I loved Abra. He was funny and the lectures are interesting. You definitely have to take good notes (from lecture and the readings) if you want to get a good grade. If you are interested in what he is teaching, it makes the class more interesting. If you aren't the type to do the readings, do not take his class.

He's a very intelligent and witty professor. His lectures are entertaining and you need to go to pass. 2 midterms and 1 cumulative final (each test is split perfectly in half by lecture and readings) You don't necessarily need to do the readings just know the vocab and read the chapter reviews. 3 papers, very straightforward. Great class!

Funny guy and his lectures are spellbinding. However, the assignments are very confusing because he asks for a lot, but doesn't give any written instructions on what he wants; very vague. If you ask him a question, he will generally respond with an unhelpful answer. All communication was back and forth with the T.A. for feedback. Presentation.

Avoid! Tests are so difficult and so specific it makes you think he expects you to remember the endless readings he assigns. For lecture, he just stand in front of the class and goes on and on. Don't even expect to receive a good grade for the paper he assigns. Take 172 with someone else. If there is one time to truly believe a rating, this is it.

AVOID AVOID AVOID. Took his class because I wanted to be a criminologist.. not anymore. His tests were impossible to pass, the questions were all fill in the blank plus a final paper. I studied, read, and went to every lecture and still ended up having to take it PNP to save my GPA. Abra needs to go back to teaching on the semester system

Hes awesome, grading is easy, but you need to work

Great professor!! I learned so much from his class! You will get A if you study hard.

He is a good person, however that does not mean he is a competent teacher. Tests are disproportionately harder than any I have taken at UCSB. Avoid at all costs, take for elective as PNP if you are interested in subject, but it will still be difficult. Overall a pointless GPA killer in which you teach yourself the material. Worst class ever!!!!!!!

AVOID!!!! Course breakdown: 2-2page papers, 54 question, short answer midterm (took the whole class)(half lecture, half book), 8-10page final paper, 50 short answer final that is cumulative &&& essay question on the final exam. Extremely difficult examsgrading and too much work. He's unclear about everything. Lecture is painfully boring. AVOID!!

Abra does not belong at UCSB. His lectures are too slow and drawn out. Almost as though he thinks his students are not intelligent enough to grasp the concepts. His grading seems arbitrary. I usually get A's on all of my papers but have received poor marks and I don't understand why. He also gave me absolutely no feedback.