SOC GEN 5
Integrative Approaches to Human Biology and Society
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Introduction to concept of problem-based approaches to study of biology and society and areas of concentration, such as bioethics and public science policy, evolutionary biology, culture, and behavior, historical and social studies of life sciences, medical genetics and public health, and population genetics and history, and central thematic issues shared across concentrations, such as commercialization of life and public understanding of science. Letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2020 - Soc Gen 5 was one of my favorite classes I've taken at UCLA, and Dr. Allard is incredibly passionate and knowledgeable on the subject material. When I took this class, Dr. Allard taught the latter half of the quarter, which was focused on endocrine disruption. As he has a background in toxicology, he brought in personal anecdotes based on the work he has done and tied them well into our class curriculum. This class overall is very informative and not too challenging. I definitely recommend (even if you aren't pre-HBS) and you want to learn more about some of the biosocial factors of healthcare, medicine, or toxicology.
Winter 2020 - Soc Gen 5 was one of my favorite classes I've taken at UCLA, and Dr. Allard is incredibly passionate and knowledgeable on the subject material. When I took this class, Dr. Allard taught the latter half of the quarter, which was focused on endocrine disruption. As he has a background in toxicology, he brought in personal anecdotes based on the work he has done and tied them well into our class curriculum. This class overall is very informative and not too challenging. I definitely recommend (even if you aren't pre-HBS) and you want to learn more about some of the biosocial factors of healthcare, medicine, or toxicology.
Most Helpful Review
Summer 2022 - Super easy professor, extremely kind and understanding. He was engaging and I thought his lectures were straightforward. His midterm was open-note, untimed which made it easy to get an A on. He doesn't seem to grade harshly on writing assignments as long as you make your argument clear and are organized with your thoughts. Definitely take this class if you can!
Summer 2022 - Super easy professor, extremely kind and understanding. He was engaging and I thought his lectures were straightforward. His midterm was open-note, untimed which made it easy to get an A on. He doesn't seem to grade harshly on writing assignments as long as you make your argument clear and are organized with your thoughts. Definitely take this class if you can!
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Winter 2021 - With the Zoom complexion of a ripe cherry tomato and the demeanor of a jolly uncle, Christopher Kelty is an excellent professor. He taught the 2nd unit of this class, The Science and Politics of Conservation and Eradication, and Professor McEvoy taught the 1st (Antibiotic Resistance). Kelty was an engaging and entertaining professor who made sure that his lectures were never dry, mixing animal porn with goat hunting strategies nicely. Fun fact; he also has a PhD from MIT. McEvoy was also a solid lecturer, although a tad less jolly. The workload of this class was pretty light overall, with 6 weekly section assignments (easy As), a "pod-based" group assignment (also an easy A), an exam for each unit, and a final paper (7 pages double-spaced). Both unit tests were pretty fair, open note open book, and could be completed within the 1.5 hours given. The Unit 1 test did feel harder than the Unit 2 test though. I suspect the Unit 2 test content and perhaps grading were made less stringent to support students because of the attacks against Asian Americans at the time, but I could be wrong. The paper wasn't too challenging and the format was pretty interesting, plus we had a good amount of freedom in choosing the topic. There's a lot of readings assigned for this class, but they're not tested directly and you can get by if you skim them. Carlie Leary was a good, no-nonsense TA who made a point of not wasting anybody's time during discussion sections. Overall, this class was a pretty easy A, especially if you're a good writer!
