There is a lot of reading but honestly you can skim the books he assigns and as long as you can correlate the readings to what he discusses in lecture you will be fine. The slides are dense and there is a lot of material but he keeps it interesting and if you show up to class and take notes it's relatively easy. The sections really help to clear up anything confusing or the more dense topics. Midterm and final could both be done open note (2 pages back and front). Very low maintenance class overall, just take notes on the slides during lecture and you'll be fine. also timmerman's is a very interesting and engaging prof and makes class really fun and the material itself is super interesting to learn about.

What an interesting class this was. The content, while heavy at times, was super interesting. You get to learn about suicide, grief, funeral rites, etc. Some of the readings are really interesting, especially the book written by Timmermans himself talking about unclaimed bodies in the LA area.
However, this class was still a bit difficult. This class had an INSANE amount of reading. Sometimes, the professor would post around 200 pages of reading a week, and you would have to know them for the midterm and final. On top of that, you had to read about 4 books and write a 1 page reaction paper on them, which was 20% of your grade (they were graded on completion). While the midterm was open note and online (still in class), the professor for some reason decided that the final would only allow for 2 double sided pages of notes, which made it more difficult, and the exam was on paper this time. If you missed either the midterm or final, you had to write a 20 page paper on any topic of the class (which I heard was difficult since you had to meet with the professor, show him your sources, etc). The average of the midterm was about a C and a C+ for the final.
Overall, even though this class was somewhat difficult, it wasn't impossible, Plus, the content was super interesting, which made the class a bit better. If you don't mind the difficulty and want to learn about cool things like zombies and social movements around death, then go for it.

If you are looking for an engaging, easy class take this one. Timmermans is super nice and really cares about the topics and the success of his students. Lectures are optional but if you want to succeed in the course you should attend them. Around half of the questions from the exam/midterm come from the lecture. You should also at least skim all of the reading. I found this class to be super manageable especially because the topics were so interesting. He gives the option of doing a 20 page paper in place of the final. DO NOT DO IT (I don't know why anyone would). The final was relatively easy if you paid attention in lecture and I heard from those who did the paper that he graded extremely hard because many did not use it as a last-resort option. That being said, I would highly recommend this class.

I really enjoyed this class, it was incredibly fascinating. The midterm and final consisted of short answer questions (we had multiple choice and short answer for the midterm but for the final we only had short answer). There is a ton of readings, upwards of 100 pages per class (not week, class). You really need to know and understand the readings for the exams. You have to read 4 books and write 4 reaction papers, which are only completion based. Section participation is pretty important. Overall the class wasn't too bad, however the professor seemed to change things kinda last minute, like the final was originally open note and about 2 weeks before, he made it to be a 2 page cheat sheet which was a bit stressful. But for the most part he was cool, I enjoyed his lectures.

I found this class interesting and worthwhile. You can tell Timmermans is enthusiastic and very knowledgeable about the class content. I found the first half of the quarter where we learned about things like what it means to die a good death and the politics behind hospice care the most interesting. If you put some effort in to take thorough notes in lecture and understand the main ideas of the readings (which some might say are a lot, but this is college after all) this class is totally do-able. Reaction papers were a breeze and we could use some notes for the midterm and final.

This class is honestly interesting, I really enjoyed every single lecture because I did not know there were so may types of suicide. I am not a sociology major but I took this class for upper division credits. There is a good amount of reading in this class but nothing is impossible. One thing about him and that he does not accept late work at all, unless you are an athlete or have special accommodation. Late work is not accepted for no reason, I personally did not have a problem with this but if you tend to turn in late work often then do not procrastinate. He does not give a lot of homework anyways. Would definitely recommend this professor to anyone who is looking for upper division credits.

The professor is fantastic, and the class is exciting, especially for pre-med students. The grading system is based on 40% Midterm, 40% Final, 10% Book Reviews, and 10% Discussion Attendance.

The TAs are friendly and relaxed, and active participation in discussions should suffice. The Midterm and Final exams were ten pages each, which felt daunting, but considering the number of readings, it was not a significant problem, just a bit tedious.

WOULD RECOMMEND!

Great professor, interesting class (esp for premeds!). Grade is 40% Midterm, 40% Final, 10% Book Reviews, 10% Disc. attendance. TAs were pretty chill and if you participate in discussions you should be set! The MT/Final were 10 pages each which felt longer than necessary but there were plenty of readings to cover so it wasn't really an issue, just tedious.

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One of the best profs at UCLA! Prof Timmermans is very knowledgable and if you are willing to learn and actually study to gain knowledge, take his class! It's truly informative and covers lots of subjects
and not only death. His unique approach to the exams makes you think and analyze as well as connect social facts to certain events. It's really surprising that people find his class 'unclear" since Timmermans always dedicated the beginning of the lecture to discussing how he wants us to write the midterm and the final(which are 10-page max essays)...Take him if you're willing to acquire new skills in a sociology major and develop new perspectives.