Current instructor
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Prof. Louden was a great instructor for The Amish. He has many community ties and the course covers essentially everything you need to or would ever want to know about the Amish. Readings were fairly short and interesting, and there were 10 500-word essays throughout the semester. He does cold-call, but I think it's fair.Rate My Professors ↗
I love this professor. Go to his office hours, and he will help you. He does a lot of cold calling, but it's a great way of keeping students engaged. A lot of his lectures involve a lot of participation, and it's a great way to get students to interact with course content. I would take this professor many times again.Rate My Professors ↗
Extremely knowledgable and very interesting lecturer! If you pay attention, don't miss lecture, and do the homework and you will do just fine. I wish I could take GER351 again, Louden is by far my favorite professor in the department.Rate My Professors ↗
Louden is addicted to cold-calling and not afraid to grill students in front of the class when they don't know the answer; exhibited no sympathy regarding absences (even medical issues). Pay attention to the homework and practice, they make up the majority of the grade. Missing one homework assignment was an immediate 5% of your final grade, etc.Rate My Professors ↗
This class would not have been that bad if he wouldn't focus on one slide for 20 minutes. His slides would mostly display pictures and no words. It was hard to take notes. He also would cold call students and sometimes resulting in belittling them if they were unsure. He has his favorites and that shows in his grading.Rate My Professors ↗
Best professor ever. Readings were very manageable and interesting. Valuable discussions each lecture. Very caring and involved in the Amish community were he assists in language barriers and education. Basically the Gandhi of Amish education. You are missing out if you don't take one of his classes. Understanding, caring,respectful,wonderful.Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
GERMAN 249 deepens understanding of spoken German using contemporary media to analyze variation in sound, vocabulary, and grammar.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2010: 3.73 GPA, 85.0% A/AB (n=20 letter grades); Spring 2011: 3.63 GPA, 84.2% A/AB (n=19 letter grades); Spring 2020: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=36 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026GERMAN 352 provides a hands-on introduction to topics in German linguistics, tailored for future teachers and graduate students.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2017: 3.40 GPA, 80.0% A/AB (n=10 letter grades); Spring 2020: 3.81 GPA, 84.6% A/AB (n=13 letter grades); Spring 2022: 3.68 GPA, 82.4% A/AB (n=17 letter grades).
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026 · limited sampleGERMAN 991 is an independent research course in linguistics and Germanic philology under faculty supervision.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Fall 2026 | GERMAN 249 | Intermediate German - Speaking and Listening |
| Fall 2026 | GERMAN 352 | Topics in German Linguistics |
| Fall 2026 | GERMAN 991 | Individual Research Linguistics and Germanic Philology |
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
{
"instructor_uid": "instructor_d988b4af8f7be2d7a4f17c1a",
"source": "enrollment",
"source_instructor_id": "mllouden",
"identity_basis": "netid",
"identity_status": "source_identified",
"name": "Mark Louden",
"email": "MLLOUDEN@WISC.EDU",
"first_observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
"last_observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
"ratings": {
"review_count": 30,
"quality": 4.8,
"difficulty": 2.37,
"quality_count": 30,
"difficulty_count": 30,
"profile_id": "rmp:53176",
"source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/53176",
"match_basis": "exact_name",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:20:35.339677+00:00",
"courses": {
"course_1fbcb38e25d07a4ba4583adf": {
"review_count": 3,
"quality": 5,
"difficulty": 2.33,
"quality_count": 3,
"difficulty_count": 3
}
},
"bayesian_quality": 4.343874313418638,
"prior_mean": 3.6596857835465957,
"prior_weight": 20
},
"current": true,
"courses": [
{
"course_uid": "course_9a9213d41b43c76f9247fff6",
"course_id": "GERMAN 352",
"title": "TOPICS IN GERMAN LINGUISTICS",
"credits_min": 3,
"credits_max": 4,
"gpa": 3.571
},
{
"course_uid": "course_bc5382472114982339668f64",
"course_id": "GERMAN 991",
"title": "INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH LINGUISTICS AND GERMANIC PHILOLOGY",
"credits_min": 1,
"credits_max": 9,
"gpa": null
},
{
"course_uid": "course_e6a433e10d8ee27c9afee9ab",
"course_id": "GERMAN 249",
"title": "INTERMEDIATE GERMAN - SPEAKING AND LISTENING",
"credits_min": 3,
"credits_max": 3,
"gpa": 3.69
}
],
"revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
"instructor_url": "/instructors/MARK_LOUDEN"
}