Excellent proffesor, one of the few at Santa Barbara that actively challenges your critical thinking. His intensity can be mistakened as rudeness, as Robinson really makes it clear that he cares a lot about the content that he is teaching, and as a result, wants to make that everyone is paying attention.
I gave the professor 2 stars because he does not reply to emails at all. TAs great. Be prepared to write a weekly 1000-word essay, there's several guidelines on how to do them and what to avoid. - how many pages you will read "134 pages!" If you don't like reading hundreds of pages and writing a 1000-word essay a week this course is not for you.
Dr. Robinson was a fantastic professor; I understand people may have different emotions towards him, but this is my opinion. I am also taking him for SOC 130GR this quarter, and his layout is very similar, easy to follow. You have one reflection due once a week, 2-3 papers (including final paper). Never any quizzes or exams!
The amount of reading is overwhelming but boy, the content in this course is jarring!!! However, I wish he was a better lecturer. All he does is copy & paste book-reading onto his slides & reads them out loud. You'll learn more from the assigned documentaries & readings. If you are not a VERY STRONG writer, you will NOT do well in this class!
Robinson is notorious. 3 hour long lectures, EXTREMELY dense with information. Between 30-150 pages of reading a week, with a weekly 1000 word reflection (fairly informal). The class is a lot, but he will absolutely blow your mind. He will radicalize you in new dimensions and make you think critically about the world. Incredibly unique.
Honestly if you love to read 500 pages of multiple books take this class. The lecture is 3 hours and was very monotone , I wish the class was held better. All he does talk and very unorganized. I appreciated he posted the PowerPoints online. But theres reflections every week about 2 pages and last two reflections 1,000 words & 3 essays 8 pages
3 hours once a week was literal he*l but other than that, the content and information was engaging and the course load was not that bad.
Professor Robinson is a really passionate and knowledgable guy, which can come across as a bit intimidating. He posts his lecture slides so just make sure to focus on what he is saying in class. The TAs were really awesome and understanding. As long as you digest the reading material and show that you're trying you will be fine.
Really an awful class. 3 hours long and he's strict on no laptops or phone usage. Required textbook was a book he wrote himself. Don't do it
I don't really understand all the bad reviews... Professor Robinson is absolutely the best professor I've ever had and his 3 hour classes went by fast and even left me wanting more. This class will change your way of thinking and has reignited my passion to learn more. I plan on taking more of his classes and really recommend his SOC 122 GI class!
egotistical and very full of himself but overall, wasn't a terrible class. i loved the actual content of the class so doing the work wasn't absolutely awful. tons of reading and lots of writing. but easy class to get an A in if you work hard enough!
That class itself is very reading heavy and the lectures are mandatory. Professor if very dogmatic about attendance (iClicker 2-3 times per lecture). no phones or laptops to take notes. Weekly essay reflections of 1000+ words. No exams only writing and LOTS of it.
Kicked someone out of class for sleeping. Will not allow laptops or phone use. No flexibility and completely unaccommodating. Awful class by an awful person. Makes u buy the textbook he wrote
Robinson is one of the most intelligent and entertaining professors I have had at UCSB thus far. He assigns quite a bit of reading and writing assignments, which can be stressful but never insanely dense. This class was 3 hours long yet he somehow always kept my attention the entire 3 hours, I think that says enough about how great of a prof he is.
Prof. Robinson is a very passionate professor here, making his classes very interesting. He has so much experience and lectures aren't enough time to cover it! No tests, just reading logs and 3 essays! The third essay is a take home final 7-8 pages. He also offers lots of extra cred. This class was really eye opening, everyone should take it
You only meet 10 times. Not a bad class overall. I learned a lot about the true nature of many global inequalities. He says it's impossible to reach him by e-mail. About 5 short papers (under 4 pgs) including the last paper (6-8 pgs). Pop quiz generally every time there is nothing due but there are exceptions to this rule. Lots of xtra credit B+
Highly recommend. 3 hour lecture once a week (no section!). Class is actually taught by the professor. Attendance is mandatory but class is pretty interesting most of the time. Cool with taking notes on lap top. 4 pop quizzes on weekly readings. Only other work is 4 essays (just 4 pages pretty standard). Pretty easy class overall! Great professor:)
Easy, great learning experience
Why does he not have HOT status? I learned a great deal in his class. By far one of the best profs. in his area, oh, and fine to look at as well
This class was the most boring class I have ever taken. He just repeated everything he said in other 3 hour long classes...
Robinson…the prof that makes people want to drop out & handles his courses like a dictator. Him & his gang of male TAs are rude, arrogant, & grade harshly with unclear parameters. I've taken 2 of his classes now. He sloppily throws together a 3hr lecture, makes you buy the overly wordy materials he writes for profit, & man-splains til you're blue.
AWFUL PPT maker. BRIGHT green background and BRIGHT yellow fonts. It's very unprofessional, lazy and difficult to look at for a long time. Extremely inconsistent fonts and text sizes (random capitalizations). PPT strains my eyes due to the intense coloring. 5 different fonts in 2 pages, ridiculous, and AI generated images.
HORRIBLE professor. He has very interesting material but teaches in block three hour classes with monotonous lectures over powerpoints. Very arbitrary criteria for the reflections that are then graded by TA's somehow even more arbitrarily. To sum it up, great material and just horrible horrible class structuring and teaching delivery.
One of my favorite professors I've had at UCSB. I left class shocked every night by all the crazy new things I had learned about history, the government, etc. The 3 hour classes flew by. There's weekly 1000 word reading responses, but they are pretty easy once you get used to them. Everyone should take Robinson if they get the chance!