Nothing in this class ever felt clear. Between Brubaker and the TA's everything was presented and graded very arbitrarily and vaguely. Everyone in my discussion section did very poorly on the midterm and when we asked our TA about it, he went into detail about one particular question naming every single thing you would need to get a 10/10 on it. Many of us had all of those things but still ended up with a 6-7.5/10. You are expected to take the question given on the test and synthesis EVERYTHING you have ever learned ever and make it applicable (over exaggerating a bit, but it's how it felt) . Extremely unfair.

Also - clickers. They're meant to be an easy grade boost, but can end up screwing you over. Dense, vague material paired with extremely boring reading. The overall concepts are extremely interesting and made me view the world differently but it was as if it didn't matter because demonstrating it to get a good mark was so difficult. Brubaker isn't very approachable, which makes his lack of transparency and clarity an even bigger barrier. Would not recommend this class.

The concepts are interesting, but lecture can be sometimes boring. Lots of reading is required which is not always that interesting

This has been one of my favorite classes I have taken at UCLA so far. The professor is extremely passionate about the material which keeps the lectures lively and entertaining. The things you learn in this class are very applicable to real life and make you see the world in a different way. I am currently undecided and this class has led me to consider Sociology as my major : )

Ok...So professor Brubaker seems like a nice guy, but this class isn't a shoe in for an A. I went to every lecture, got 100% on the iClicker questions, really understood the material, but got a B+. The tests are long and short answer and THERE IS NO FUCKING RUBRIC! The TAs grade arbitrarily. Like they'll read your answer and decide "this was good, not perfect, 7.5 out of 10." What they don't realize is that by giving out 7.5/10 on basically every question you get a fucking C on the tests. I went in to office hours to figure out how to do better on the test and I didn't really get an answer. Nice guy, boring lectures, mandatory attendance. so.. ya...

Selling Human Societies by Abram De Swaann.
Email me: barbabriana@yahoo.com

Simply dumb class. Participation for both lecture and discussion, random quizzes, frustrating exams and grading.

Selling a clicker!
Reach me at (323) 633-3103

Passionate and eager professor. This is class you think you'll get an A and you get a B. He is so unclear and confusing when it comes to midterm and exams. He is unwilling to help you improve which is frustrating.

Brubaker is so passionate about his field and so listening to him is fun. He's always excited to share his knowledge. The class was interesting and the tests are short answer but were pretty easy because he gives a list of study guide questions and picks them all straight off of there. So as long as you know the answers to the study guide questions going into the test, you're all set!

Brubaker is a great lecturer. He ties everything together very well. I paid almost no attention in class but watching his bruincast (yes the class is podcasted but you still have a clicker so you have to show up), it was easy to study for tests because of how well he designs his lectures and coordinates them with the slides he posts. That being said, DO NOT take this class as a GE. Depending on your TA, it can be a very demanding course and the exams aren't too easy. He's a great prof and you can learn a lot but it's no breeze.