It's an interesting topic to learn of. It is friendly towards people who are not familiar with Christianity and Judaism. It is a little less friendly for the most of us who are not familiar with the geography in the Middle East. While geography isn't tested on, Smoaks refers to land around Jerusalem during lecture in a way that implies we should know about the geography. His lectures are not boring and it's somewhat important to attend them. Your TA kinda decides if you're going to enjoy this class or not. I had a terrible TA, he graded our papers hard and was condescending in section. I strongly felt that if I had a different TA I would have stressed less about this class. There's 2 papers and weekly reading responses with the second paper about your research on a building in Jerusalem.

PLEASE save yourself and don't take this class. The TAs grade the essays so harshly, and lectures are painfully boring. There are two major essays, a midterm, a final, one/two weekly write-ups that are one/two pages based on the readings/bible verses. I understand writing 2 classes have a heavier course load, but this was just ridiculous. It helps if you are currently religious because half the class is basically Sunday school and you are memorizing bible verses, but if you atheist/agnostic etc. then I wouldn't recommend this course.

I have mixed feelings about this class. For one, I enjoyed the fact that I was able to learn about Jerusalem's history - especially its connection to the Bible and the way it is intertwined with the Christian faith. The class helped me see Jerusalem from the perspective of sacred space, an idea I had not considered before. Yet, this notion of sacred space was somewhat difficult to write about in the essays for this class. As a result, I found myself struggling to write the papers. My TA was good/helpful, but also a pretty challenging grader. Thus, I would only recommend this class if you're interested in learning about Jerusalem from a unique perspective and are willing to put in a lot of time to write the papers.

I took this class as a pre-med physiology major, and loved every bit of it! As far as writing 2 requirements go, this course is the way to do it. You only have to write two papers- one literary analysis, and one research paper. For each paper you do a draft and a revision. There's also an in class midterm and in class final, which are easy! The readings are light (20-30 pages twice a week), but discussion is VERY mandatory. It's an easy A for a writing 2 class if you GO TO LECTURE (he will literally tell you what's on the exams, and sometimes give extra credit for being in lecture), and meet with your TA about the papers. This class is especially easy if you already have a religious background, the people who struggled came into it with no knowledge. There are weekly reading responses which are one page double spaced, and super easy points. Overall, a great class.

I am a life sciences major that took this class expecting it to be pretty hard based on other reviews. The material does not require you to have a religious background, as it is mostly about the history and architecture of Jerusalem. I honestly found it to be an interesting GE/Writing II. Make sure to cater your papers to what your TA wants. In discussion, my TA was very clear in instructing us how to organize our papers. If you struggle with writing, definitely take advantage of their office hours. The papers are not the kind that you can write the night before--be smart about how much time you spend to not only write it but also gather your information. The second paper is LONG--a minimum of 7 pages. This is my fourth class that requires essays, but my first time since high school to make outlines to organize my thoughts. This definitely helped me get A's on the papers.

Discussions are mandatory due to the quizzes. They are based on the readings, so try your best to not fall behind. Lecture attendance is not mandatory, BUT he does not post the slides online, nor is the lecture Bruincasted. I highly recommend that you attend every lecture--you will end up using a lot of Smoak's information to write the papers and answer the short answer questions on the exams.

Since the midterm and final are worth 10% each of your overall grade, it really comes down to your TA and how harshly they grade your papers. I was in the A- to A range for the papers; I got a C on the midterm and an A+ on the take-home final due to the wildfires. I ended up with an A overall.

Take this class with a grain of salt. It's not an easy writing II class by any means, but it wasn't necessarily unfair. It's really up to you how you do in this class. Do not take it if you're not willing to put in a lot of effort into reading, researching, and writing for the papers. The TAs grade fairly, and they will shred poor work and reward hard work. The tests are easy enough if you know his study guides. The information in this class is not difficult to understand, but you do need to put in a lot of work to do well. If you have a decent understanding of the material and put in a lot of effort in the papers (and go to office hours to see what your TA wants with your paper) you will do fine.

This class is extremely difficult, time consuming, and dry. I regret taking this class. The essays are harshly graded, everyone got B-'s and C's on the first paper. In addition to papers, you also have a midterm and final (both of which are in class multiple choice AND free response.) This class is unfairly graded and I would not recommend.

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This class was very interesting and the tests were fairly easy, but the papers (at least for me) were graded very harshly. You need to put in a lot of time and effort in order to get a good grade, so just be prepared for that. Your grade is mainly based on 2 papers. You first submit a draft, which is graded. Then you have a chance to edit and resubmit it, again for a grade. I really liked that aspect of the class, since you got direct and specific feedback! Overall, the class is great, just be prepared to spend a lot of time on the papers!!!

I thought this class was very interesting, but if you think it is an easy A then you will be mistaken like I was! Yes, it is one of the "easier" writing II classes but you are going to have to put in a good amount of effort to do well. We had weekly quizzes based on the readings which weren't too bad and two papers throughout the quarter, in which the draft and final count as a portion of your grade. The TAs grade very tough (no one in my section got an A on the first paper) but by the time the second paper comes around, you will have a good idea of what they expect. The final was also pretty fair, definitely need to put in studying rather than leaving it to the last minute. Overall, I do recommend this class!