I thought this class was very interesting!! Professor Clayman was such a sweet professor. He cared for his students and communicated clearly. The material itself was a bit confusing at first, but going to lecture and discussion really helped. Also, attending discussion was not mandatory, but encouraged. I always went to the discussion because the TA would help with the assignments and clarify any confusing topics during lecture. The book also helped with the assignments we had to do as well. There was no midterm or final!! Your grades depended on 4 individual assignments. Each assignment was pretty time-consuming but very doable.

I absolutely loved this course. Professor Clayman is probably the best professor I've had within my upperdiv courses in Sociology. He is extremely clear and straightforward, and he had 2 guest lecturers! This class is very doable with minimal asking of students. We had four projects that determined our grade (increasing percentages) and the TAs were so helpful to answer any direct questions you had. Lectures were very organized, as there were 2-3 lectures prior to the assignment and the book gave you the answers (it's free). I would love to have Clayman teach all my classes.

This is a fascinating class. You learn how to analyze interactions, particularly converations between people. Although conversations are an utterly ordinary aspect of our everyday life, there are "rules" that we subconsciously follow to carry out our interactions with other individuals. And such interactions are integral to how most large-scale organizations in society (e.g., medicine, law, commerce, media) operate. By learning how we DO everyday interactions, we apply that knowledge to learning about how major social structures, such as police work, doctor-patient interactions, courtroom interactions, and news interviews, achieve their goals through interactions. Very practical class whose knowledge you can apply in your everyday life.

+ Professor Clayman is great! While it is not easy to extract and articulate concepts that are so ingrained in our life, he is an expert at what he does. He is very clear in communicating the materials during lectures, and he is a kind, pleasant, and understanding person. His lectures are informative and full of meaningful content. I have taken three classes - all conversation analysis - with him so far, and I strongly recommend this class. (In fact, you should take CM125 before you take 124A/B because this class will kindle your interest in CA by showing you its practical application in society before you decide whether you want to really delve into the logistics of conversations, which is what you do in the 124-series.) The first few lectures may seem dull because they lay the conceptual foundation for Conversation Analysis (CA), but after that each lecture is fascinating! So just bear with the first few in order to get a real taste of what this class is about! :)

There are no midterms/finals (at least when I took the course); just 5 written assignments in which you practice and apply what you learned for each major unit covered in class.