Professor Sexton's class is one that is fundamentally fascinating and is one that is appealing for not only sociology majors or adherents, but of anyone one whom desires the history and realities that surround religion and its impacts throughout time.

I was very satisfied with the course and my favourite part was the research paper of which was an ethnographic paper of a religion of our choice in relation to sustainability. That in itself was an interesting correlation of topics and made one choose something they may have already had knowledge of or allowed one to gain knowledge of.

In overall class structure, it was a very broad and this was shown with the differing topics of every week, differing three books throughout the quarter, and with the numerous guest speakers that came to class on significant bases.

Nevertheless, this course was one that is fascinating and should be good for a person that indeed enjoys theology in its many vast forms. But, it is a course that does require individual motive towards reading and its topics, however with the professor and the TA's; such should be of no problem as they were all very accommodating and involved in my personal experience throughout the whole quarter and that in itself makes the professor a rare as well as exceptional character whom really is striving for his students academic, professional , and even personal successes.

Professor Sexton has been one of the best professors I have had here at UCLA. He is very clear in what he wants from you and will help you with anything as long as you reach out to him and show your concerns. I took his crime class as well and they were both structured the same and had a quarter long research problem that gave you the chance to research something of your interest and dig deeper into the subject and learn a lot about it. For me I long wine so I did my project on how viticulture affects the environment, so it was cool to research something I was passionate about and learn more about it. The work load for the class is a decent about because you have to research a lot in the end for your essay, but in the end I believe it is worth it in what you get in return. I recommend taking this class or any classes with Sexton because in the end if you put in the work you learn a lot.

I took this class as a graduating senior, and it ended up being one of my favorite classes at UCLA, though it did not seem like that during the course.

The workload is A LOT (if you are trying to actually do it all). Each week, there are hefty readings to which you then do a one-page single-spaced response to. Discussions and lectures are mandatory, but a "word of the day" is used in lectures and recordings are posted, so you can get around this if you have a friend in the class. Throughout the quarter, there are deadlines for the final research paper, which examines an entity's (organization or city in the LA region) relationship to the sustainability - social and environmental. There's also a 1-min presentation on your paper findings to the class. You have to buy a couple books for the readings. There is a written essay final (choose from a couple pre-revealed prompts).

I was frequently complaining about the class to my friends, and the majority of my effort for the quarter went to the course (definitely would not recommend taking with other heavy classes). Yet I realized at the end, this was one of the most interesting and engaging courses I have ever taken. If you do not like mundane classwork and not-applicable-to-real-life content, I would recommend this course. It actually challenged me to think about "real life" concepts relating to the environment, social issues, and politics, and I learned a lot and enhanced my critical analysis skills. The first book was one of my favorite reads ever, because it discussed the things that I stay up at night thinking about - that type of interesting and challenging.

As far as Dr.Sexton, he is definitely a cool person. His lecturing, however, is a challenge. The way he speaks can be really difficult to 1) hear and 2) comprehend; a lot of "big", uncommon words are used, and he often speaks in broken sentences and phrases, that mumble off. I found myself getting lost in lecture a lot. While I kept up and comprehended the readings, I felt that I got nothing from the lectures, until I actually went back over the recordings before the final. Going over the lecture recordings, I suddenly understood and had even a deep comprehension of everything said, was able to connect all the class concepts, and was able to do really well on the final. I actually feel like I'm walking away with something from the course - which I only felt from one other class at UCLA.

All this being said, I think it's a great class and would encourage everyone to take it to engage in important social and environmental topics and "learn beyond the classroom", but be warned, it is A LOT of work.

This is a really awesome professor who offers a unique insight to the Sociology department. Some of his assigned readings were a bit lengthy and dense, but the professor and T.A. helped me in understanding the material. The class consisted of two written exams (mid-term and final), weekly question and answer homework, and one research paper.
The pandemic did begin at the end of this class which disrupted everything. However, the professor was very considerate and lenient. Definitely would take a class with this professor again!!

