GENDER 185
Special Topics in Gender Studies
Description: Lecture, three hours. Preparation: one prior gender studies course. Designed for juniors/seniors. Specialized or advanced study in one area within gender studies. May be repeated for credit with topic and/or instructor change. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2025 - This review is for Gender 104 Bodies. This class was so incredibly disappointing and I would recommend avoiding this professor if you can. How one manages to ruin a topic as interesting as Bodies I do not know. This class felt very similar to other gender studies classes in the sense that it focused on gender and race, but there were almost no readings that focused specifically on bodies. There was little to no mention of bodies in regards to age, weight, disability, socioeconomic status, etc. The professor is also somewhat new to teaching but has been teaching for long enough (4 years) that he should know how to adjust when things aren't working. He would show up 5-10 minutes late every class, spend the first 20 minutes talking about the person who wrote the piece we were about to discuss, and then only have 45 minutes to attempt to explain complex gender theories. He had powerpoints with a bunch of quotes he wanted to discuss, but EVERY SINGLE CLASS he would only get through about two quotes, realize he was almost out of time, and then just skip to the end. Had he realized this mistake and made changes throughout the quarter I would give him more credit. As the quarter progressed things got worse and we weren't able to talk about all the readings on the syllabus because he was constantly running out of time. Also, when reading quotes he would ask students questions and would respond negatively when he did not get the specific answer he wanted causing few students to attempt to answer questions. He was not able to foster a positive discussion environment. He constantly told us to speak up (even though he talked SOOO quietly and refused to get a microphone) or would get mad when he heard someone in the back whisper. The class ended up being two people responding to him while everyone else dissociated. I almost always pay attention in class but this one I couldn't. The only assignments were two 4 page papers based on two of the readings. You had to come up with a key word and analyze it using the readings. If he didn't take attendance then this class could be done without attending. Lastly, when student reviews came out for the professor, I left an honest review and he then proceeded to spend 10 minutes the next class essentially telling us to leave him a good review because it's important for his career. In the end I got a good grade, but wasted a bunch of my time. The TA Ludmila was amazing and made discussion sections great but that was it.
Spring 2025 - This review is for Gender 104 Bodies. This class was so incredibly disappointing and I would recommend avoiding this professor if you can. How one manages to ruin a topic as interesting as Bodies I do not know. This class felt very similar to other gender studies classes in the sense that it focused on gender and race, but there were almost no readings that focused specifically on bodies. There was little to no mention of bodies in regards to age, weight, disability, socioeconomic status, etc. The professor is also somewhat new to teaching but has been teaching for long enough (4 years) that he should know how to adjust when things aren't working. He would show up 5-10 minutes late every class, spend the first 20 minutes talking about the person who wrote the piece we were about to discuss, and then only have 45 minutes to attempt to explain complex gender theories. He had powerpoints with a bunch of quotes he wanted to discuss, but EVERY SINGLE CLASS he would only get through about two quotes, realize he was almost out of time, and then just skip to the end. Had he realized this mistake and made changes throughout the quarter I would give him more credit. As the quarter progressed things got worse and we weren't able to talk about all the readings on the syllabus because he was constantly running out of time. Also, when reading quotes he would ask students questions and would respond negatively when he did not get the specific answer he wanted causing few students to attempt to answer questions. He was not able to foster a positive discussion environment. He constantly told us to speak up (even though he talked SOOO quietly and refused to get a microphone) or would get mad when he heard someone in the back whisper. The class ended up being two people responding to him while everyone else dissociated. I almost always pay attention in class but this one I couldn't. The only assignments were two 4 page papers based on two of the readings. You had to come up with a key word and analyze it using the readings. If he didn't take attendance then this class could be done without attending. Lastly, when student reviews came out for the professor, I left an honest review and he then proceeded to spend 10 minutes the next class essentially telling us to leave him a good review because it's important for his career. In the end I got a good grade, but wasted a bunch of my time. The TA Ludmila was amazing and made discussion sections great but that was it.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2024 - The main course load is taking notes on long, somewhat interesting readings. I easily maintained a 100% in this class until he graded participation. If you miss more than 4 classes you get an automatic 0 in this category. This was not listed on the syllabus. He also did not grade my final paper.
Fall 2024 - The main course load is taking notes on long, somewhat interesting readings. I easily maintained a 100% in this class until he graded participation. If you miss more than 4 classes you get an automatic 0 in this category. This was not listed on the syllabus. He also did not grade my final paper.
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