Professor Holt was a poor teacher. Lectures have little to do with course material and mostly go on about how she loves Chicago sports. Her slides are not helpful at all and seem to have almost no effort put into them. She demeans her students and uses shame and humiliation to express her disappointment in her class's performance.
Class is boring and as a film major, waste of my time since it's only about media and not about film at all. By the 8th week, I almost had a mental breakdown from the amount of work this class needed. A 300-500 word short essay every week and two papers about 1500 words each. That's not even to mention the mt and final were absolute hell. Dont take
The readings and concepts can be a lot to retain and I did find the exam preparation to be overkill, yet I have to credit Professor Holt for informing me on these important media topics and presenting them in such an active manner. While this was the hardest class I've taken, I really value what I'm taking away from it. It's vital beyond FAMST.
Very passionate and an expert in her field. Also very down-to-earth and creates a lecture environment that promotes helpful conversations. You definitely learn the most from the readings and sections, her lectures are interesting but not very information/note heavy.
Ridiculously hard class. My jaw dropped when I saw the first writing response (1300-1500 words) and I almost had a Joker era when we were handed the final. You're not learning anything in this class, you're just learning to memorize. She also takes off not half of a letter grade, but whole letter grades for even just a day late. Will not take again
This class was difficult but very interesting. Tests were very hard but all possible questions were given beforehand so it's possible to do super well, just takes a lot of work. Prof is very friendly, fun, engaging and approachable -- she kept 2 hour lectures interesting throughout. Relevant and interesting screenings. The best 101 I've taken.
Tough grading and lots of reading. Lectures were interesting but can be repetitive.
I learned so so much in this class. Content varies in how interesting it is but Holt is fantastically entertaining and passionate. The midterm and final were an insane amount of work (3500 words), the papers were more reasonable, just be ready to write a lot. This class will make you feel smart.
Prof. Holt is amazing as a lecturer. She's so passionate and cares so much about engaging with students and the course material. FAMST70 is so valuable as a class, but it was so demanding and took up so much of my time and effort. Two 1000 word papers, and a midterm and final that were around 3500 words each. Prompts were really difficult too.
Professor Holt is very passionate, which makes her go on tangents a lot. Sometimes she will go the entire class without starting the lecture. Midterm and the final were both 4000+ word essays and she says you can't repeat any concepts multiple times, which is impossible given her prompts. Also only releases the prompt a week before its due.
this class should be a requirement for every student, the topics covered are extremely important in today's society. might seem like a lot of work if you were expecting a throw away ge class, but it is worth it. dr. holt's lectures are amazing and she genuinely cares about her subject. i was disappointed when i accidentally missed one.
Professor Holt has been hands down my favorite professor at this school. She turns the course into something fantastic, it is very dependent on participation from us. It is heavy in course work and writing -- but she lets you know this at the beginning of the quarter, so you shouldn't be surprised. She is so passionate and truly the best!!
Professor Holt is very passionate about what she teaches and it shows in lectures. However, the class is very work-heavy and you'll have to dedicate lots of time. Midterm was 4000+ words, weekly reading responses (250-500 words) that are very reading-intensive, and two 1000 word papers instead on weeks 3 and 7. Good if you like writing!
I took this class as a GE that I thought would be moderately difficult and interesting. It gave me an interesting perspective for sure, but was WAY too hard to be considered an intro class. Don't take this if you have other classes you want to prioritize. Lots of readings, reading response or huge paper every week, she was distracted in lectures
Professor Holt is easily one of the best professors at UCSB. When you interact with her personally, you can tell how much she cares about each one of her students and she will do anything in her power to make sure you absorb the material and have fun in the process. I can't recommend her enough!!!
Prof. Holt is one of the best professors I've ever had at UCSB. She cares deeply for her students and is very easy to approach about issues, extensions, etc. I miss her class and would love to take another course taught by her in the future!
Professor Holt brings so much enthusiasm and humanity to her lectures! Her passion is contagious and the class was very interesting and applicable to life. There are documentaries once a week at night where attendance is counted (pre-COVID) which wasn't ideal but they were super interesting. Multiple papers that are pretty difficult but doable.
I may have only attended UCSB for two years but out of the many classes I have taken, Professor Holt is THE best professor I've ever had. She is incredibly devoted to her work and loves communicating with her students. Her lectures are judgment-free zones with opportunities to question the world around us. Loved this class and would retake!
This class needs a desperate overhaul. High schools have more challenging content than this class. Holt is very basic and by the 2nd or 3rd class you will find it's just obvious information, reading articles, barely brushes the surface of the subject and long words are 100% absent from her vocabulary in general. Easy class, but too easy to be good.
Don't need to say much since most people have already said. She is one of the best profs at UCSB. Super intelligent, hilarious, and caring. Very approachable and handled COVID effects very well. 10/10 would want her as a professor again.
My favorite professor at UCSB! She's hilarious, so lectures go by fast, and she really knows her stuff. I 'm way more critical of how I consume media on the daily; great material, but definitely a tough class- study. Due to COVID-19, she cancelled our final and gave a 2 week extension on a paper we had for around a month- very thoughtful.
Prof Holt has been one of my favorite professors / FAMST70 one of my favorite classes! Attendance not mandatory but nearly every lecture was full... never wanted to miss class she is an amazing lecturer. Really supportive of her students and their ideas
Holt is probably the best professor I will ever have. And this course will probably be the best most challenging class I'll ever take in my college career. No joke. It isn't an easy ride, but Holt makes it worth it. She gives the best lectures even though they aren't mandatory. She is truly inspiring and actually cares for us.
Prof. Holt is, hands down, one of the best professors I have had in three years of university education. I am not a film major, I took 70 just thinking it would be interesting. And oh, was it! Every lecture with Prof. Holt was a joy to listen to, she encourages class discussion and tries to make you think and reflect. Highly recommend 70!