Very tough class

Simply the best soc professor on campus, you'll learn a lot and you won't be condesendingly sermonized to (like many others in the department).

3 Midterms and Cumulative final. All essay tests. Doesnt grade tests, has graders who suck and are not consistent. I dont recommend.

BORING BORING BORING! Class from hell. Not a good SOC class. Not a bad teacher but a bad class.

WONDERFUL CLASS

Prepare to put in the work for this challenging but interesting course. Attend lectures, study the textbook, and utilize resources like unstuckstudy ai to ace the exams. The material is engaging, but the tests require serious preparation.

Outdated content. Sweet guy, but the class is just not really relevant anymore. Don't think he realizes how many people are part of the LGBTQ+ community nowadays. Also he interrupted the other professor quite often.

John was very dismissive during lectures. He never had a clear, backed-up response when questions arose in class, he just disregarded questions tbh. Shows how outdated their content is. They just read from the slides. Added a bunch of unnecessary and offensive comics that wasted time. Also, he would start lecture before the class started. AVOID

3 midterms and a final and they aren't easy due to the unclear lectures. the concepts are interesting, but not taught in a way that's helpful for the exams. the textbook is required and is hard to find for cheap or for free. the review sessions are helpful and the graders for try to give points in any way they can, but overall really hard class.

I took this class as an elective, BIG MISTAKE. Get ready to learn a lot of useful information. But you NEED to go to lecture or else you will fail. They grade based on 3 midterms and a final all in person and questions are from lecture. Don't recommend taking this as a GE.

Not as hard as some of the reviews say, just go over the charts and vocab before each test and you will be fine. Fairly interesting material

avoid!! this class is outdated and the amount of materiel is absurd. they don't give sources for the information provided and half of it is simply not true. the lectures were pointless it was just half naked pictures and memes half the time. freaky professors with outdated views lol. I learned absolutely nothing and just stressed about my grade:/

This was the worst class I have taken at UCSB. They require you to buy their (expensive) textbook and ramble in lecture and read off random "funny" cartoons and expect you to cover the bulk of material yourself by reading their book. They use offensive and outdated terms and are not inclusive. Had to study for this class more than any other.

I really enjoyed the content of this class and learned a lot. There is a lot of reading and the tests are hard, it really is helpful to go to review sessions and form study groups with friends. There is a pretty decent sized curve, so don't stress too much about your grade.

For 152A: Incredibly hard class if your taking for upper division credits. Grade only based on 3 midterms and cumulative final that are written response. Tons of reading, and studying for each midterm will be a grind. Class was really interesting, and he is pretty funny at times, but I would avoid this class specifically at all costs.

Great class for anyone to take at UCSB. Lots of material to absorb, but the subject material is important to know and provides a lot of really good information. Graded based on three large exams throughout the quarter. Study guides are provided, but there's just a really large amount of information to cover in order to be prepared for them.

Janice and John are good professor but it seemed like the graders for this course were very tough. There is a lot of information you need to absorb from the lecture notes and textbook. I didn't read the textbook which my grade reflects but I attended the study session which helped tremendously. Get together and do your own study group.

This class is incredibly interesting and fun if you're looking for an "easier" upper division course to take. Its made up of four midterms and a final with no homework and each midterm is pretty straightforward. If you listen to the lectures and read the textbook chapters (which are honestly fun to read) you can get an A pretty easily.

152A was a fun class and I learned a lot, however, the exams in this class are brutal. So much information is crammed into these tests, and we were given no clear indication as to what we would be tested on. The grading curve is very generous. My biggest advice: study groups, go to TA review sessions, and pay attention to readings.

Class is like sex ed for 15 year olds. Very basic information, do not take if you have basic sex knowledge. I can see how it would be good for some people though. John and Janice are cute, but the lectures are painfully cheesy, and I think they are too old to teach this course now. John is always talking over Janice. Tests are easy if you can write

Only graded on 3 midterms and 1 final. They're fairly hard but if you study, READ and attend lecture you should be ok. He is rude about giving slides/notes when you miss class and don't care about the reason you missed class. The teachings also seem to be outdated especially when it comes to the LGBTQ+ community.

If you take 152A submit the form to take 152B!!! Genuinely the best experience I've had at UCSB. Tests are hard but very curved. Essentially you read a chapter/articles before each class and then have a discussion with your peers. Exams are MC and there's one paper as well. In my experience, everyone in 152B is simply wonderful, highly recommend!!

NOT a soc major, took this as an elective. Exams graded/curved very generously. I didn't read the textbook at all, only attended lectures + review sessions and managed to get an A without studying. The first couple weeks of the course are very bio-heavy but don't let that scare you off, it gets much easier + covers stuff you probably already know.

Professor Janice and John Baldwin worked together to teach Soc 152a. Lectures were dated, catered to a white, straight, conventional perspective. They seem to care, but the tests were a nightmare because the study guides weren't helpful and the material was so vast it was impossible to study and memorize everything that showed up on the tests.