department
sociology

I don't review ever.. but this semester was so hard with virtual learning, and professor Reider was unbelievably understanding. He was super approachable and understanding of exterior circumstances and/orheavy workloads. The class itself, though he may sometimes wander off in his own thoughts, is super interesting. He pushes the norms of what most professors teach at Columbia. He challenges the liberal notions many students and faculty hold, and really push students to take themselves outside their comfort zone and put themselves in other's positions. He was the, by far, best professor I have had at Columbia. The class itself touches on, through his lectures and class discussion, about culture in America, explaining the divisions in the country and the newer dynamics of cultural and poltic identities. I learned a lot about the other 'America,' and the cultural explanations for a lot of the structures of today's current culture. You will have to look at a situation from an entirely different position, but it blurs the lines in culture and generalizations. Take the class, but if you actually put some effort into attending lectures and readings, you will actually see the world and culture through a different light.

I think of all the professors I have had at Columbia Marilyn stands at the top as the most pompous, arrogant, and unforgiving teachers at the school. Not only does she like to show just how little she cares for her students, but she also enjoys rubbing them in the mud when they don't reach her high expectations. Avoid this teacher at all costs.

Amazing and everyone should take this class or at least take a class with Prof Eyal. I only have good things to report about this class. For a lecture on Zoom, Prof Eyal kept us very engaged, pausing his slides for questions and comments and sometimes we found ourselves in very engaging conversations. We also had breakout rooms in lecture and in discussion section and I actually felt like I knew people in the class from familiar faces or frequent breakout room conversations (which is very impressive for Zoom). People always had insightful conversations and everyone genuinely seemed to enjoy the class and topic which made everything so much better. The TAs were also great (big shoutout to Julian and Daria). Readings were insanely interesting and have totally changed how I think about certain things (readings were also manageable and weekly!!). This is the first time this class has been offered and it is so interesting in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines and on a larger scale of climate change, how people view government and where trust comes from on a personal and group level. Prof Eyal is so smart but also wants to hear his students' perspectives and thoughts so I highly recommend participating because it will only enrich your class experience.

Theresa is truly amazing. She knows her stuff and teaches in a very engaging way. Her classes were always full because regardless of doing the readings, she explains everything you need to know in class, but the readings are a great compliment and are very interesting and not hard to read. She has many office hour slots and encourages students to meet with her to get to know each other. HOWEVER, the grade that you get really depends on the TA that you take. In the beginning, they are not very clear about how they grade the essays, and even though I included everything that Theresa wanted in the essay, did get a lower than average grade for an essay because the TA wanted more than the requirements made by Theresa. Final word, definitely recommend the class, but be aware of the TA that you choose.

Stark is the man. He’s one of the most easy-going professors I’ve come across. That doesn’t mean the class is a blow-off, though; I learned a LOT, much of which can be applied to a variety of fields other than sociology. He’s normally a graduate instructor, too, so his grading system is fairly lax. Do the work, demonstrate effort, and you’ll do well. Really nice guy too.