The entire grading is based on the TA, so you better luck out. The professor is really boring and lectures in what seems like slow motion. He takes attendance during the lecture with a piece of paper and he really does not care about his students as he did not round up my 93.86% to a 94%. Also, he has 94% as an A and anything under is an A- :((

Strongman is a great professor who cares about the subjects he talks about. The course was very heavy with reading (one novel a week around 100-250 pages), but the books were enjoyable and very interesting. Grading all depends on one weekly response that is 500 words, and one final paper. Attendance is graded in both the lecture and the section.

A good professor that will draw you into the material. Reading is heavy, but most of the time, a simple summary and logical thinking are enough to understand and answer the questions given.

Professor rambles a lot during lecture, yet forces attendance. I had a funeral to attend on the same day as lecture. When I asked for an excused absence, he said I could join Zoom from my phone. At a funeral. 200-300 word books to read a week plus a two page writeup. Easy TA = Easy A. My TA was very particular; I had to really work to get my grade.

This class seems like alot at first with weekly readings which can be kind of long and a weekly written assignment but it wasn't too bad. I was able to get the reading and assignment done in a day. His lectures are full with information and he goes over the weekly assignment questions. Overall this class wasn't difficult at all as long as you read.

Took this course back in fall quarter. Course was online. No lectures to watch, grade just depended on weekly reading & assignments + section attendance. My TA was veryyy laid-back and not so harsh on grading which helped a lot! Lots of reading and some required books and textbooks that you can find online. Final is an essay about a book we read.

Professor Strongman gives 1 assignment a week based on the reading. The assignment is usually just a few questions and you only have to write 100 words for each question. I spend hours each week reading for this class but I love the material and think its so so interesting! Take this class if you want to learn! Great Prof!!

This class relies entirely on who your TA is. No lectures but professor does lecture type discussions during office hours every week. GO TO HIS OFFICE HOURS IF YOU WANT THIS CLASS TO BE WORTHWHILE. Read a book every week but they were reasonable in length and interesting. You need to be an adequate writer when you go into this class to thrive.

I did not have any actual classes with the professor, everything was online and out TAs handled everything. The workload was a little extreme - read a novel and write and essay on it a week, for a first year student, but the nobles were overall easy to understand.

BLST 33 / C LIT 33 taken in Fall 2020. No lectures whatsoever, the entire class consisted of one book every week and weekly reflections on the book, plus section attendance and a final paper. Unresponsive through email, when he does respond he's very cold. Avoid at all costs.

Nine weekly assignments worth 81 percent of grade (9 percent each) and one final paper, open ended. You create your own question and use course material to answer it. Tons of reading but it's all really interesting so it doesn't feel too heavy. Weekly assignment have 3 questions each worth 3 points. Good course with an easily accessible professor.

Strongman is extremely knowledgeable in his field but his lectures can be a bit monotonous. He assigns readings from a reader and two short books. There are three papers that are fairly easy if you take great knows based off of what he says in lecture. Does not use PowerPoint and only gave us one pop quiz and a short presentation.

Super expensive $70 reader only to be assigned 4-5 stories/poems. The rest of the book is "for fun". It was hard to tell what he wanted, I'd turn in an essay I thought was amazing and get a C. My final essay was crap, I even turned it in a day late and got an A. Only 3 essay grades and 2 quizzes so there's no room to actually improve your grade.

Strongman is not a professor to take if you're looking to get an easy A or not to grow intellectually. If you're ready to work and be open minded, I would recommend taking any of his courses. He is passionate about what he teaches and knows what he's talking about. He's available during office hours to answer questions and is really helpful.

Black studies isn't the most interesting topic, and it's especially hard to teach when most of your students are people who are only taking the class as a required GE. However, I think Strongman did care about the subject he was teaching and his lectures are thought provoking if you're paying attention. Pop quizzes are easy, essay grades are fair.

There is a large disconnect between what the professor wants and what the TA's want. I would be told to do one thing then would be graded on another. I received opposite feedback from the professor and TA. The professor graded my essay and gave me a 90 and the TA gave me a 70... Terrible class, boring, confusing, would never recommend.

Strongman definitely was opinionated about different topics. It was an interesting class, but it required alot of work with a 4-page and 8-page paper. No midterm; final paper. He was not always making sense during lecture.

AVOID STRONGMAN

Strongman is a very intelligent man, truly brilliant. However, his lectures are a bit all over the place and hard to follow because they're a little dry. It's an ok class to take but I've been in much more stimulating classes at ucsb.

Strongman is a intelligent professor and does a good job of exploring a large number of themes in his class, but his demeanor towards students is really frustrating. He repeatedly expresses disappointment with the lack of participation in the class (even though I've been in much quieter classes) but often smirks and giggles when people do speak up.

Strongman is a tough grader and professor. You will not get by easily in this class. HOWEVER, he is so, so brilliant and very passionate about the material. If you put in the effort (and I mean a lot of it) and really engage, your grade will reflect it and you grow intellectually. Don't take on a heavy classload, but definitely worth taking!

Professor Strongman has good intentions but is not nearly as interesting as the information he is trying to teach. This class is an easy A but is very boring as well. Class is mandatory but his lectures are the worst to sit through. He rants on and on about nothing and says obscured things. This class is total outlandish. take just for an easy A.

I take Black Studies classes because I have strong writing skills. Bringing a finished draft of a paper to him before turning it in will not help. He does not like to give A's on papers which really affects your grade in the course. Don't take him if you are concerned about your GPA. Readings are ok but lectures are really boring and section-esque.

This professor does not enjoy teaching whatsoever. You could tell everyday that he dreaded being there, almost as if he were too good to be "teaching". Overall, one of the worst professors I've encountered and he is quite arrogant in his approach. I would avoid. UCSB...get another person for this course.