Loved Skubby and found the course material to be pretty interesting. The majority of the work assigned for this course is writing papers. We also read 5 book throughout the semester. There is a lot of writing like I said but it seems to be manageable. Majority of the classes (on Tuesday and thursday) are just lecture days so you pretty much just need to show up and take notes. When no papers are assigned for the week, it goes by pretty easily. Recommend this course!

Lots of work but definitely a rewarding and engaging class.

I'm a sociology major, and in my opinion, this is one of the best classes that you can take within the sociology department (regardless of your major). Professor Skubby is a fairly engaging lecturer and I never found lectures to be too boring that I fell asleep. At first you may find much of the material repetitive/review (especially if you have a background in sociology), but as the course goes on it gets progressively more interesting. There is also a high amount of writing as others have mentioned, but I found the writing to be fairly engaging as well. Some of the readings can be dry/long, but discussion definitely helped make the material more accessible. My TA Heidi was amazing and a very fair grader. I also recommend you go to Skubby's office hours at least once if you take this course, even if just to chat with him. Overall, I think a good grade is very accessible in this course if you put in the work.

Skubby is a very kind person; the polar opposite of a pompous professor. This class was interesting, however the amount of writing required has far surpassed the level of any other course I have taken at UVA. (I'm a science major, but I have taken a philosophy and a history thesis course). There are memos due once every few weeks, weekly prep sheets on half of a book for the discussion, at least one reflection paper, a white paper, and essay exams. Also, this class is very critical of the medical system, so if you are premed be prepared to face some opposition to the profession! Overall, the content made this class worthwhile. I've never been exposed to any of this material before.

Skubby is the best! I took this class in his first semester at UVA and I loved this course. He frames the class in a way to encourage participation and discussion, which I found very helpful in learning the material. He can be strict on papers and exams, but if you've done the reading, which isn't a lot, you will be fine. He can tell who has been putting in the time and you get paid off if you do. I highly recommend this class, but do not expect to do nothing and get an A!