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.

Class was pretty easy but SO BORING, which affected my grade. He's annoying about technology. His tests were textbook heavy. I went to his office hours and he was rude.

tbh i really didn't like jeff, he was annoying about technology and the way he had his TA's grade papers was rude. his lectures are sometimes funny? but the class is honestly a chore. easy to pass though

Prof Hoelle is hilarious & makes the class fun. You can tell he's really passionate about teaching other cultures & respecting other people. His class is super easy as long as you attend his lectures (i-clicker). He interacts w/ his students in his lectures. He cares more about students learning about the world around them than grades. Great Class!

Hoelle was a great professor. His lectures are engaging and informative and lecture slides are posted. He really tries to relate things to IV culture and us as students. There is an award ceremony at the end of the class, with some "fetch" prizes, as he would say. Solid class; I don't usually like social science but this was very interesting.

Hoelle's lectures were very thorough and interesting. The papers are relatively easy and the readings are manageable. Also, it is important that you sit in the rows he assigned for "laptops" and that you DO NOT pull out your phone.

Hoelle is an okay professor, but the class he teaches is really good. I especially enjoyed the readings and the papers.

Hoelle was good. Lectures were dry at times, but the interactive iclicker questions made it a little more interesting. DO NOT use your phone in class. 2 short papers and 2 exams. My TA was mediocre at the most and she graded hard on the papers. Exams are tested on lecture, weekly readings, and brazil lol

I really loved this class and I'm glad I had Hoelle. Lecture has clicker so it's mandatory but I didn't mind because he makes lectures fun. During the midterms and finals he always puts down funny options for the multiple choice answers which makes them more enjoyable to take. He gets the crowd involved and it's always really awkwardly funny. 10/10