One of the best classes ever taken! The assigned readings were a few page articles that were about very interesting topics. The grading was very light and not about how good the paper was but that you followed his guidelines. He gave you the option of what kind of final you can write. A lot of creative liberty and room for open-minded discussion.

I took his First Contact class, and honestly it was one of the most fun upper divs I could have taken. The only thing is that he didn't use gauchospace to input grades throughout the quarter, so my only knowledge of my grades was from the hardcopy papers he would pass back. He respects the class's opinions and as long as you try you will do well.

Just show up to lecture and pay attention and you'll get an A. The guy gives out extra credit opportunities like its candy. Skim the readings. You can really tell he's passionate about the material.

Not too bad if you go to class. Prof is a bit uptight about attendance and will go above and beyond to get people to show up even though attendance is not required for lectures. Overall not too bad but be prepared to got to lecture most of the time

sleazy and unprofessional!! do not recommend this prof/class

Horrible professor!! Very unprofessional and disorganized. Will go to extreme lengths to make sure students fail

genuinely the most manipulative professor you will encounter. he refuses to post lectures until a few days before exams, refuses to upload grades into canvas (so your final grade is a complete surprise), cancelled all sections half way through the quarter, etc. for material the relatively simple, he goes beyond to make sure you can't succeed!!

this is the worst class i have taken at ucsb. professor busto goes above and beyond trying to manipulate his students, from not putting in grades at all into canvas and announcing assignments in class so students who don't come fail them. midterm average was a 66 and was only curved if you failed, very heavy reading load, terrible test format, etc

Dr. Busto is the most engaging professor I have had at UCSB, he spun Latino Religion, something I had no background and not a lot of interest in, to something I enjoyed writing a final paper about. If you come to class every day and make yourself known you won't regret it. Do the reading and assignments/writing is easy.

Good professor but very unorganized. We didn't have a syllabus until week 3, and even then, a lot of stuff was TBA. The lectures were okay; if you want to do good on papers, pander to him. He only wants to hear what he likes.

Professor Busto is very passionate about what he teaches. You don't have to go to lecture, but 1. he doesn't post the slides until a few days before the exams, and 2. is a great and entertaining lecturer. You have to do a fair amount of studying for each exam, but if you go to lecture and pay attention, the study guide will come naturally.

Busto is an amazing professor who knows how to connect with students. He keeps his class chill and work is only a few essays based on lecture material. Would take again just to hang out.

The course material is interesting but busto's "counterdisciplinary" style of textual criticism is strange and biased at best.

While Professor Busto is likable enough, his presentation of the course material is biased and does not leave room for open debate. He puts forward non-objective claims without allowing for a two-sided discussion in class. He tends to jump to conclusions.

I love his lectures sooooo much, very inspirational! I found my interest in his lectures, and also I have learnt a lot! DEFINITELY I will take his class again!

Enjoyable class. Great lecturer with a great voice, too! I learned a little bit of myself and how western cultures have great influence in how we perceive Asian cultures and religion in America.

Busto's one of the best professors I've had here. He understands students' interests and concerns, applying them to lecture content and feedback. The content of the course really opened my eyes to racial stereotypes that I otherwise wouldn't have recognized and fought against. Very insightful and kind.

Religion and Science Fiction. Signed up on a whim. Best course I've ever taken with the most interesting and philosophical prof ever. This was my first Reg Studies course but my mind was blown on a daily basis. So grateful for the opportunity to have had him as a prof. TAKE HIM!!!

Professor Busto is an amazing lecturer and made the material much more interesting. I took this course for my ethnicity requirement expecting an easy A, but he does not use Gauchospace and you have to show up to lecture to get the material. Uses almost exactly the same midterm every time, gave pop quizzes in lecture, he's very traditional

This class is once a week and you have to read a book for every session. No tests. Only weekly responses and a 8-10 page essay at the end of class. Every week 3 students present the book for the entire class. Busto is amazing and gunny and always brings food for students in this seminar. He makes you think hard and makes you write harder. Great guy

Very, very engaging lecturer. A bit of a traditionalist (doesn't post ANYTHING online) but is very relatable and does his best to make sure students understand the material. If you pay attention in class and use his office hours before the midterm and final, you will do well.

His lectures can be fast and confusing. Overall he is not a bad teacher. I still would prefer not to take him again due to short answer tests, no postings of slide online, and pop quizes on the most dull readings. He is pretty funny though.

Took this class for the ethnicity requirement. Not a bad GE and the workload is pretty fair. However, most the the material is made up by him and then put on the test, which I actually found kind of funny. He basically makes up his own material. Group projects in section and participation matters. Tests are directly from lecture. Take good notes.

I respect professor Busto for how passionate he is for the field. However, he clearly hates teaching a large GE class with people who don't care about the subject. For a GE class I found it extremely difficult. He will ask you recall free response answers on stuff he only SAID in class. Not an easy A. I worked hard and only missed 1 class, got a B.