Christopher Colacchia
2 courses · 16 reviews
All Reviews
LOVED this prof and this class! Problems in Philosophy is a great intro to the subject, and the material is super interesting. One thing to note is you have to consistently do well--there's no room for a bad grade bc it won't get averaged out--but it's not hard to do well on everything as long as you do the readings and pay attention!
5/8/2026
Great and funny teacher! Pretty easy class, but the material can be hard to understand, so pay attention to lectures if you don't understand. Class is pretty much just a lecture, but then you have discussion at the end, which I think adds a lot to the class.
4/21/2026
Very sweet guy who's kind and caring. Nice grader and very easy to get an A. Lectures were a bit boring and one-sided but he gives time for group discussion at the end. Not life-changing but definitely a good class. Don't go on computer and not participate during lecture, he won't say anything but will tank your participation grade at the end.
3/28/2026
Took this class Spring 2025, and it was great! Colacchia is super caring and gives interesting lectures. Meet with him for OH and he will help you do well on papers. Take your time and put effort into reading responses so you get a few 3/2's and it will go a very long way later in the semester!
12/1/2025
Great intro philosophy professor. If you do the readings (~40 pages/week) and write the reflections (>300 words, >500 for extra credit) you'll get at least a 100% on every homework. And if you're a good writer and willing to put in a bit of effort, you'll get an A on the essays.
11/20/2025
Professor Colacchia's great at running a discussion-based class and goes over assigned readings and presents philosophical concepts very succinctly. Many readings are very long and confusing because of their archaic language but Colacchia breaks them down really nicely. Very helpful feedback on essays which is great for revision.
5/10/2025
2-4 hrs/week
Mostly pretty chill, readings can be really confusing and hard to follow because of their archaic language, but Colacchia breaks them down really nicely, and he can very effectively lead a discussion-based class. Can be a little boring sometimes but there definitely have been some thought-provoking questions from time to time. Colacchia also allows revisions for the midterm essays and gives really good feedback on them; I pulled my 82.5 up to a 97.5 post revision.
5/9/2025
If you want a introductory philosophy course, take it with him. Very manageable and most of your grade is based on homework, which are reflections on the weekly readings. There are no tests -- only reflections and essays. Half of the class is discussion based within your small group. Very chill, grading is reasonable, and he gives extensions.
4/20/2025
Colacchia was an amazing professor who cared about his students and was incredibly passionate about his work. I've never had a professor who was genuinely passionate about the material they taught as Colacchia. He also has a ton of extra credit opportunities encouraging you to go above and beyond. He gave very good explanations of the readings.
2/11/2025
For Problems in Philsophy, he definitely cared a lot about the material and made it engaging. Reading reflections before every class (~300 words) and half of the class divided into seminar style conversation which kept it interesting. Essays were pretty easy and he offers great feedback and advice if you follow it.
12/17/2024
Very articulate; he knows the concepts well. Helpful in planning for final essays, fair grader, gives a lot of extra credit opportunities, good slideshow presentations.
12/14/2024
2 or less hrs/week
intro level phil courses are unfortunately homing beacons for people who are loudly insecure in their intelligence, great philosophers really attracts the worst of the worst though. since the class is formatted in a mostly learn by discussing structure if the people in your class suck the class is gonna suck. i kid you not someone loudly and proudly posed “do you think hitler was a virtuous person” and “dont you think slavery had some merits though” as completely unironic ungermane attempt to sound smart and contrarian. overall, colacchia didnt really seem like someone who knew how to lead a productive learning environment. he appears to know his stuff though
6/13/2024
Great prof for intro philosophy. A good survey of topics, with reasonable but sometimes cumbersome readings. He changed the overall course requirements by giving us more options for the essays after having to grade the first (of an intended 3) but this is because he gave very thorough feedback. Recommend.
6/5/2024
Learnt a lot about philosophy which is honestly a chill change of pace (as a stem major) and the class structure sets you up for an A as long as you put in the work for the essays (ask him for feedback and act on it). Bit of a tweak sometimes but overall good dude and professor.
5/12/2024
Prof. Colacchia was a really chill dude. There are two weekly readings that vary in length and complexity, and you also have to write a short summary of them. Overall he seems to care about his students and has good lectures in class. He is a little unorganized and can leave you waiting half the semester for grades though.
4/30/2024