Professor
Simon Joseph
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2018 - Easy class. Professor is really nice. There was a 10 page final report but he shortened it to 8 pages in the end. I'm not too religious but some parts of the class were interesting. Readings were okay too. Despite the final report being quite exhausting, I found it was a really nice experience. Basically, you can visit two different religious places, you don't have to but it is better if you do because it gives you more things to write about on your report. He lists down multiple locations and you have to compare and contrast the two religions. You can also write down your experience when you visited the locations. For the midterm and the final he gives you a study guide powerpoint which is quite a lot. All you have to do though is memorize the whole powerpoint because the exams are exactly the same as the powerpoint he provides. Technically you don't have to pay attention in lecture because you can just memorize the study guide, but paying attention in lecture and doing the readings will be better if you don't want to cram the whole material in a couple nights.
Fall 2018 - Easy class. Professor is really nice. There was a 10 page final report but he shortened it to 8 pages in the end. I'm not too religious but some parts of the class were interesting. Readings were okay too. Despite the final report being quite exhausting, I found it was a really nice experience. Basically, you can visit two different religious places, you don't have to but it is better if you do because it gives you more things to write about on your report. He lists down multiple locations and you have to compare and contrast the two religions. You can also write down your experience when you visited the locations. For the midterm and the final he gives you a study guide powerpoint which is quite a lot. All you have to do though is memorize the whole powerpoint because the exams are exactly the same as the powerpoint he provides. Technically you don't have to pay attention in lecture because you can just memorize the study guide, but paying attention in lecture and doing the readings will be better if you don't want to cram the whole material in a couple nights.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2022 - Religion 110 was an excellent class. Some really engaging conversations lead to camaraderie with classmates. As other reviews say, pay attention to the lecture slides. In exchange for the slides being pretty guarded (though he will show you at office hours if you missed something), the slides actually contain all the info you need to know for the midterm and final. He gives a very comprehensive study guide for each. Prof. Joseph actually wants his students to learn, and he cares about them as people. Take this class if you’re willing to do a little work for a great reward—the grading is really generous if you show up and pay attention (not a ton of outside work besides some interesting readings). And the conversations are always thought-provoking. It’s refreshing to have a class where grading is uncomplicated enough to actually enjoy participating. This is one of those classes.
Fall 2022 - Religion 110 was an excellent class. Some really engaging conversations lead to camaraderie with classmates. As other reviews say, pay attention to the lecture slides. In exchange for the slides being pretty guarded (though he will show you at office hours if you missed something), the slides actually contain all the info you need to know for the midterm and final. He gives a very comprehensive study guide for each. Prof. Joseph actually wants his students to learn, and he cares about them as people. Take this class if you’re willing to do a little work for a great reward—the grading is really generous if you show up and pay attention (not a ton of outside work besides some interesting readings). And the conversations are always thought-provoking. It’s refreshing to have a class where grading is uncomplicated enough to actually enjoy participating. This is one of those classes.
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2022 - In response to the last two reviews on here, I have to agree with the one made on June 21. The person who has said they have earned straight As for the past 3 years clearly has not gained any study skills whatsoever because this class is pretty straightforward in what it requires you to study and know for exams. Professor Joseph uses lecture slides and they are not too dense because that is how powerpoints are. Do not just write the lecture slides and ignore what he is going to say. Instead, I suggest addressing each bullet point as he does and incorporating his commentary into your notes as well so that it makes sense when you go back and read those notes. He elaborates and gives more context. I did not find it too difficult to keep up with. If you still find it difficult, on the first day or two he allows some time to exchange numbers with classmates so that students can ask each other for help in case they miss class. He provides the study guide approximately a week before the exam with a list of topics. Unlike what the other review says, they really are not that broad. There is often a lecture slide with the same title that pertains to what you are required to know. If you feel unclear about a topic, you can simply email him, go to office hours, or look at other similar slides from your notes and deduce what might be related. I found in office hours, he gave me the full answer of what I was required to know. Sometimes dates and names are important but it depends on the topic. Many are straightforward. There are 30-35 free response questions that require 1-3 complete sentences. The final essay is 10 pages, but do not wait until the last minute to do it. It is straightforward and I actually enjoyed the essay topic that I got to choose. Grading was done by a TA but he goes over it and adjusts the grading. The majority of the class got a B or higher, and many complained about getting a B. It is UCLA, classes are not easy here in general and will require you to put in the effort, but that's how everyone got in in the first place. As a transfer student myself, I found this class great and I wish I could take another class with Professor Joseph. During our midterm, the fire alarm went off for approximately a minute and did not require us to evacuate because it was caused by the construction in the building. It went off again for like 10 seconds right after the first one had finished, but honestly, that was not much of a disturbance during the exam. On the day of the final, our exam began at 8 am and yeah the fire alarm was going off constantly between 7-7:50, but not throughout the exam. People used the fire alarms for the midterm to complain that it had completely thrown them off and many people jumped on that to state that the professor should give us extra credit. The professor stated that this would be unfair to others who did work for their grade, and even later when he did offer extra credit for being able to answer a question from the reading, only 1 student in the whole class could do it (also reading isn't required but it is interesting). He is very generous with answering questions.
