TAKE THIS CLASS! As a transfer student I was nervous about the transition from a Community College to a 4-year University. Professor Speer made sure that my experience in this class was a positive one. I will admit some of the readings were difficult, but Speer went over them in class and discussed it until everyone understood. Such a caring and understanding person in light of everything going on. I really wanted to take him for Sociology 182 for Winter 2020, but the class filled up so fast, and rightfully so. Speer is hands down the BEST professor in this department. Honestly, the BEST professor at UCLA!! Also if you're good he'll show his dogs Bogart and Nyla.

I was told Speer was supposed to be the best but I didn't see it. he's not terrible but he didn't live up to the hype

TAKEN DURING COVID-19 ONLINE INSTRUCTION:

Speer is a great professor, he engages with his students a LOT in his slides-based lectures which makes the classes go by super fast. He is friendly and likes to see students engage with the material, makes himself very accessible for office hours. He canceled our midterm and restructured our class to assist students having difficulties with online learning, which was really appreciated.

He has a cute dog that he often shows us before/after class, which many of us really got a kick out of. Speer is a HIGH DEMAND professor so if you're able to take a class with him I definitely recommend prioritizing it when you register so you can actually get in!

The final paper was 30% of our grade and based on assessing Marx and his predictions on capitalism, so if you are into Marxism, this class will definitely be an interesting one! One thing I will say though is that it was fairly long (8 pages) and required 5+ outside credible sources, so it took up a lot of my energy. The readings are very hard to understand but his slides are set up to help you process them before and after, which I appreciated as well. You read works by Marx, Durkheim, and Weber.

I recommend him as a professor for SOCIOL101, which is an especially dense class that is made very digestible by him.

Professor Speer was such an amazing professor - he was very understanding and approachable. The class was recorded and attendance was not mandatory. The material was very interesting and applicable to what is currently happening today. We had weekly readings and reading questions to turn in. The questions helped me understand the main points of the readings. There was supposed to be a midterm, but he canceled it last minute and instead we had a cumulative final. We had to write an 8 paged literature review on a question we created in the beginning of the quarter. The final exam was take home.

Absolute worst professor I have ever taken at UCLA. Does not care about his students well being, nor does he care about the learning process of his class to begin with. He did not give us back our final grade, our research paper grade, or half of our homework scores until the night before grades were finalized. From a student who gets straight As at ucla, avoid this professor.

Sociology was the first GE that I took here at UCLA, and definitely one that I would take again. Speer was an engaging professor who really tried to help us understand the material he was presenting. In addition, his TA's were all top notch and really helped clarify anything that we didn't get in class. Soc 1 was a great class, and I would definitely take this again.

Would definitely take this class again. Professor Speer is an amazing lecturer and is young so he understands students better than older professors. The material is a tad confusing but he does a good job of getting you to read and comprehend through homework questions that are very specific to the readings!

The class was very straightforward. If you do homework and study, you can easily get an A.

Easy class in the summer sessions. Seems much reading but professor provides questions to guide you. Easy midterm and final that you only need to spend a couple of hours to remember the stuff and the questions are basic. Majority of the students get an A. Recommend this class.

Literally the easiest class at ucla. TAKE THIS CLASS. The midterm and final consist of matching, multiple choice, and fill in the blanks. This is an EASY A class. You can do minimum work and be fine. Just memorize things and pay attention in discussion!