This is a really awesome professor who offers a unique insight to the Sociology department. Some of his assigned readings were a bit lengthy and dense, but the professor and T.A. helped me in understanding the material. The class consisted of two written exams (mid-term and final), weekly question and answer homework, and one research paper.
The pandemic did begin at the end of this class which disrupted everything. However, the professor was very considerate and lenient. Definitely would take a class with this professor again!!

Every single class requires attendance - which is graded. He gave 3 book summary assignments that were required to be four pages SINGLE SPACED. However, this style did force me to really go through the books and take in the concepts. I came to every class, took notes, and somehow found the final super challenging. I feel like the class wasn't really THAT interesting because the repeating message was that the prison system is poor and needs to be reformed. There were a lot of off topic tangents that had me lose focus. I felt like the class was disorganized and confusing. I was expecting this class to be a 10/10 given the incredible reviews for this professor. I mean, he is a cool guy, but I was disappointed going in with high expectations. I would give this class and professor a 6/10. I also expected this class to be easier than it was. The assignments are very time-consuming, and you have to work on them well in advance to not feel overwhelmed. I recommend this class if you are passionate about the subject of crime, but don't go in with expectations of this being the best class ever.

Professor Sexton was my favorite professor of this quarter. He is really funny/engaging with the material and makes the 8 am much more tolerable. There are three book reviews, a final research paper, and final exam for this class which is a relatively manageable work load. Definitely take this prof if you’re a sociology major!

Professor Sexton's class at UCLA was truly exceptional and stands out as the best. The content of the class was incredibly interesting, and Professor Sexton's teaching style captivated my attention every time. Not only did he possess a wealth of academic knowledge, but he also exuded kindness and warmth towards his students. Despite my natural propensity towards laziness, I eagerly anticipated each class session and reveled in the opportunity to engage with the professor during office hours.
What struck me the most about Professor Sexton was his ability to connect with and understand students from diverse backgrounds. He fostered an inclusive and supportive environment that allowed for open discussion and learning. As such, I hold him in the highest regard among the professors at UCLA.
Taking Professor Sexton's class is an experience I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have had. It has undoubtedly been one of the highlights of my academic journey, and I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from such an exceptional educator.

I was quite shocked going into this class after reading the reviews. This is my first sociology class but I am amazed at how biased and opinionated the material is in this class. If you are not a radical liberal, I do not recommend taking this class. As you will constantly hear about how you should feel white guilt, and all of the opinions of someone who is left-wing radical in their views. This class is based on the opinions of the professor, who seems like a very nice guy, but I am not attending UCLA to be persuaded into specific political views. Listening to the very first lecture and hearing the professor say how murderers and rapists should not be referred to as such because it dehumanizes them, I knew I was in for a ride. Writing papers on the assigned books merely consists of catering to radical left-wing viewpoints in order to get an A, in fear of disagreeing with the opinions being presented for the sake of my grade.

I'm devil's advocate here. I did not enjoy Professor Sexton's course as much as others did. The class was structured as follows:

Reading Homework / Discussion Section (30%) where we needed to read our required text and make questions based off the readings and discuss them in section
Research Paper (40%) that's 10-12 pages
Final Exam (30%) that's a in-class essay
1% extra credit for doing the evaluations

Everyone talks about how he is an engaging lecturer and so on, but I always felt that he mumbles a lot or rambled onto other topics many times as he lectures. These tangents don't help with learning the material either. Our homework felt so pointless because we weren't allowed to use any of the required text on the exam, which is total bullshit. The required readings were, for the most part, amazing and helped me truly understand the key concepts Sexton went over in lecture; not being able to use them as evidence for the essay made me felt like that work was for nothing. The worst part is again, his lecturing style wasn't the best and hard to follow imo. The TA strike really fucked things over and many of us felt lost in how to write our research papers and it didn't feel as if the prof was THAT accommodating to us about it. It wasn't until many of us decided to write an email to the prof about our grievances that he gave us an extension for the paper. I loved the subject don't get me wrong, but I wish it wasn't him who was teaching this course. Anyone who tries to talk some shit about how this is an upper div and it's meant to be hard, fuck off. There's a difference between hard and tedious. This class wasn't "hard", it was tedious and annoying.

What can I say about Dr. Sexton... He is amazing! I have taken two of his classes so far--and Spring quarter will be my third--and I can honestly say he's my favorite professor here at UCLA so far. His lectures are engaging and informative. His attitude is positive. He is very approachable both in and outside of class. I really have no complaints for Dr. Sexton. I guess one minor gripe would be that he assigns a lot of reading each week which can be hard to keep up with--it hasn't been for me personally, but I have heard complaints from other students. I HIGHLY recommend any class taught by Dr. Sexton! 10/10

Dr. Sexton is one of the best Sociology Professors at UCLA! Hands down one of my favorite courses. Sociology of crime was interesting and provides a sociological perspective. I was introduced to the topic of governance through crime, which was extremely eye opening. The books assigned were amazing and compelling. My favorite was Locking Up Our Own, by James Foreman. It helped me understand more of the punitive sanctions that impact Black communities. The material overall has been helpful and applicable in other courses I've taken.

Proffesor is always welcoming to questions and is available to further elaborate during office hours. You don't need to drop in to office hours for this course necessarily , as the material is provided during lectures is pretty concise and clear. But it helps that Proffesor Sexton is approachable and engaging.

I love the slides he uses for lectures. It helped me organize my notes and made it more streamline to study for the final. ( The final is pretty straight forward) As long as you attend most of the lectures, you will be able to write about the topic/ prompt provided.

Great course, definitely recommend it! I would take this course again if I could.

Dr. Sexton is a dope professor. His lectures challenge you to think critically and to judge multiple experiences of a subject matter. I would say that this class sparked my interest in sociological research and creative inquiry. We read 3 books, none which were meant to actually be remembered word for word but as long as you pick up the concepts you're good. A lot of students made it out to be the longest workload ever. It's an upper division bruh step your game up. The lectures and readings aren't the exact same but relate in content. I liked to think of the lecture content as having provided me a sociohistorical lens to read the books which are all written in modern English (not difficult at all to read).

Test was cumulative but literally as long as you went to lectures and took basic notes, you'd be good. I took notes every lecture and didn't study at all for the final to still earn a 95. Professor Sexton also really encourages discussion among the class and values different perspectives, so he'll often allot time at the end of lecture to pick our brains. Unlike other professors in the department, I'd say it's easier to engage with professor Sexton because it doesn't feel like he's dodging students or just plain condescending.

Anyways, I'd definitely take Dr. Sexton's class again and plan to in the future.

Great professor! Loved the topic, turns more into a topic secularization of crime. Discussions were mandatory. Separate readings assigned for discussions. You created your own 10 questions of the assigned readings as part of your grade. He has a final which is all based on his lectures so its pretty much an A if you attend or grasp the concept. His exam is blue book, just written. He provides you what the potential topics will be for the essay question , so helps you prepare. One main written signalment for the quarter and thats it. He is helpful and kind towards students. He's supper engaging and open for questions even not related to his topics. I would definitely take another course with him, and next time would not stress about the 10 weekly questions I created based on the readings.