Spring 2022 - In response to the last two reviews on here, I have to agree with the one made on June 21. The person who has said they have earned straight As for the past 3 years clearly has not gained any study skills whatsoever because this class is pretty straightforward in what it requires you to study and know for exams. Professor Joseph uses lecture slides and they are not too dense because that is how powerpoints are. Do not just write the lecture slides and ignore what he is going to say. Instead, I suggest addressing each bullet point as he does and incorporating his commentary into your notes as well so that it makes sense when you go back and read those notes. He elaborates and gives more context. I did not find it too difficult to keep up with. If you still find it difficult, on the first day or two he allows some time to exchange numbers with classmates so that students can ask each other for help in case they miss class. He provides the study guide approximately a week before the exam with a list of topics. Unlike what the other review says, they really are not that broad. There is often a lecture slide with the same title that pertains to what you are required to know. If you feel unclear about a topic, you can simply email him, go to office hours, or look at other similar slides from your notes and deduce what might be related. I found in office hours, he gave me the full answer of what I was required to know. Sometimes dates and names are important but it depends on the topic. Many are straightforward. There are 30-35 free response questions that require 1-3 complete sentences. The final essay is 10 pages, but do not wait until the last minute to do it. It is straightforward and I actually enjoyed the essay topic that I got to choose. Grading was done by a TA but he goes over it and adjusts the grading. The majority of the class got a B or higher, and many complained about getting a B. It is UCLA, classes are not easy here in general and will require you to put in the effort, but that's how everyone got in in the first place. As a transfer student myself, I found this class great and I wish I could take another class with Professor Joseph. During our midterm, the fire alarm went off for approximately a minute and did not require us to evacuate because it was caused by the construction in the building. It went off again for like 10 seconds right after the first one had finished, but honestly, that was not much of a disturbance during the exam. On the day of the final, our exam began at 8 am and yeah the fire alarm was going off constantly between 7-7:50, but not throughout the exam. People used the fire alarms for the midterm to complain that it had completely thrown them off and many people jumped on that to state that the professor should give us extra credit. The professor stated that this would be unfair to others who did work for their grade, and even later when he did offer extra credit for being able to answer a question from the reading, only 1 student in the whole class could do it (also reading isn't required but it is interesting). He is very generous with answering questions.
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2022 - This is the 2nd course I have taken with professor Joseph, and he is an absolute gem. He is for sure an old-school professor who values attendance and respect in the classroom. He has a dry and witty sense of humor and he is so knowledgeable and passionate about the subject he teaches. Even if religious studies aren't your thing personally, I guarantee you that his class will be thought-provoking. The class breakdown is as follows--one midterm which is short terms/concepts based on class lectures, a 10-page research paper, and a final exam. I'm not going to downplay the exams, they're not difficult they're just dense concepts to memorize. The 10 page paper was a drag for sure, but I suggest just to start early (he does not grade these harshly just put in effort, offer a meaningful analysis and you're fine). The final exam tested students on about 40 concepts, again not hard just dense information and memorization overload. Be sure to write class notes thoroughly, he does not post class lectures to canvas, and he is super against phone usage in class (he perceives it as a sign of disrespect and I've seen him snap at students for it). He is such a cool professor and I've taken 3 classes with him and have gotten an A in each one. Put the work in, don't crame for the tests, and you'll be golden,
Winter 2022 - This is the 2nd course I have taken with professor Joseph, and he is an absolute gem. He is for sure an old-school professor who values attendance and respect in the classroom. He has a dry and witty sense of humor and he is so knowledgeable and passionate about the subject he teaches. Even if religious studies aren't your thing personally, I guarantee you that his class will be thought-provoking. The class breakdown is as follows--one midterm which is short terms/concepts based on class lectures, a 10-page research paper, and a final exam. I'm not going to downplay the exams, they're not difficult they're just dense concepts to memorize. The 10 page paper was a drag for sure, but I suggest just to start early (he does not grade these harshly just put in effort, offer a meaningful analysis and you're fine). The final exam tested students on about 40 concepts, again not hard just dense information and memorization overload. Be sure to write class notes thoroughly, he does not post class lectures to canvas, and he is super against phone usage in class (he perceives it as a sign of disrespect and I've seen him snap at students for it). He is such a cool professor and I've taken 3 classes with him and have gotten an A in each one. Put the work in, don't crame for the tests, and you'll be golden,
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