Course Evaluations – Excerpts

Issues in Popular Music Studies

This was by far my favourite class this semester, and I feel I learned quite a bit – especially about how to look at popular music.
Thank you for the great course and for all of your help.
This was definitely one of my better university courses thus far.
The assignments were fair and applied perfectly to ideas and concepts dealt with in the course.

I found Dr. Bowman to be easy-going, helpful and really knowledgeable about the subject area. I would be interested in taking more courses from this instructor.
Professor Bowman was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the material and taught it well, with a very down-to-earth approach.
He provided lots of musical and video examples to reinforce the subject material. he was very helpful on a one-on-one basis for choosing and discussing paper topics, etc.

The course reader was a very nice resource that Dr. Bowman put together. I enjoyed the discussions and added subjects that were covered in class.
The professor was excellent, well-prepared, provides fair amounts of materials (assignments, quizzes, etc.), and goes over the main points in the readings.
I really enjoyed taking this course as my elective this year. The music listening, documentary excerpts, and lecture materials have increased my love of jazz. The professor was excellent and truly cares for the course material.
This was a great course for an elective. I learned a lot of information about jazz and a surprising amount about popular culture in 19^th and 20^th century America.
Professor Bowman always presented the information clearly and logically in class, and he also used WebCT to ensure that we were prepared for our tests.
There was a large WebCT component, including links for outside resources, and Professor Bowman posted detailed review materials for the midterm and final exams. He also used a very informative TV documentary, to supplement the learning process.
Professor Bowman was very organized ahead of time with laying out the material, but he was also flexible throughout the term. For example, he showed understanding when tests were missed for legitimate reasons and was very good about making review materials accessible through the web.

He provided all necessary PowerPoint notes, so that attention could be focused on the subject matter and not on copying down the subject matter. He also provided listening examples in class.
His tests are well put-together and fair for students.

Dr. Bowman’s knowledge in the area of music is remarkable. He is able to scrutinize music in a professional manner and relate it to a diverse group of students.
Durrell is an excellent, knowledgeable professor.

This was an excellent course. Mr. Bowman is there when anyone needs him.
This is an interesting course. Music students usually focus on traditional, classical music and are hardly exposed to film music. The course opened my eyes to our wider musical world.
The content of the course is of great interest to me, and Durrell’s laid-back attitude was well-suited to the genres we studied. I have found this to be an enjoyable and informative course.
The course was conducive to my learning, and the presentations were a good idea. There was a good variety of material, which contributed well to an expansion of learning.
This is a good and very interesting course to have in the program. It gives us tools to look critically at the development of music in film.

Mr. Bowman was probably my favourite teacher this term. I really enjoyed his style of teaching. He creates a very easy-going atmosphere, which I thought enhanced the learning process.
I enjoyed the repertoire we covered, and I enjoyed the student presentations more than I anticipated. I also appreciated Professor Bowman’s sense of humour and enthusiasm.
I enjoyed this course very much. Professor Bowman had to put up with a lot of know-it-all university kids, and I thought he did a great job! Thanks!
I like how the course was broken up into historical periods.
I really enjoyed this class and thought you did an excellent job. Thank you.

Probably the best class I’ve taken. I had never imagined taking a class on the music of film noir.
Mr. Bowman obviously cares about film and music, which inspires the class to care. He is very knowledgeable about film. Very well-designed course. The web assignments were essential to understanding the course and well though-out. A very good class!
I love learning in a new way about something I thought I understood. The use of web assignments was really wonderful. I loved our class discussions. Everyone felt at ease to speak, etc. Durrell puts himself at an accessible level and is perpetually engaging, interested, and helpful. The web assignments were so well done; he put a lot of time into them, and they were so helpful.
The class was a nice departure from other, reading-intensive courses. I thought the web work was put to excellent use. I really enjoyed this seminar.