Professor Carlson is by far my favorite professor. I really enjoy that he does not use slides but rather engages with his students during the lecture. I felt by the end of the year, I genuinely knew the guy. TAKE THIS CLASS. I learned more with Carlson than I have in any other course, you just have to be willing to put the work in.

Many of us took the class after seeing his welcoming personality on day one. But with time, you will get fed up because professor's grading style is very unfair and does not enable creativity. He does not like it when you change the words that he said even slightly. That is a sign that he does not know what he is doing. Take another class.

If you have the chance to take this class, DEFINETLY DO! But if you are anticipating a busy quarter, DEFINETLY DO NOT! This class is very difficult and only rewarding if you are able to put the time into engaging with the readings. Prepare to make yourself into a funny character for Prof Carlson to play games with or do not speak in class.

If you enjoy writing and philosophy, you'll love this class. Took it last year and I still connect concepts we learned with current events and general happenings. Carlson involves students in his "lectures", which are more like talks if anything, making him very personable. Also Shelby was an amazing TA.

My favorite professor. The entire class is set up like a lecture, but is not carried out like one. He doesn't have a powerpoint slide, he just talks to us. But he talks like a conversation, he is extremely open to interruptions to discuss what students think about the topic at hand. He is a lot of fun to listen to. Lot's of reading.

I took this class for a GE and it was quite challenging. However, the key is to do all the readings (no textbook but the reader) and understand the concept of each philosopher. I skipped quite a few classes but I still ended up with an A in class by paying attention in section and doing all the readings. Overall, he is a great, funny professor!

Honestly this class was the most interesting I took all year. It is really tedious though, so I decided to take it pass no pass. if you can sacrifice a p/np this class is worth it. Fills GEs and isn't complete BS. Carlson is kind of awkward and expects people to speak up, even though its in a large lecture hall. The readings are hard, but do them!

I loved this class! Carlson is a difficult teacher but he makes class very interesting. No power points, so you have to attend lectures and pay close attention. TA's were useful and helpful. If you do the reading and pay CLOSE attention in lecture, you will do well!

One of my favorite professors. He clearly explains the material and answers questions very well. He likes to pick on students but it's always good natured and hilarious. Some people are too insecure to laugh at themselves. The key to doing well in this class is to read and annotate. Go to his final review. This class was difficult and rewarding

The class was not as difficult as the professor expressed the first week of class. The material was interesting and you could relate it to your life, religious or not. Unfortunately, Carlson is a prick. He often went of subject and when he did it became personal, like critiquing the student lifestyle, I was often offended.

I thought that this professor was rude and certainly not "brilliant." Also, someone said hot? I say NOT!!!

Professor totally unhelpful except in class, and even then I found his answers to be one-sided. TA was nice.

Be prepared to work hard in this class. The reader has some difficult primary texts, but the professor and TA helped to make it more understandable. The class was really interesting and worthwhile. It reminded me more of a philosophy class though.

I loved this guy! Really tried to get to know his students and by the end knew and used most people's names. He's been one of my favorite professors at UCSB. VEry engaging and enthusiastic, though his course was a little harder than expected. I was really sad when the quarter was over though, I'll miss him!

An ass? Definitely. Brilliant? Extremely. He will not make it easy for you. You go to class, read, understand the concepts and you're good. Puts crazy emphasis on participation so if you're shy, don't take this class. He's the only professor who I thought was very capable/charismatic, but didn't really like personally.

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Helpful???NOT!!!! I was unfairly graded and was never given a simple email response back to explain. I got solid B's on nearly all the assignments and got a C- in the class. Why? Because I didn't "ACTIVALLY participate"(says the TA). Fair? I don't think so! But Carlson doesn't seem to care much.

I don't care how "good" of a teacher this guy is, it is not worth the bad grade and ridiculous amount of work involved. I had to sacrifice all other classes to barely get the work done in this class. The final exam was very unfair, nothing like the study sheet. If you like torture, then I could suggest this class, good luck!

A lot of people don't take the class because they think that RG ST 80 A&B are prerequisites, that's false. Anyway,I agree with previous reviews that this class is one of the most meaningful classes at UCSB. You will not regret it if you take it. Material is very interesting, professor is awesome and the class is very provocative but hard. Take it!

Brilliant, hilarious, and completely inspirational. He can take the most bland material and make you question the meaning of life. AMAZING. One of the only professors that actually made me think differently about the world. No matter what your major is, take one of this courses, you'll thank yourself later.

I loved this class! Very challenging, you have to keep up with the reading. However, the reading is really interesting, so if you are willing to put the work in, it isn't bad at all. Plus, he is VERY nice to look at. Watching someone that brilliant and hot makes going to class seem far more exciting!

His class was so hard I had to make it P/NP in order not to drop my GPA. His materials were interesting, but he's way too anal with writing. His grading standards are pretty high, too.

more of a philosophy class than a religion class, but sill very interesting. Carlson was very funny and insightful and taught the material well. the material is pretty tough, but managable especially if you get help from carlson or the TAs. all-around great class. highly recommended!

Prof. Carlson is so intelligent. The material for this class was pretty dense but was pretty interesting. I liked this course a lot because it was focused more on philosophy than religion. If you are willing to work hard, you will get a lot out of it because he is one of the best professors I have had here. Really awesome course