Class record · COMM · MCAS

COMM 4479

Representing Reality · 1 instructor on record · 3 sections

What the course score is made of

76BC evaluations3 records · weight ×1.0 · Spring 2025 – Spring 2026

—Student reviewsno reviews — does not contribute

—RateMyProfessorsno ratings — does not contribute

That is the class itself, averaged across everyone who taught it. Who taught it, and how each of them scored, is the board below — that is what a student picking a section is actually choosing between.

What the challenge rank is made of

56thMore challenging than 56% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

91BC — “Intellectually Challenging”3 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College's own “intellectually challenging” question for this class only — students answer it positively about courses that stretched them, so it measures intellectual challenge and NOT grading, workload or quality. Almost every BC class scores high on it, which is why it is shown as a rank rather than a score.

What the workload rank is made of

78thMore work than 78% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

60BC — “Workload”3 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College reports workload for this class only as one of five bands, not as a number of hours, and it does not publish what the bands mean — so this site will not translate it into hours. Higher means more work, which is not the same as worse.

Satisfies one of two writing intensive courses required within the Communication major. This course examines the possibilities of representing and recreating reality in visual media. To what extent is what we perceive as authentic, in fact, constructed, mediated, and performed? What is the relevance of the notion of truth in this context? We will consider films, television shows, and other forms of media that blur the boundaries of reality and allow a rethinking of received definitions and established forms of perception. As a class, we will reconsider realism in visual media, treated both thematically within a narrative and as a foundational question of media more broadly.

The only instructor on record

3 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record

Instructor	Overall	Workload	Challenge	RMP overall
Renee PastelAssistant Professor · Communication	813 records	78th	56th	1001 rating · all classes

There is no ranking to read here: Renee Pastel is the only instructor with evaluation records for COMM 4479, so the number is a record, not a position. The RateMyProfessors figure is their overall score across everything they teach, not their score in this class.

Also taught by Renee Pastel

4 other classes

Class	Instructors	Course score
COMM 3372Media Theory	313 records	91
COMM 2240Memory and Media	17 records	72
COMM 3362Film Theory and Criticism	17 records	68
COMM 2299Masking to Unmask: Strategies of Representation in Media Texts	11 record	67

Other COMM classes

All of them

Class	Instructors	Course score
COMM 1030Public Speaking	1166 records	83
COMM 1065Fundamentals of Creative Communication	746 records	79
COMM 1010The Rhetorical Tradition	320 records	83
COMM 1020Introduction to Media Studies	220 records	83
COMM 2213Fundamentals of Audio I	120 records	85
COMM 1060Anti-Social Media	217 records	95

The line

All 13 items · means across 3 records

The Professor4 items

Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.

8822nd pctl

Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.

9562nd pctl

Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.

9033rd pctl

Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.

9233rd pctl

The Course3 items

Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.

8831st pctl

Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.

8936th pctl

Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.

8614th pctl

Assignments & Feedback3 items

Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.

8622nd pctl

Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.

8834th pctl

Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.

8726th pctl

Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings

WorkloadHow much work the course took outside class, on Boston College's five-band scale — the band boundaries are not published, so this is not a number of hours.

6078th pctl

Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.

9156th pctl

Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.

8830th pctl

Bar length is the rank against every comparable record we hold, not the raw score: BC's questions all have a median around 4.5, so a raw-scale bar would be nearly full on every row and would tell you nothing. Every bar is one ink colour — nothing here is graded green or red. The hatched bars are not ratings at all: a higher number on either describes a different course, not a better one.

Game log

3 sections · newest first

Instructor	Term	Sec	Instr	Course	Work
Renee Pastel	Spring 2026	01	69	69	60
Renee Pastel	Fall 2025	01	82	78	—
Renee Pastel	Spring 2025	01	93	82	60

How to read this boardInstructors are ranked on their record in this class only, never on their average across everything they teach. Scores are out of 100 — Boston College's 1–5 agreement scale, ×20, the way these numbers were printed for years. Workload is BC's own five-band figure, not a number of hours, and is shown as a rank. A dash means the question was not reported, and is never a zero.