Reviews of professor Derik Smith

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 2.0/5
Dr. Smith is amazing. Considering this was a writing seminar, he made it feel like we didn't write as much! He's very funny and inserts funny anecdotes into his lectures. The movies we watched were spectacular and he provided some great insight. This was by far my favorite class and I hope you're lucky enough to take him.

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 2.0/5
Opens your eyes to the world of film and the domestic/global perspectives that go into the internalized and externalized racism in Hollywood. An incredibly kind and understanding professor who always keeps class engaging and fresh. I can't recommend Prof. Smith enough, this is one of those classes you won't forget about 10 years later.

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
Prof Smith gave me a different way of thinking about life and history. He connected historical events in my mind that were never connected and literally made me think differently about how change is affected. He has an amazing story too and fosters closeness in the classroom. I don't think I missed a single one of his classes. CMC NEEDS hims. 10/10

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
Prof. Smith is an amazing professor and so articulated. He puts in effort in planning and structuring the course. He is great at making you think about change and how it affects us and society at a different perspective. I highly recommend him.

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 2.0/5
I made an account on ratemyprofs just to give him a good review. He is truly an incredible person, brilliant and so very kind. He knows so much about the topic and ties in all sorts of contemporary cases in hip hop with much greater analysis of neoliberalism, feminism, etc. He makes an effort to be approachable and is very engaging. Stellar, 10/10

Rating: 4.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
Professor Smith is an awesome guy, I love him. The FWS has very little work and is great if you want a chill class. Definitely not a free A, but very light workload and you can probably get an A- if you write 3 good essays. 80% of the grade is the 3 essays and the other 20% is buffers. Don't expect a fast-paced or extremely learning-intensive class

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 2.0/5
took Blackness in American Cinema with Prof Smith and I LOVED it! For anyone interested in film, or or wants to think and talk about movies in a new way, take this class. Lots of films to watch, but not much writing. He doesn't rly teach writing even though it's an FWS, so if you struggle there you might want to go to a more hands-on prof.

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 2.0/5
Professor Smith is hands down one of the best professors at CMC. He kept a really heavy topic of the carceral state super engaging and his deep knowledge of how the world works convinced me to embrace the principles of abolition. Only had one paper, group project, and a couple reading responses. Every CMC student should take his class before grad.