I love this professor! I took this course during the summer, it was very fast paced when it came to the lectures so his presentation of them were a bit confusing at times, but his final exam was easy; very straightforward questions. He requires two weekly summaries about lecture content but you can view the lecture later if you missed it since he records them all and the summary is very easy to do (10 min limit). Other than that he has 3 kind of book report type assignments due every 2 weeks, but they are easy readings and very interesting ones so the assignments are easy to do. He is also very understanding as I had a family emergency and allowed me to submit a lot of my work late and I thank him for that greatly.

Professor Sexton is one of the best professors I’ve taken at UCLA. His lectures are extremely engaging and boosts curiosity. I had him this summer for a 8:30AM class which is normally a time I find dreadful but I found myself excited to attend these lectures. The workload isn’t too intense but does take some effort. The class consists of attendance summaries for each class. As long as you engage with his lecture, it’s nothing too crazy. We had three essays (personal reading summaries) for three books. All of the books were extremely interesting if your interesting in crime. The grading is not harsh at all on these essays. We also had one final exam. Take the leap and you won’t regret it!

Professor Sexton is undeniably one of the best teachers I've had at UCLA. He takes time to remember your name and make you feel like he is there to learn something from you as well. You can see his passion for the topics he teaches while being entertaining and interactive. Something you do not see often is a professor having first-hand experience in what they are teaching, but Professor Sexton does, which gives a unique teaching perspective that helped me learn deeper. Although each class is mandatory to attend, time flies with his content that makes you think deeper about what you know about how our society views certain aspects such as the prison system and religion. I would not miss out on class because there are guest lecturers who add to the value of the class. There is a research paper due at the end of the quarter but you have more than enough time to finish it. Alongside that, we read 3 books that are fast-paced and easy to digest. His directions are straightforward and if followed you will have no problem leaving the class with a fantastic grade. Professor Sexton makes much time for his students through his office hours and quickly responds via email. There are extra credit assignments if you want an extra grade bump.

Please take Dr. Sexton!! He is not only an amazing Professor, but he is extremely empathetic. Last quarter was the hardest quarter of my life due to personal circumstances. Dr. Sexton was incredibly supportive and understanding. He truly cares about the success of his students! This course is also very engaging. You will read three short novels and engage in a discussion via canvas. There is a research project, but it is very manageable. The final exam consists of an essay question which is dependent upon the class lectures.

Professor Sexton is a really good professor and he really cares about his students. Especially with everything going on during this quarter he was very accommodating and showed support towards his students. This class requires you to read three books, all of which I found interesting and I'm not much of a reader myself, you then have to write an 800-900 word analysis about those books, and you are also required to submit two rounds of field notes which support your research paper or presentation you have to submit by the end of the quarter. The final was taken in a blue book and he displayed three questions on the board for you to answer in an essay format. His lectures could be more engaging, clearer, and straight to the point, I attended all of them and I really had to study hard for the final because I didn't catch some of the main points because I would often zone out. However, if you put your full concentration into lecture you should be fine. His lectures are not recorded but he posts sides. You should still attend lecture though because the slides are not helpful on their own. This class seems like a lot of work but it is graded reasonably and I believe it makes you a better sociologist.

Out of the three classes I have taken from Professor Sexton, this one was my favorite. Lectures posited well-supported arguments on the forefront of the field of religion. I believe that these arguments are especially relevant to anyone who practices or is even considering practicing. Even for agnostic people this class offers value via important historical information and the ways in which religion affects the secular world. The core of this course is the research project, this is the closest experience to grad school research in the soc field that I have seen thus far at UCLA. Sourcing data from your own research and exclusively peer-reviewed sources gives the effect of progressing the field of sociology using your own faculties.

This class consisted of a quarter-long ethnographic research project (short 5 page paper OR 8-10 presentation), 3 2-page book reports, and a bluebook final on lecture content. The grading was extremely reasonable and the professor was extremely understanding with extension requests.

Highly recommend to anyone interested!