Winter 2021 - With the Zoom complexion of a ripe cherry tomato and the demeanor of a jolly uncle, Christopher Kelty is an excellent professor. He taught the 2nd unit of this class, The Science and Politics of Conservation and Eradication, and Professor McEvoy taught the 1st (Antibiotic Resistance). Kelty was an engaging and entertaining professor who made sure that his lectures were never dry, mixing animal porn with goat hunting strategies nicely. Fun fact; he also has a PhD from MIT. McEvoy was also a solid lecturer, although a tad less jolly. The workload of this class was pretty light overall, with 6 weekly section assignments (easy As), a "pod-based" group assignment (also an easy A), an exam for each unit, and a final paper (7 pages double-spaced). Both unit tests were pretty fair, open note open book, and could be completed within the 1.5 hours given. The Unit 1 test did feel harder than the Unit 2 test though. I suspect the Unit 2 test content and perhaps grading were made less stringent to support students because of the attacks against Asian Americans at the time, but I could be wrong. The paper wasn't too challenging and the format was pretty interesting, plus we had a good amount of freedom in choosing the topic. There's a lot of readings assigned for this class, but they're not tested directly and you can get by if you skim them. Carlie Leary was a good, no-nonsense TA who made a point of not wasting anybody's time during discussion sections. Overall, this class was a pretty easy A, especially if you're a good writer!
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2024 - To this day, I am still vexed about my experience in this class. My TA, Maris Kamalu, would take off points for such arbitrary and trivial things. It almost felt like she had it out for some students. My classmate received a higher score on a small assignment submitted using ChatGPT than on one she wrote herself. How are you deciding that the substance of AI can surpass the minds of the sentient? I will feel bitterness toward her whenever I remember this class. Dr. Landecker also has a poor attitude. On the first day of lecture, she whistled at students who were leaving prematurely and said that she wasn't finished. People could have places to be or valid reasons to leave. Attendance wasn't mandatory so it was so bizarre of her to point out those students in front of everyone. She has the same demeanor as a strict substitute teacher who felt that she needed to demand respect at all times. When the midterm average was low, she attributed it to laziness. She thought so lowly of her own students and felt the need to remind us that she gives speeches at Ivy Leagues. She's the type of professor to tell students that only 10 students can receive an A in the class. However, the readings were very interesting and helped enhance our understanding of the units she chose. The multiple choice portion of the midterm wasn't too difficult as long as you did the readings and understood the main idea of the lecture slides. But the free response section was phrased so vaguely and you wouldn't get credit unless you worded the answer in the exact way they wanted. Professors can test on whatever they want but I don't know how many students will take time to remember the exact year a certain law was passed. TLDR: While the course was definitely more than manageable, the experience felt like being in a class where none of the instructors wanted you to succeed and held the belief that you didn't want to succeed either.
Winter 2024 - To this day, I am still vexed about my experience in this class. My TA, Maris Kamalu, would take off points for such arbitrary and trivial things. It almost felt like she had it out for some students. My classmate received a higher score on a small assignment submitted using ChatGPT than on one she wrote herself. How are you deciding that the substance of AI can surpass the minds of the sentient? I will feel bitterness toward her whenever I remember this class. Dr. Landecker also has a poor attitude. On the first day of lecture, she whistled at students who were leaving prematurely and said that she wasn't finished. People could have places to be or valid reasons to leave. Attendance wasn't mandatory so it was so bizarre of her to point out those students in front of everyone. She has the same demeanor as a strict substitute teacher who felt that she needed to demand respect at all times. When the midterm average was low, she attributed it to laziness. She thought so lowly of her own students and felt the need to remind us that she gives speeches at Ivy Leagues. She's the type of professor to tell students that only 10 students can receive an A in the class. However, the readings were very interesting and helped enhance our understanding of the units she chose. The multiple choice portion of the midterm wasn't too difficult as long as you did the readings and understood the main idea of the lecture slides. But the free response section was phrased so vaguely and you wouldn't get credit unless you worded the answer in the exact way they wanted. Professors can test on whatever they want but I don't know how many students will take time to remember the exact year a certain law was passed. TLDR: While the course was definitely more than manageable, the experience felt like being in a class where none of the instructors wanted you to succeed and held the belief that you didn't want to succeed either.
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2018 - Beware of the amount of reading required for this class. The exams are alright as long as you did the study guide and understood all the terms. Overall, this was a pretty generic GE. I am also selling the printed book of Island of Dr. Moreau for 5 dollars. Feel free to message me at **********.
Winter 2018 - Beware of the amount of reading required for this class. The exams are alright as long as you did the study guide and understood all the terms. Overall, this was a pretty generic GE. I am also selling the printed book of Island of Dr. Moreau for 5 dollars. Feel free to message me at **********.
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