Historical instructor

RUTH OLSON

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.64/5 from 14 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

FOLKLORE 100
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Dr. Olson is a fantastic professor! She is passionate about the subject and she conveys her passion really well. She also loves to read interesting papers and is very helpful. She has participation activities almost every lecture, so don't skip. Her lectures are fun anyway. All the tangents that she goes on are usually relevant or informative.
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FOLK100 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 2/5
She was an interesting lecturer. Prepare to write papers on unique subjects. There is only a midterm and a few pop quizzes. All the other grades are from discussion participation, papers and the BIG final project. Hope that you get a good group, it could make or break your grade.
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FOLK100 · course not matched
Quality 3/5Difficulty 5/5
Dr. Olson is funny and goofy, and knows the material really well, but she tends to go off on tangents in lecture. Additionally, this class has a huge amount of essays and projects for a 3-credit class, and the parameters aren't always very clear. If you're prepared to work your butt off, it's still a fun time though.
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FOLKLORE 100
Quality 3/5Difficulty 4/5
The lectures seemed pointless, it seemed like we really didn't actually learn anything. Most of the grading is based off of 3 papers, an online midterm, and a huge group project which takes a lot of effort. There is a ton of reading every week. The grading of assignments seemed random. You also need a 95% to get an A which is ridiculous.
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100 · course not matched
Quality 2/5Difficulty 2/5
She gets off track easily, assigns roughly 70 pages of reading each week, and the lectures are basically pointless. The guidelines are not very clear. The expectations are higher than what the paperproject guidelines suggest, and you need a 95% to get an A in the class (Which is completely crazy). Would not take again.
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FOLKLORE 100
Quality 3/5Difficulty 2/5
She's a sweet person, and she likes to have a laugh. She'll throw pop quizzes at you to make sure you did the readings (super long). Approachable. She genuinely wants to see her students take an interest in the subject, and do well. There is a big group project instead of a final. Lectures seem random, but if you pay attention, they come together.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with RUTH OLSON

FOLKLORE 540 explores community life and culture in the Upper Midwest, covering ethnic groups, religious life, cultural landscapes, oral narrative, music, and material culture.

No offering record · Fall 2017

with this instructor · course overall, matching historical terms

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2013–Fall 2017 · limited sample

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Fall 2017FOLKLORE 540Local Culture and Identity in the Upper Midwest
Spring 2017FOLKLORE 699Independent Study in Folklore (graduate)
Fall 2016FOLKLORE 100Introduction to Folklore
Spring 2016FOLKLORE 230Introduction to American Folklore
Fall 2015FOLKLORE 320Folklore of Wisconsin
Fall 2014FOLKLORE 100Introduction to Folklore
Spring 2014FOLKLORE 230Introduction to American Folklore
Spring 2014FOLKLORE 399Directed Study in Folklore for Undergraduates
Fall 2013FOLKLORE 540Local Culture and Identity in the Upper Midwest
Spring 2013FOLKLORE 100Introduction to Folklore
Spring 2013FOLKLORE 699Independent Study in Folklore (graduate)
Fall 2012FOLKLORE 530Topics in Folklore
Fall 2011FOLKLORE 100Introduction to Folklore
Fall 2011FOLKLORE 699Independent Study in Folklore (graduate)
Spring 2011FOLKLORE 540Local Culture and Identity in the Upper Midwest
Fall 2010FOLKLORE 100Introduction to Folklore
Spring 2010FOLKLORE 540Local Culture and Identity in the Upper Midwest
Fall 2009FOLKLORE 100Introduction to Folklore
Fall 2009FOLKLORE 699Independent Study in Folklore (graduate)
Fall 2008AMERIND 100Introduction to American Indian Studies
Fall 2008FOLKLORE 100Introduction to Folklore
Spring 2007FOLKLORE 540Local Culture and Identity in the Upper Midwest
Spring 2007FOLKLORE 699Independent Study in Folklore (graduate)
Fall 2006FOLKLORE 460Folk Epics
Fall 2006FOLKLORE 540Local Culture and Identity in the Upper Midwest

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

Instructor identity & provenance
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