Professor Erickson has been one of my favorite professors so far at UCSB. I took this Pompeii class spring 2022 and it has been one of the best courses I have ever taken at UCSB. Very engaging lectures, light workload (only a midterm and a final), and overall great class. You have to go to class to pass, but I honestly enjoyed going!

Great professor, even better person. Always starts class with jokes and it's difficult to get bored as you listen to him lecture. There are a lot of readings, but they aren't necessary with his lectures honestly. Powerpoints are sparse, mostly pictures -- take in-depth notes on what he says so you remember it for the midterm/final

BEST lecturer I've had at UCSB...really funny and knows his stuff. Only thing is, the tests are picture IDs and 1 essay and they require you to intensively pay attention in lecture in order to do well. If you miss one little thing you could be screwed...just my take. If you don't do scattered, this class isn't for you.

class is never dull with erickson. He tells jokes, stories and sort of bounces around during lecture. He's a lot of fun and you can tell he's excited by the bouncing in place when he talks. Attending class is key. Great professor!

He was really funny and is really into teaching. I loved this class

Not an easy A but he keeps the class interesting. Humorous in that he will talk about random stuff a lot...like him surfing a lot...I don't fall asleep in his class which is a plus.

Definitely not the easiest A you can get from a Classics professor, but surely one of the best professors you can take a course from and not be bored out of your mind. He keeps things interesting, is easy to talk to, and not bad to look at either.

Uses tons of Slides (reuses most several times). Exams are just One essay and some IDs from the slides. IDs NOT what he emphasizes. Be prepared to work hard. He is willing to help you if you need it, but he takes a long time to reply to emails.

Amazing professor and great class. I definitely recommend going to the lectures as the midterm and final are based on his slides, which he posts but lack detailed information. You can tell he loves his research and was always willing to answer questions after lecture. Midterm and final were the same format (what, when, where, and why) and very easy

Erickson was awesome! Super passionate about this material as it is what his research is. It's important to come to lecture because his slides that are posted contain very little text. A few in class attendance/homework assignments, 1 midterm, and a written final. Overall pretty interesting and pretty easy!

He's super passionate and has a good personality. Barely any homework, lots of assigned readings, but I didn't read any and was fine. Only a midterm and final, which was memorizing certain locations and artifacts, so it's not that hard. The only con is that he doesn't post grades. I just finished the final, and not a single grade has been inputted.

easy class all memorization & easy grading. did not do readings still got an a on midterm, all you have to do it sit and listen to lectures easy GE

spent 10 weeks in class just to take a final that had absolutely nothing he covered in class. the only reason I got an A was because I learned more from Percy Jackson in elementary school than this class. he would crash out if people talked. final was so bad he had to curve it by 35 points. TA Dai was lowk the goat and such an easy grader.

Fun guy, I think he is the best guy to teach this class but GO TO LECTURE. He drops small things on the final. The essays were very reasonably graded and transparent on how to improve but the final was EVIL. I studied everything on the guide and still got a 75% without the curve. It was quite the curve, I got a 94 but the final is no joke (trivia)

GO TO LECTURE! It's important but also the prof is super charismatic. Attendance isn't required but you'll fall behind if you miss. Also super important to do the reading. Overall, easy & fun GE. Highly recommend!

He's very passionate and easy to listen to. As long as you do your reading and go to lecture it's pretty easy. The slides can be difficult to understand if you miss class.

Class is boring, final mc is so specific, very little things in the grade book. If you have previous knowledge the class is easy, but otherwise there is so much reading and so much memorization. Easy to pass the class but if you want a good grade you have to work for it. Not a fun GE, there are easier. But, you can not show up and get a C easily.

Midterm was an in-class essay, final was 100 question multiple choice. I never did any of the readings and relied on my 6th-grade Percy Jackson knowledge and got an A on the final. Prof Erickson is super passionate about his subject and a funny/engaging lecturer. I'd recommend going to lecture bc slides are impossible to understand otherwise.

Erickson enjoys teaching this class and you can tell that he does. Your TA however really makes or breaks you in this class. I had Dai and he was one of the chillest TAs ever. Graded very easily. Some easier professors teach this class, however, Erickson's class was still manageable. His final was extremely niche and failed to state he would curve.

He is an excellent lecturer, fun + engaging; I found myself genuinely excited to attend. Grading is heavily dependent on your TA!!! Grace Miller is a gem, I'd recommend her. Lectures are ESSENTIAL, but readings don't matter. Take very thorough notes— the final was basically trivia, tested on tiiiny details mentioned once or twice in lectures.

I really enjoyed this class! It was a good way to get gen ed credit, and it was super insteresting and engaging. Taking good notes is key, and there is honestly something from every lecture on the final, so if u skip make sure someone gets you notes. I had a lot of fun in class 40 :)

If you don't like Greek Myth maybe don't take this class or you'll be bored. Professor was good, made things funny and relatable, making things easy to understand. Talked a lot abt Freud but it was fine. Lots of readings but go to lecture cuz he explains them and you'll be fine skipping a reading or two. Grade mostly depends on TA since they grade.

Great professor interesting topics good at lectures. no homework very reading heavy but pretty chill. Class was a perfect GE until this year's final, worth 25% of your grade, with an average of 65/100. That is crazy difficulty for a GE. luckily it had an 18 point curve so it wasn't that bad. I took it Pass/No Pass, so it was pretty OK overall.

If you go to all or almost all the lectures/sections, skim the reading (you don't have to buy ANYTHING just go to the library or google an online version), and do a little bit of studying for the exams, you'll do amazing. The class is incredibly interesting and in depth, and most of the readings are covered in class anyway. Super fun!