Comments:GTX2302H - Dr. Foley is a very kind professor, and his lectures are engaging and enjoyable. I genuinely liked coming to class, and although the readings weren’t ones I would have chosen on my own, his lectures made even the more confusing material interesting and worthwhile. To be clear, however, this course is challenging. The papers were graded generously, but the exams were difficult and included multiple-choice, true/false, quote ID, and a short essay. While Dr. Foley downplays the exams and doesn’t explain them until the class before (typically), I recommend you start studying at least a week in advance. I recommend highlighting quotes he mentions in a different color and studying these to help with Quote ID (and other quotes you think may be important). Take notes in class and review these to help with the multiple choice and short essay questions. The final was very manageable. He randomly selects one author from the semester and you talk about them and their work for 10 minutes. Overall, this is a demanding but rewarding class, and I really enjoyed learning from Dr. Foley.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:GTX 2302H - Dr. Foley is a great guy. His classes are super enjoyable and he is very funny. I really enjoyed being in his class. With that being said, it was a lot of reading and the exams were very hard. There were 2 exams, 2 papers, and an oral final. The papers were not bad and he makes the final very doable. It's just the written exams that are very hard. With that being said, I would not take Great Texts with and other professor. I have done both Ancient and Medieval with Dr. Foley and I do not regret it at all. He's the best!  - Grade In Class:B+

Comments:2301H - Dr. Foley is insanely smart, being a world-renowned Augustine scholar and a great Latin reader. Honors 2301 with him is a heavy reading workload, expect to read 80-100 pages per week. Although the concepts and material is difficult, Dr. Foley is an amazing lecturer and very good at explaining everything as well as fostering conversation. If you take him, expect him to be late to most classes and to take a super long time to grade tests and papers. This class is certainly not an easy A, but if you want to learn a lot and truly engage the material with a great thinker, Foley's your guy.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:GTX 2302 - Dr. Foley is an incredible lecturer. His course is engaging, interesting, and not overwhelming in terms of workload. If you complete the readings, and take good notes(don't miss any classes!), exams are a breeze(highlight any quote he reads in class if you want to be successful with quote IDs). This course has been among my favorites at Baylor. Dr. Foley is incredibly Catholic, which adds a layer of nuance to the way he presents medieval literature. The one thing I do not understand is why he is mildly vulgar at times. It's nothing crazy, but it just does not fit at all with the rest of his persona. Anyway, I would definitely recommend Dr. Foley to anyone willing to be challenged to think about life more deeply.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:2301 - I love Dr. Foley! What a great guy, although he had some upsetting qualities. He was fantastic in class and I loved going to his class (I usually hate English classes). However, he was so bad at keeping a time schedule, and he forgot to give us pop-quizzes (we had 2 all semester) as well as an entire paper. This meant that there was little classwork but a looming threat of when assignments would be assigned/graded. I would recommend Dr. Foley to anyone and everyone, and he will be a professor I keep in touch with for years to come.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:GTX 2301 - I took Dr. Foley for the first Great Texts, and it was pretty good. As should be expected, it's a reading heavy course, so either be prepared for some late nights with Plato. Dr. Foley fosters some really great conversation in class, and really lets the students state their opinions and make connections. I liked his teaching style of discussion a lot. Some of the previous reviews are unfair, I was never offended by him AT ALL and never thought he was unwilling to hear certain opinions. He's a good guy!! That being said, communication is...not great. I was unsure of my grade until early April. He takes several days to reply to emails and can sometimes not follow up on promised communication. That was frustrating, but every time I got in class I was reminded of how much I liked the discussion! If you enjoy reading and discussion, I'd recommend him. If you're looking for a blow off great texts class however, this probably isn't it.  - Grade In Class:B

Comments:2301 - Do. Not. Take. His. Class. At first, I thought that Professor Foley seemed like a charming (albeit quirky) teacher with his funny hospitality rules, his interesting choice of dress, etc. But I quickly realized beneath all of this was a very ugly dark side. In short, Foley is an arrogant, foul-mouthed (he cursed literally every class), and unfair professor. Thus, unless you want to turn into to a mindless Foley suck-up for the entire semester, I suggest steering clear. I learned this the hard way after receiving my first essay grade back from him. On it, I was shocked to see that I had sixteen “grading comments” that had absolutely nothing to do with my writing style, understanding of the text, or material thoroughness. Rather, all of the comments were argumentative ones, for he did not like that I chose to go a different route with the topic than he had in class, didn’t agree with my opinion, etc. This was very frustrating, as open-ended prompt questions are obviously not supposed to have opinion bias as their sole grading criterion. Another issue that bothered me was Professor Foley's support of racist and sexist views. To put it simply, unless you are a privileged white male (like him), be prepared to be looked down upon and demeaned (key example: early in the semester he told a female student in front of everyone that her belief in feminism was a joke, for “women will never be men’s equals”). No lie. Overall, his favoritism, grudge holding, and outright refusal to ever admit that he’s wrong is absolutely ridiculous. In the end, I finished the semester with my first non-A ever and was ultimately very disappointed with the entire experience. Up until this point, I have loved every single BU professor and I am therefore very disappointed that Baylor has yet to put this unreasonable man in his place.  - Grade In Class:B

