SOC GEN 188
Special Courses in Society and Genetics
Description: Seminar, three hours. Departmentally sponsored experimental or temporary courses on selected topics, such as those taught by visiting faculty members. May be repeated for credit with topic change. Letter grading.
Units: 0.0
Units: 0.0
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2016 - This is an extraordinary class that you won’t find anywhere else. The lectures were amazing. Dr. Allard presented cutting-edge research (including his own - he’s humble about it:) as well as classic cases in gene and environment interaction. We learnt why different people process alcohol differently or get different effects from chemical exposure, why some people may get sick from eating red meat, while others don’t, about the genetic predisposition to melanoma, connection between the genome and microbiome and many more aspects of GxE. For each GxE issue we looked at biochemical pathways which were pretty complex, but Dr. Allard explained and clarified the nuances. We looked critically at many research papers, analyzed the results and discussed their validity. Some topics were challenging for me, because I’m not a science major, but Dr. Allard was helpful and understanding. He made the class engaging and fun. There was a lot of conceptual learning, memorization and hard work. Dr. Allard was always available to answer any questions and consult about our research. He really required everyone to be logical, sound and detailed in our papers and presentations. He gave me constructive feedback on how to improve and organize my work. Overall, the class expanded my horizons, and I learned a lot. A truly innovative and unique course.
Winter 2016 - This is an extraordinary class that you won’t find anywhere else. The lectures were amazing. Dr. Allard presented cutting-edge research (including his own - he’s humble about it:) as well as classic cases in gene and environment interaction. We learnt why different people process alcohol differently or get different effects from chemical exposure, why some people may get sick from eating red meat, while others don’t, about the genetic predisposition to melanoma, connection between the genome and microbiome and many more aspects of GxE. For each GxE issue we looked at biochemical pathways which were pretty complex, but Dr. Allard explained and clarified the nuances. We looked critically at many research papers, analyzed the results and discussed their validity. Some topics were challenging for me, because I’m not a science major, but Dr. Allard was helpful and understanding. He made the class engaging and fun. There was a lot of conceptual learning, memorization and hard work. Dr. Allard was always available to answer any questions and consult about our research. He really required everyone to be logical, sound and detailed in our papers and presentations. He gave me constructive feedback on how to improve and organize my work. Overall, the class expanded my horizons, and I learned a lot. A truly innovative and unique course.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2025 - OKAY so I absolutely loved this professor and her lecturing style...until it came to the final project and week 8-10. SUPER UNCLEAR at giving instructions and what she wants from you. She changes up like every 5 seconds. Midterm was super easy, exactly like study guide so if you review you are fine. Final project was awesome, learned so much, but definitely a more "on your own" type project. I had a great group and we were all proactive, so it came together well, but other groups had a tougher time. She also didn't bother to learn ANYONE's names, so she actually mixed them up and gave us the WRONG GRADES, which she literally admitted to, and it wouldn't have gotten corrected if we hadn't emailed her inquiring. Keep in mind like only 20 people were in this class. Overall GREAT LECTURER, but super unorganized. Her grading is nice but you have to put in the work and pay attention class. Didn't really need to do readings just know what she will be talking about and CONTRIBUTE. She LOVES people that talk. Make sure she knows your name and face and ur good to go. Idk I loved her and was frustrated at the same time. But if you are interested in learning and widening your perspective, she's awesome.
Fall 2025 - OKAY so I absolutely loved this professor and her lecturing style...until it came to the final project and week 8-10. SUPER UNCLEAR at giving instructions and what she wants from you. She changes up like every 5 seconds. Midterm was super easy, exactly like study guide so if you review you are fine. Final project was awesome, learned so much, but definitely a more "on your own" type project. I had a great group and we were all proactive, so it came together well, but other groups had a tougher time. She also didn't bother to learn ANYONE's names, so she actually mixed them up and gave us the WRONG GRADES, which she literally admitted to, and it wouldn't have gotten corrected if we hadn't emailed her inquiring. Keep in mind like only 20 people were in this class. Overall GREAT LECTURER, but super unorganized. Her grading is nice but you have to put in the work and pay attention class. Didn't really need to do readings just know what she will be talking about and CONTRIBUTE. She LOVES people that talk. Make sure she knows your name and face and ur good to go. Idk I loved her and was frustrated at the same time. But if you are interested in learning and widening your perspective, she's awesome.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2016 - Honestly, I didn't care for her Soc Gen 188 seminar on Reproduction and Reproductive Technologies. The subject matter is very interesting, and I definitely learned something from the class, but sitting in section was actually painful. She speaks for most of the time and when she wants answers to her questions, she expects you to know an exact line from one of her 40 page readings that she assigns; if you're not exactly right, she tends to shoot you down. She seems like a sweet lady overall but she's frustrating at times. The grade breakdown consists of a group project, participation, and a final project (usually a research paper). The group project was the only day that I really enjoyed, and she brought a breakfast for the class, which was nice of her. I'd say that I could've gotten an A if I didn't procrastinate on my paper.
Fall 2016 - Honestly, I didn't care for her Soc Gen 188 seminar on Reproduction and Reproductive Technologies. The subject matter is very interesting, and I definitely learned something from the class, but sitting in section was actually painful. She speaks for most of the time and when she wants answers to her questions, she expects you to know an exact line from one of her 40 page readings that she assigns; if you're not exactly right, she tends to shoot you down. She seems like a sweet lady overall but she's frustrating at times. The grade breakdown consists of a group project, participation, and a final project (usually a research paper). The group project was the only day that I really enjoyed, and she brought a breakfast for the class, which was nice of her. I'd say that I could've gotten an A if I didn't procrastinate on my paper.
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