Love the course, but dislike his tests. Very passionate and his lectures are always interesting/engaging! All tests are short answer. If you are looking for an easy A, this isn't for you. Be prepared for a lot of studying, reading, and taking detailed notes during lecture.

no slides so you have to show up to lecture to know the material. if ur sick and miss a class good luck. tests are all short answer (answers could be one word, idk why it's not multiple choice at that point) and the questions are so vague or so weirdly specific. he rambles so it's hard to tell what's actually important. seems passionate tho

I really enjoyed this class, one of my favorites at UCSB. Do the readings and attend lecture though not required, and youre fine

This is my absolute favorite course I've taken at UCSB. Lectures are fantastic, but you do need to take detailed notes. There are no lecture slides and lectures are unrelated to the readings. Readings are fairly dense, but if you pace yourself and don't procrastinate you'll be fine. Do not squander the opportunity to take this class.

Be prepared to grind. There's a ton of reading, and he doesn't post his lectures, so you pretty much have to show up to every class if you want to keep up. As long as you stay on top of the work, it's definitely worth it and you'll get a lot out of it. He's super charismatic and makes the lectures actually interesting.

Dr. Abra was my favorite lecturer throughout all of my time at UCSB.He was the only lecturer that I have ever really learned anything from. I've taken like 5 classes with him just because his lectures are so engaging. You do have to pay attention and you have to read for a good grade, but the material in his lectures will make you WANT to.Take him!