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!!
Had John and Janice for SOC152B, and loved the class. Felt that I learned a lot from reading the textbook and conversing with other students, and got helpful tips for my final paper. Sometimes John didn't know answers to specific questions, but he is still very knowledgeable and kind. Excited to be in SOC152C!
Amazing course and amazing teachers!! Originally just wanted to take it for fun, but now I'm motivated to strive for the honors course. Highly entertaining, and the professors have great control of attention and amazing public speaking skills. Very valuable course
This was a great class! There is a lot of reading but its very interesting, enjoyable! There are two exams, one paper, and you have to lead one class discussion....it is a student lead class where we just talk about what we think on issues! Very fun and interesting!
Took them for 152A and 152B. Great teachers. Always fun and informative.
great class - try hard to get in.
So the thing about 152A is that you do actually need to read the book, or at least i did, and got an A. They are super nice once you're in 152B but before that generally it's hard to get into the in crowd. Very understanding, kind and helpful people.
The professors are excellent and engaging people. Subjects such as anatomy, contraception, sexual therapy, and relationships. It isn't easy, and there is lots of reading. I found the material to be VERY worthwhile, but the TA's who lead reviews sucked.
Oh yeah!
No Comments
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Outdated content.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.
Not an easy GE. Graded on 2 midterms and a final. Tests are all short answer, based on his very disorganized lectures and an outdated textbook that has little to do with the lecture material. His grading scale only allows 30% of students to get full credit on each question.
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
The first day of class, I thought this was going to a be a super light course. It turns out that it is likely the hardest GE that I've taken at UCSB. Your grade is entirely dependent on the tests, and don't count on the tests being easy. If you want a class to just cruise by with, do not take this class.
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.
Worst professor paired with the worst class I've taken at UCSB. Lecture is so scatterbrained, expressed on the whiteboard by his chicken scratch scribbles that are literally unreadable. Outdated material, outdated classroom culture, outdated professor. Do yourself a gigantic favor and avoid both Baldwins
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:/
John's teaching is experienced but disorganized, with lectures hard to follow due to rambling, stock photo slides, and illegible notes. Grading relies solely on two tests (25% each) and a final, emphasizing rote memorization over comprehension. Interesting material, but overall hard to stay engaged with due to the way the class is taught.
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.