Professor Hoelle is a treat. You can tell he genuinely cares about his research and his students. His class is relatively easy but honestly fun. We watched movies relating to the Amazon. Reading is important as he uses the readings in the midterm and final. I highly recommend taking this class

There were no clear guidelines or rubric for the 2 papers and your grade basically depended on how good and nice your ta is. The exams were online but were questionable since it involved applications of concepts and sometimes there were multiple correct answers even tho he said only one is right. One of the worst profs at UCSB. He rambled a lot

Professor Hoelle was probably one of the best professors I have had here at UCSB. He is very caring and there is two papers for the class, but its only 750 words and the topic is very interesting and fun. Office hours were really helpful for the papers and made them easy. Other than that there is a bit of reading but never did them and still passed

Prof is chill. TA was the #1 opp. Ridiculous grader, bad instructor, no rubrics/references. Didn't attend lectures, ran through the slides the night before and got ~89% average on the exams. Scraped by with an A. Rating this as a 5/5 difficulty just because of how ridiculous the paper grading was in the context of what this class is. Like bro..

Two papers with very vague guidelines that the TA didn't really seem to know much about. Lectures are boring and SO disorganized. He is nice and funny though. Exams were both online and were an 7/10 difficulty. But I still survived w/ an A. Also talk a lot in section or else you will get docked 10% in participation for some reason.

There were only 2 papers and a midterm and final but not many graded things. The criteria was confusing for the papers, and the TAs didn't elaborate on them or the given grades. The lecture was either really interesting or really boring. Both the midterm and final were both multiple-choice.

He's nice and funny but this class is a lot of work for a GE. We had 2 papers that were graded too harshly by TA's and there was no comments to improve. Lectures were boring. And section participation is graded too harshly. I showed up to 9/10 sections but I got a 50% on section grade because I barely spoke. Wouldn't take this class again

Hoelle is a scattered, mid-tier professor. His lectures make little sense, and rarely educate you on the real topic. He loves to talk about himself and his own research, even when irrelevant. He wasn't horrible, wasn't great either. Boring class topics, n be prepared to read. TA's don't really care either. Overall, 4/10. Wouldn't take again.

He's nice and a dec teacher, but too hard for a GE. TA's grade the 2 papers and give no rubric or grading guidelines. The prof breezes through content to get to his extra credit opp which involve sending students on scavenger hunts across IV. Like why tf am I sitting watching mfs try to water bend on stage in lecture while I got a B in the class.

Go to Lectures and sections because he grades participation. There were two online exams and two writing assignments that were heavily graded. Look out for extra credit opportunities because they can help you boost your grade. Overall it shows that he really cares about the course and loves to talk about the research he conducted in Brazil.

thought this was an easy a but no.boring concepts. 2 essays and 2 tests. online tests but time limit was hard. overall hard since the questions arent pure memorization, but application questions. ta grades papers so make sure to get a good ta. my ta graded harshly which is bs for an intro class :( will be taking pass/no pass, impossible to get an A

My 2nd class with Hoelle = Amazing! I always looked forward to class and left the classroom with not only information but information I cared about. Grades were based on attendance, weekly responses, two exams and two short papers. Expectations were clear and the workload was easy to manage. Would take again a million times :)

I absolutely loved professor Hoelle, I felt that his lectures were engaging, funny, and extremely informational. The textbook itself also helped a lot for the final. The papers were interesting topics and I all together enjoyed this class.

If you wont put in the time for reading don't take this class. Even if you cheat on tests that were online, you won't pass. I guarantee it. Lectures when he was in a silly mood was fun. Testbook costs money and you need it for the class. I didn't buy it but passed. Take notes in lecture from what he says.

was chill he's just always mumbling. needs to speak louder

Very kind and funny; he makes lectures fun to listen to while still teaching the important info. He interacts with students during lecture and holds fun polls about the content to engage. There is a textbook but it's very easy to understand and clear, and he goes over the readings in class to further expand on them. Excellent deadpan humor

This class felt more like a high school English class then an Anthropology class about the Amazon. The zoom meetings were pretty much just a discussion of feelings and typical Marxist jargon. What turned me off was that the text for this class was written by him so we kinda just gave him a bonus when all the class bought it on Amazon

This class was super laidback and really enjoyable. Weekly meetings on Zoom and attendance was taken. Read his book which was interesting. Had fun assignments, like a film analysis. Gives study guides for tests. Very approachable and respects his students. I recommend this class!

I never bought or read from the textbook or read any of the articles he posted on Gauchospace. I just studied my lecture notes BARELY before the midterm and final (and the final exam was online), put a good amount of effort into the 2 papers (which were short), and I finished with an 86%. I recommend taking if you just want an easy class to pass.

He is able to make class interesting and tries to make connections with students to make concepts easier to understand. His lectures are pretty interactive, but it's important to stay focused and off your phone. The papers aren't difficult, but I recommend getting your TA to look it over, otherwise, you might not get an A (hard graders).

Professor Hoelle's class was by far my favorite class at UCSB! He is very funny and he makes lectures interesting, I looked forward to going every week. There was 1 midterm, 2 short papers, and the final was online. The midterm and final were based mostly on lecture discussions and outside class readings. Overall a great professor!

Super easy. Hoelle rambles a bit and tbh I kind of never knew what was going on and I still got a good grade lol. Two easy papers, one midterm, and an online final. Good if you want an easy GE. Hoelle is actually pretty hilarious and has so many weird things he brings to class, so the experience will be interesting at least.

Jeff had amazing lectures, different from the usual good speaker. He'd walk around and talk to students to demonstrate concepts. He's also super funny. The class's material itself is pretty straightforward too.

Can be extremely rude, he is funny but that is the only redeeming aspect to his personality. Unless everything goes his way he seems to throw tantrums. No using laptops to take notes in class, unless you directly message him to "accommodate you". He yelled at a student that forgot this rule on the second lecture.