Comments:2301 - Great professor. Totally dedicated to helping his students grow and learn. One of the most honest guys I've ever met, he'll tell you the real truth. Class is pretty easy if you do the readings and pay attention.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:GTX 2301 and 2302 - Foley is one of the best professors at Baylor without a doubt. Some reviews here complain that he's too hard on students with different opinions than him but he really wants you to be able intelligently and respectfully argue your point and he's not afraid to cut down students who are rude or dismissive to their classmates. He's also one of the best options for international students as he is super helpful and offers leniency to those who don't speak English as a first language. He knows so much about many subjects, not only his own field of religion, and will often offer up fun historical facts or stories during class. Most of the class will revolved around discussion about the texts and there are two tests and two papers although he usually makes the last paper optional. Another comment is that he often talks about Catholicism but most (if not all) the texts read in these GTX classes are written by Catholic authors so its not only necessary but extremely helpful to understand where the authors are coming from. Overall you will not regret taking Foley as he is really one of those professors who will change your life by introducing you to new ideas and texts and his class has such a fun atmosphere as everyone is always laughing and talking about the new ideas we are discovering.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:2302 - I came into Medieval GTX not really expecting much from it, but at the end of the semester, I can safely say it taught me a freak load of stuff about life. Dr. Foley is a treasure. He engages the class everyday and it is obvious he truly enjoys what he teaches. He is a charming dude, very professional (we all had to refer to each other by Miss or Mr. last name), and came to class dressed like he was going to a dinner party. Nearly every class I was writing down one of his quotable lines. He is staunch in his outlook but very kind and welcomed questions. Our views did not align really at all (think: Catholic vs atheist) but we always had respectful dialogues. This class helped me realize how much I loved philosophy and made me decide to take on a GTX minor. The class itself is rather easy, there are just two papers and two essays. As long as you read the material, you should be fine, just watch out for the quote IDs. We had one quiz all semester. Also, don't stress about the final (like I did unnecessarily). I would highly suggest you take Dr. Foley's class!  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:GTX - AWFUL - Take this class if you are a staunch Catholic, enjoy being told, "slavery is permissible in some cases", or being called a jackass for holding mainstream opinions about LGBTQ rights, feminism, or religion. High ratings are due to lemming honor students who are attracted to this type of right-wing intellectualism. Fairly easy class because this professor wastes time, isn't prepared, and has BS assignments. He will grade up or down on how much he feels you agree with him, so hide your opinions.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:2301 - Foley is one of the best professors at Baylor. Two test, two papers and a final. He is a fairly easy paper grader, I turned in a really crappy paper and still got a 89 on it. He is definitely an eccentric teacher, he will burst out at odd moments. But he is really passionate about his teaching and he knows so much about EVERYTHING, not just his field. He doesn't shy away from serious topics and treats every student with respect.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:GTX 2302 - My first impression on the first day of class was that he was odd and that the class would be a lot of work. I was mostly wrong though because although he is a character, he made this class super interesting and the work was not as bad as I anticipated. He didn't have any quizzes, just tests and two papers for my class. The discussion of the books we were reading were really interesting and I can say I learned something I will probably always remember from each one because of him, and I can't say that about many classes I take which tend to be boring. He made me want to go to class and made me care about his opinion, which is also super rare for me. The only thing that was tough were the quote identifications on his tests, where he would take quotes and you would have to say who said it, the context, what it meant, things like that. The final was a breeze and he was super nice. It was an oral exam and I stressed way more than I should have for it. He's a great guy, take him if you can.  - Grade In Class:B

