heavy workload to be expected for a theory class, lots of readings and you need to know all of them for the midterm/final + popquizzes. he's kinda in his head about the class but he knows what hes talking about and he makes lecture interesting. go to office hours he loves to chat about non class culture stuff too. section attendance graded.
I'm not sure why Professor Siegel has iffy reviews, I really enjoyed this class! He does assign a lot of readings, which are the foundation of the exams and quizzes, but they are interesting and dissected many times both in lecture and section so that you can fully understand them. Recommend!
(Spring 2020) Honestly this has been the hardest quarter for me due to the current social circumstances that everyone is facing. I expected him to be more lenient and understanding but that was the opposite for me. We had to buy 3 instead of making it accessible to all for free. Midterm and Final was hard asf and the TA didn't make it any better.
Do you like to cry? do you like to be confused all the time? Do you like to feel intimidated for your political choices in class? do you like to hear about his personal life choices and plans for the weekend? then take his class. You will not be enriched in education but be very confused and very weary of your major because of him.
I broke down crying almost every time I did homework. The readings are extremely confusing, and you can't even google terms from them because they are made up by the authors. Essay prompts are vague and based on the readings(which are never explained in lectures). This class sets up students to fail. I have never worked so hard for a C in my life.
Siegel is hands down one of the best professors I have ever had at UCSB. He was willing to meet with me on a Sunday to talk about some ideas I had on a paper. If you show that you're interested in the material, he will love you. Its pretty simple. Relatively easy grader. Very smart man. 10/10 I would definitely take another class with him.
He is the type of professor you dread. You never want to step the worng way with this guy or he'll hold it agiant you the whole smester. The class was confusing, pop quizzes were a pain and even you did the reading you would still gets F's. His teaching is more about his ego than the student and learning.
Terrible class set up. Makes you study every last thing he ever said in class and every minute detail from the readings only to be tested on small parts of it. Even if you put direct quotes and several examples, you will get marked down. Never makes it clear what he wants from you. Somehow he's a pretty good lecturer but wow, unnecessarily strict.
Siegel has a very serious demeanor, but really, he isn't. He is very knowledgable and passionate about music, and it shows in his lectures. His lectures were always interesting and fun to go to. He gives review sheets for the midterm and final which practically hand feeds you the answers.
This class was great. We watched a lot of television shows. The class was very informative and wonderful. I thought professor Siegel did a great job. He made the class informative and fun.
