Despite the many positive reviews posted about Professor Walker, I highly advise anyone wanting to take this class to NOT. The grading is extremely unclear as it seems everything is graded based on opinions and no actual rubric, therefore leaving grading to be extremely unequal and irregular, and largely dependent on your TA. His final is cumulative and has a massive unhelpful “study guide” which he then asks us to look at our past midterm study guide on top. It’s majority things we are expected to know and conclude based on what he’s taught us, but the minority of it is straight forward topics we have actually learned. It will leave you tickling your head wondering if you were in the same class all these lectures as the study guides for the midterm and final are worded so annoyingly and different. The final has 2 essays, 4 “short answer” (quotes because they’re basically essay length, anything less you will not get full marks), and multiple choice questions. Tests are again harshly graded and seem to have no rubric or empathy instilled as some leave with a 100% and others with a fairly similar test leave with a 75%. No regularity and rightful reasoning. The actual professor is an epitome of what you would believe a UCLA professor being, very well endowed in knowledge of the course, intimidating, and talks far to fast for anyone to hand write everything important he is saying (no computers allowed). His lecture notes are an outline at best, and due to his fast talking and vast vocabulary skills, he often leaves us with little time to even process what he was speaking of. Often asking if we have any questions during the middle of lecture, students often never ask simply because they wouldn’t know what to ask since the information is being thrown so fast and at such depth it’s hard to necessarily pin point what we have a question about. Reading is as dry as the Sahara desert, and boy there’s a lot of it. Getting an A is not impossible as I have seen classmates doing so, but I’m unsure how they are (besides the adderall). Good luck to those who venture to take this course, and I promise you by the end of it you will be questioning why you embarked on being a sociology major to begin with and might have quite a distaste for social movements as it has been analyzed in such depth, not getting tired of it is nearly impossible unless you were Monsieur Walker himself. Also, save some money for some hair dye by the end as you will get some grey hairs.

I'm in the process of taking this class. The discussion papers (worth 6% total, 1% each) were a living hell because my section ended up having three different TAs due to "technical" complications. Without this complication, the papers and the class is straight forward. There is one 6-7 pg book analysis worth a lot of your grade. The midterm (and I'm assuming the final) is easy if you study the study guide he gives. You don't have to read the readings (just skim for discussion questions) and can still succeed as long as you take notes/pay attention in class. Reading would make it way easier though and probably a lot more interesting... I wouldn't know. I felt this class kind of had a political science approach, which was harder for me because I think sociologically (if its your first time in a soc class, I feel like its not very representative of sociology as a field). We went over sociological theory, but for some reason I felt the readings and lectures had a political science edge to them. Can you tell I'm sleep deprived and procrastinating?

He uses clickers so you cannot skip class but it's pretty engaging. He shows lots of videos and gives interesting examples and tells cheesy jokes. He doesn't allow tech so take good paper notes. workload is kinda tough with a 2 pg memo every week, a 7ish page book report which is definitely the worst part and was graded a little harshly, and a midterm and final which were kinda straightforward if you take good notes.

Straight forward class. Not as bad as his other classes but the TAs help ease the burden. This class has a fair amount of readings so set aside enough time to read through them. Midterm wasnt too bad but make sure to do a class study guide. Final was the same. He had a book report but it was pointless for the class. Not too bad of a class. I will not take him ever again though. I say if you want to read a lot then go ahead and take this class. Its a lot of work to prepare for the midterm and final. I didnt read a few of the readings but I still got a decent grade.

Straight forward class. Not as bad as his other classes but the TAs help ease the burden. This class has a fair amount of readings so set aside enough time to read through them. Midterm wasnt too bad but make sure to do a class study guide. Final was the same. He had a book report but it was pointless for the class. Not too bad of a class. I will not take him ever again though. I say if you want to read a lot then go ahead and take this class. Its a lot of work to prepare for the midterm and final. I didnt read a few of the readings but I still got a decent grade.

At first the class seems hard because of all the reading required, but he gives an outline before each test and the review sessions are very helpful. Study hard for each test, and get an A. He responds to emails and is very friendly. I highly recommend him!

Walker is a great professor! I started the quarter very overwhelmed by the reading because it was very dense and a lot was assigned. As soon as I accepted that I would need to put aside a good amount of time at least twice of week, I started to really enjoy this class. If you do the reading and still confused, Walker goes over it clearly in class and you also do in your section. Each week there is a 1-2 page writing response due in section that I believe was helpful in grasping the concepts. There is a book analysis report that isn't too difficult if you don't leave reading the book to the day before it's due. As for the midterm and final, he gives you a very clear study guide with what you need to know and it is reflected pretty clearly in the tests. Multiple choice, fill in the blank, short answers, and an essay. Walker is very smart and he knows what he is talking about. I highly recommend.

Prof. Walker was such an excellent instructor! Take him, end of discussion.