Comments:2301 - I think literature is stupid and I'd much rather focus on courses that are difficult, but Foley is a damn interesting teacher. I don't think the class was that hard but it wasn't that easy either, but as far as literature/english teachers go he's the best one i've ever had. He's genuinely interested in what he's teaching and he does a good job communicating what he thinks about it you. I gave him a three for availability only because I never tried going to his office hours so I don't really know if he was or wasn't available. As far as the workload goes, theres a lot of reading to do but I just always used sparknotes which worked well. He gave two tests which weren't particularly challenging if you prepared for them and he gave two papers, one of which actually got cancelled because he took too long to assign it. The paper was long but I spent a lot less time and effort getting a B in this class than most others. Definitely recommend taking him.  - Grade In Class:B

Comments:2303(Medieval) - Foley is a great person, but his class if fairly challenging. His discussions are much more formal and in-depth than I have ever experienced before. But the class is enjoyable. Unfortunately, the readings of Averroes, Aquinas, and Dante are not. There are two tests, an occasional quiz, two papers, and an oral interview for the final. Read the books and you will be fine. Be sure to take good notes as well; his tests can be rather specific.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:GTX 2302 (Medieval) - Refer to 2301 review posted on 6/21/11. This is basically the same class with different readings. The only difference was that on the second paper we had the option of creating a board game based on Thomas More's Utopia, and we didn't ever watch a movie.  - Grade In Class:B+

Comments:GTX 2301 (Ancient) - Foley is awesome. Every class consists entirely of discussing the previous night's reading. His lectures were interesting and extremely insightful. He's one of those guys that probably reads WAY too much into everything, but what he finds is interesting nonetheless. There are two tests, two essays, and a final. The tests are all multiple choice and are very specific. You need to have read, SparkNotes won't cut it. The essays he grades very reasonably, but he does take off for grammar/typos, so make sure to adhere to his standards. They are very specific, he sends you a two-page style guide to follow for citations, word choice, etc... The final is a 10-minute oral exam, in which as long as you just sound confident and you've read the book you're do fine. This class is one that's extremely easy to pass, pretty easy to get higher than a B, but VERY difficult to get an 'A'. He doesn't like giving them, and you have to have a 91 in his class, as opposed to Baylor's 90. However, when I emailed him expressing disappointment at receiving a B+ for a 90.5, he said something along the lines of "I hope the lessons you've learned in my class have been more valuable than the letter grade you received." It smarts, but it's true. Seriously, his class made me a better person. His mission for his class is "to learn how to live the best kind of life." I'm taking him again next semester, and you should too.  - Grade In Class:B+

Comments:2301 - Mr. Foley is definitely one of the most amazing professors I have encountered. He is so good at what he does and so humble about it. He is helpful and really got me to enjoy the class, the books and the work. His class can get hard but its an amazing learning experience.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:4331 - Dr. Foley is a great prof. 4331, which is a course on Augustine, was a great course because it was Dr. Foley's specialty, and he taught it very well. The course is also cross-listed as a graduate level philosophy course, which made the lectures and discussions very interesting, but also at times a bit daunting, particularly when you want to say something/ask a question, but don't want to sound like a dilettante undergrad. Fear not, however; Dr. Foley NEVER makes anyone in the class feel stupid and answers any question as best as he can. He really appreciates anything a student has to contribute to the discussion, so make an effort to talk in class, and it'll reflect on your grade. The grades (for this class, at least - I'm not sure how he did it for classes like 2301/2302) come from only 2 papers, plus class participation; so get as much help as you can on the papers, and if you have trouble understanding the text, get help from Dr. Foley. To write a good paper, you have to know the text, and doing well on the papers is of paramount importance. Whether you're taking Dr. Foley for 2301, 2303, or a graduate level course, I would definitely recommend him - great prof, great sense of humor, very helpful and respectful toward his students.  - Grade In Class:B

Comments:GTX 2302 - Where to start- I have NO IDEA why this guy's rating is so high. He gives quizzes all the time, always with an evil smile on his face (seriously, he'll always go "please take out" *pause to hear groans* "a sheet of paper.") They can pretty meticulous too. Oh, yeah, and get ready to write. He's also crazy loyal to the catholic church- one class was NOTHING but listening to him defend the crusades. Seriously. Also, and I mean this in all sincerity, do not take him if you are atheist, agnostic, skeptical, or even scientifically inclined. I once was trying to discuss the history of the Vatican's position on science and he just blurted out "Steven Hawking doesn't know anything about time." Weird guy. Oh, and he says that politeness is dead, and so to combat that he wants everyone in class to refer to each other as "Mr. Lastname" or "Ms. Lastname," then he'll turn right around and swear unnecessarily. Ditch Foley and take Thomas.  - Grade In Class:DROP

