personally hated Philos 101, but many people really liked it. It was just way too bland for me but Prof. Messina really tried to keep it engaging. Its a fairly easy class especially for 4 credits.

Such a fun professor. You can tell he enjoys what he teaches. Class is not too difficult if you pay attention in lectures.

Professor Messina is a great professor. He is fun and sets up the lectures basically as a large discussion. There's 3 essays and 2 exams. He gives you a study guide for the exams so if you study that you can get a 100% on them. Overall, definitely recommend!

James is by far one of the best professors on campus. He understands which concepts in philosophy are the most difficult and genuinely wants students to be able to grasp them. He is hilarious during lectures and makes a class with heavy topics enjoyable.

Really great professor, super engaging, and I didn't care too much for philosophy going into it but Professor Messina made me actually want to show up to class each time. Super fair and clear grading and class, and if you show up to lecture and pay attention you'll do really well. Engages the class actively in lecture.

This guy is awesome. His sense of humor makes lectures so entertaining, and his grading style is pretty easy. I didn't know anything about Philosophy going in, but this class was so interesting. Highly recommend!

Easy class to pass. I'm not really interested in philosophy so it was just a class I showed up to and took notes in when necessary. Gives very clear study guides for finals and you know what you are going to be tested on.

Definitely made the class much more enjoyable

He's the perfect fit for Philosophy 101. His lectures are clear and enjoyable, and many come to the lectures and truly enjoy them because of his sense of humor. If you know a bit about philosophy in the first place, maybe you should take a more sophisticated class but otherwise I'd recommend his Phil101 to anyone.

Lectures are designed more like large discussions. Student feedback during lecture was a refreshing and engaging way to learn. Sitting in front, I had some great conversations with Dr. Messina. Very passionate about philosophy. Overall just a really great guy.

James was by far my favorite professor. He keeps the students attentive with his humor and relevance to things outside of class, and overall has a very enthralling personality. The homework is very doable and I definitely would recommend taking his courses.

James' lectures were by far my favorite parts of every week. He makes the course content relevant and interesting with his insights and humor. The readings are all very relevant and are reasonable lengths. Best class I have taken.

Messina is pretty decent overall. His lectures are pretty interesting, and he definitely cares about the material. You can get away with not reading if you go over his lecture slides and pay attention in class. Just be aware that sometimes he gets worked up and its better to just let him win. Still, great professor.

James is a great professor. I highly recommend taking this course under him to anyone. He goes over the readings in depth since they tend to be kind of tricky and if you go to his office hours you just may find your favorite professor. Topics are interesting and the class is quite fun at times.

Messina was an outstanding professor. His lectures were incredible and the topics were very interesting. Most of the readings as pdfs were nice too.

He has become one of my favourite professors in the university, especially because of how enthusiastic he is! Love how he encourages discussion in class and allows it to be an interactive session, helping me learn far more than just reading the text. He is also very accessible, sweet and helpful outside of class!

Honestly take the class. I had no idea what philosophy really entailed nor did I have interest in the subject before taking the class, however the class has inspired me to take more of these classes in the future. This class with James as the prof is great

James is the best professor I have had at UW-Madison. Absolutely willing to help at all times, you just have to email him and will answer any questions you have. He is one of the smartest professors with a real passion for philosophy and is a huge reason that I am now major in philosophy. TAKE PHILOS 101 WITH HIM, YOU WON'T REGRET IT!

Very good and intelligent professor. Even though I struggled with the material because I sometimes do not think in the same way as many philosophers do, I did learn a lot. The class challenged me to focus strongly on what I was reading and to understand it. He always explained everything thoroughly. Really really loves his job.

James Messina is one of the best professors I've ever had. He is passionate about philosophy and always willing to help his students. I simply enjoyed his classes a lot(even though it's the topic about Kant who is infamously hard.) A+ professor!

James is super awesome! He is funny, easygoing and the most important, he really knows how to teach philosophy. He uses easy concept to explain hard arguments and then lead us think deep. Take his class, a lot of fun and you will learn a lot!

He kept things simple and easy to understand

Best Prof I've ever had. Took him for German Idealism as well. This guy is the real deal. If you care about philosophy, take a class with James. Hard class, but hey, that's why you're in college, idiot.

History of Modern Philosophy was my favorite course in college. It really opened up my eyes. James was the most amazing professor ever. He made the materials interesting and easy to comprehend. I didn't miss a single lecture or discussion for this class (I was that passionate) and will definitely take any class with him if i had the chance.

Great guy and really enjoys teaching philosophy. He is pretty funny and makes lectures interesting. One of my favorite professors on campus.

Bo$$. After I took 101 with Messina I knew he was smart, helpful, clear, and interesting. Now that I have taken more classes with him in a smaller setting I realize that he is genuinely thrilled about teaching and practicing philosophy. This infectious excitement makes his classes such a joy.

Phenomenal. Genuinely concerned with making sure his students really understand the course material. As a result, he has a strict attendance policy for all lectures and discussions, but frankly all of his lectures were fabulous. Also very accessible which is great considering the lecture size. Hands down the best professor I have had at UW.

Having low expectations for this class going in, I was refreshed to see what a phenomenal teacher Prof. Messina was. He made everything easy to understand. Tests were challenging but if you study his study guide you'll get an A. The attendance policy is strict as I would've gotten an A if I had missed 2 less classes, so go to class. Great professor

Professor Messina is very passionate about what he teaches. He is hilarious, and his young age allows him to better relate to the students. You have to put in some time to do well in the class, but from my experience, it's well worth it. I would recommend him to anyone!

Great professor. Enthusiastic and engaging. Thoroughly answers questions and guides discussion well. Very funny and makes things relevant and interesting.

A young, passionate professor. Took Philos 432- History of Modern Philosophy. The readings are hard (no question about that), but he is willing to help. TA grades the papers, but still going to Prof. Messina's office hours is definitely a good idea--he explains all you need to know. Recommend his class!

He takes it really personally if you don't show up...even if you're in a class of 40+ people. Final exam is cumulative and intense.

The topic bores me, but he's really funny. Makes fun of students&TA (in a joking way). Brings candy to class sometimes. Didn't really listen in class (its not him, its me--he's great); consulted the Stanford encyclopedia for writing papers--still did really well. Wish I'd taken notes; he doesn't post his to make people attend. 5 random pop quizzes.

Fantastic professor. Very young, but has a good sense of humor, is very bright, and his lectures are extremely insightful and helpful with the typically difficult readings. Grade mostly paper-based, would highly recommend.