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 was quite shocked going into this class after reading the reviews. This is my first sociology class but I am amazed at how biased and opinionated the material is in this class. If you are not a radical liberal, I do not recommend taking this class. As you will constantly hear about how you should feel white guilt, and all of the opinions of someone who is left-wing radical in their views. This class is based on the opinions of the professor, who seems like a very nice guy, but I am not attending UCLA to be persuaded into specific political views. Listening to the very first lecture and hearing the professor say how murderers and rapists should not be referred to as such because it dehumanizes them, I knew I was in for a ride. Writing papers on the assigned books merely consists of catering to radical left-wing viewpoints in order to get an A, in fear of disagreeing with the opinions being presented for the sake of my grade.

>>Skip to end for books list/recs<<

Dr. Sexton is a cool guy who’s approachable and *offered to write letters of rec for students who asked good questions in class*. He dresses like an old-timey professor, complete with bowtie, and brings a sense of humor to some of the lectures. He writes out each of his lectures beforehand, and delivers them like speeches, though allows for questions and discussion. It’s pleasant to hear good oratory. Each lecture was full of content, and it’s important to notice any topics he mentions repeatedly and write down the way he phrases them. The final exam was a timed essay, and the prompts were based directly on some of the topics he doted on in lecture. Being able to follow his train of thought was highly useful.

He responds rapidly over email (if you put the class number in the subject line) and can direct you to further reading about many subjects involving sociology, especially in the context of California and the Indigenous peoples here, and the works of big-time decolonial theorizers. Laudably, Dr. Sexton is unafraid of challenging student assumptions and making cultural and systematic critiques that scholars in the natural and environmental sciences may shy away from. He also got me out and about in the LA environmental scene, via an individual research project on LA’s municipalities and enviro orgs, which was part of the class for everyone. I got to see how nonprofits can factor into enforcement of environmental regulations, via a boat patrol of the Marine Protected Areas off the Palos Verdes Peninsula with LA Waterkeeper, which was super super cool! That project showed me a way to take agency on an issue I care about.

The readings were hefty, though I’m glad I read them all and took my time with them. I’d never taken sociology before, and the readings both introduced me to the field/its theories and expertly applied them to environmental and social justice issues. Here’s the list:

Hartmut Rosa, The Uncontrollability of the World (Polity 2020). ISBN: 9781509543168.
Kenneth A. Gould and Tammy L. Lewis, Twenty Lessons in Environmental Sociology, 3rd Edition (OUP 2020). ISBN: 9780190088514. *e-copy is most affordable.
Kari Marie Norgaard, Salmon and Acorns Feed Our People: Colonialism, Nature, and Social Action (Rutgers 2019). ISBN 13: 9780813584195. *Available free as an e-book through UCLA Library.
Ashley T. Rubin, Rocking Qualitative Social Science: An Irreverent Guide to Rigorous Research
(Stanford 2021). ISBN: 9781503628243. *Available free as an e-book through UCLA Library.

The standout here for me was Rosa’s book on uncontrollability (and how the urge to control every aspect of life is an extension of a capital/colonial mindset). I had a super validating experience with this book: it gave me a probable external reason for my anxiety, going beyond the limited scope of my therapy experience on the self/internal world. Not what I was expecting from this class, but a welcome benefit.

All said, the class was a big time commitment, though a very worthwhile one, and Dr. Sexton led it well.

Professor Sexton is great, and this was one of my favorite classes at UCLA! This class provided opportunities for me to develop and strengthen important critical reading and writing skills, oral communication and listening skills, and research and data collection skills. I believe it has had a significant positive impact on my academic growth. The research project is a large portion of the grade. It was done throughout the course of the quarter, and involved conducting interviews, attending observational visits, collecting field notes, presenting an in-class presentation, and writing a research paper. This class, and especially this project, challenged me to apply my knowledge in a real-world context, to think critically, and it expanded my opportunities to establish connections both inside and outside of UCLA, all due to Professor Sexton. He provides ample guidance and support throughout the research process, and is overall an engaging and inspiring professor. Beyond the classroom, Professor Sexton is continually committed to supporting students in pursuit of their higher education. Definitely take this class if you are looking for ways to increase your academic experiences, and develop valuable skills.

Dr. Sexton is one of the best professors I've ever had. He is very clear and explains materials in a very easy-to-understand manner. He is very kind and is always looking to help, offering office hours beyond his normal scheduled ones. I remember at one point in the quarter I needed some help with my final paper and Dr. Sexton did not hesitate to create a time that worked for both of us to meet. He truly looks for the best in his students and only wants to see them succeed and understand the world we are living in today through the lens of Sociology.
The class is not that rigorous with 3 quizzes and a final ethnographic paper which was fun and a great overall experience. The topics in the course are both interesting and fascinating to contemplate. Overall, the course makes you question why religion exists and what reasons individuals adhere to certain religions and their differing values. The course also covers the history of religions in various parts of the world.
Overall, I highly recommend this course both because it is interesting and more importantly because Dr. Sexton is a great professor and an even greater person to get to know.

I'm devil's advocate here. I did not enjoy Professor Sexton's course as much as others did. The class was structured as follows:

Reading Homework / Discussion Section (30%) where we needed to read our required text and make questions based off the readings and discuss them in section
Research Paper (40%) that's 10-12 pages
Final Exam (30%) that's a in-class essay
1% extra credit for doing the evaluations

Everyone talks about how he is an engaging lecturer and so on, but I always felt that he mumbles a lot or rambled onto other topics many times as he lectures. These tangents don't help with learning the material either. Our homework felt so pointless because we weren't allowed to use any of the required text on the exam, which is total bullshit. The required readings were, for the most part, amazing and helped me truly understand the key concepts Sexton went over in lecture; not being able to use them as evidence for the essay made me felt like that work was for nothing. The worst part is again, his lecturing style wasn't the best and hard to follow imo. The TA strike really fucked things over and many of us felt lost in how to write our research papers and it didn't feel as if the prof was THAT accommodating to us about it. It wasn't until many of us decided to write an email to the prof about our grievances that he gave us an extension for the paper. I loved the subject don't get me wrong, but I wish it wasn't him who was teaching this course. Anyone who tries to talk some shit about how this is an upper div and it's meant to be hard, fuck off. There's a difference between hard and tedious. This class wasn't "hard", it was tedious and annoying.

What can I say about Dr. Sexton... He is amazing! I have taken two of his classes so far--and Spring quarter will be my third--and I can honestly say he's my favorite professor here at UCLA so far. His lectures are engaging and informative. His attitude is positive. He is very approachable both in and outside of class. I really have no complaints for Dr. Sexton. I guess one minor gripe would be that he assigns a lot of reading each week which can be hard to keep up with--it hasn't been for me personally, but I have heard complaints from other students. I HIGHLY recommend any class taught by Dr. Sexton! 10/10