Comments:GTX 2302 - Dr. Foley is a seeker a wisdom. He helps guide students from literal to intelligable realities by helping students through the literature, philosophy, and theology. This class is hard. The tests (esp. his multiple choice questions) are hard and the paper's are challenging. I felt like I barely hung on to my grade from the beginning of day 1 to the end of 15 weeks. Be ready for a challenge, but it will be a rewarding and enriching class and experience.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:GTX 2302 - Lots of reading. However, you learn a lot of insight information in the reading. We had two top quizzes, two papers ( however, there is an alternative to a paper... it was a utopia game), two tests and a oral final. the final is comprehensive. he is good..  - Grade In Class:B+

Comments:2302 - the class was really interesting. The tests were difficult and there is a lot of work involved but that is to be expected for an honors class. You also shouldn't take this class if you don't like participating in discussion because Foley will take off a lot of points of your grade if you don't contribute. You should definitely take him--he's interesting and very intelligent!  - Grade In Class:B

Comments:BICSWI - He always referred to us by last name, but the whole class was laid back. The man is a genius at what he does. He's so insightful and blunt. Foley is fair grader and excellent professor take!  - Grade In Class:B

Comments:GTX 2302 - If there was ever Keith Richards of Great Texts, Dr. Foley would be that man.
That's my rating.  - Grade In Class:B+

Comments:2302 - TAKE HIM IF YOU HAVE THE CHANCE! Dr. Foley is one of the most amazing professors I have had at Baylor. He is incredibly insightful, intelligent, and hilarious. I really had no interest in GTX until I took his class - I looked forward to it all the time. He keeps you thinking and makes class interesting. Some of the reading assignments can be lengthy, but you should try to read them, or at least get the Cliff's Notes before class. His tests are slightly difficult, but overall, not too bad - take a few hours to study, and, if you have read most of the class and taken good notes, you should be fine. He is an amazing professor, and very quotable! Definitely take him if you have the chance!  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:GTX2301 - Dr. Foley is the best! I loved listening to his analysis of what we read. He has some interesting viewpoints, and really gets you thinking about what the works say. Less emphasis on textual analysis and more emphasis on ideas, which is what interests me. Best GTX teacher there is, or at least up there with SJM. Take him if you can.  - Grade In Class:A

Comments:2301 H7 - Dr. Foley is an amazing professor. He provides such great insights into the novels/works being discussed. He does give random quizzes, but they aren't too difficult, as long as you stay up on the reading. His tests are a bit difficult, but they are do-able. You have to make a 91 in his class to get an A, so keep that in mind.  - Grade In Class:B+

Comments:GTX 2301 - Very insightful professor, facilitated active, intelligent discussion. Great texts classes require a lot of reading, and he tended to test from the books (even though class discussions were very helpful). He graded fairly easily on the papers, though. Personal aside: this guy is hilarious. Definitely one of my most quotable professors, and he looks adorable in his bow ties. I only failed this class because I had a lot of personal problems that semester, including diagnosis of a reading disorder.   - Grade In Class:D

Comments:2302 - Dr. Foley is great. He has some really interesting opinions on authors and books and he is really funny. He is also very nice and accommodating as far as availability and office hours and everything are concerned. Very entertaining guy and actually managed to keep me interested in a subject I can't stand.  - Grade In Class:B+

Comments:2302 - Dr. Foley is definitely one of my favorite professors at Baylor. He is a really easy going guy that has some amazing ideas and viewpoints when it comes to the readings for class (Dante). I was always excited to go to GTX and listen to the discussions we had in class...as well as see what outfit he had on that day (bowties and hats in particular). I am now a GTX minor because of this man and his class.  - Grade In Class:B

Comments:2302 - Dr. Foley has been one of my favorite professors so far at Baylor. He's really laid back and makes reading the material interesting; he offers really different viewpoints which really helps!  - Grade In Class:B+

Comments:2301 - My favorite classes and my favorite teacher at Baylor. I took him for Ancient and Medieval, and loved him both times! Quote identifications are sometimes difficult on his tests. His papers and projects are fun, and his reading quizzes are east...if you read. Stay ahead on the reading and participate in class discussion.  - Grade In Class:B

Comments:2302 - Dr. Foley's class was by far the best I've had at Baylor. Even if you don't read, you can't help but learn tons from him. Laid back atmosphere, moderate tests, and occasional (mostly T/F) reading quizzes. Though theology and high philosophy aren't really my thing, this class was one I actually looked forward to every time.  - Grade In Class:B+