AMST 2660

I LOVED this class. I took it because I heard it was easy (it lowkey wasn't even that easy) and then honestly enjoyed the content and lectures. Hedstrom is really funny and teaches in a very engaging way so it's easy to follow and just soak up all the information. My TA Ame Wren was outstanding and she had a strict no electronics rule which made me be attentive and active in discussion. We had to do a weekly journal entry on the readings which forced me to do them, and they turned out to be interesting every time. Overall, really enjoyable class and can definitely get an A but you'll have to put the work in to study the exam content because the exams are hefty with vocab.

This class is soooo interesting. Hedstrom is super passionate about the subjects, and he is also quite funny. The class overall is pretty easy, and discussion sections help A LOT. I had Amy Wren as my TA and she was amazing. Her discussions were so productive, and she was super approachable. Overall, I would 100% recommend this class!

Loved this class, highly recommend. I took this on zoom and it was still such a great experience. I really enjoyed the readings and topics we covered in this class and thought they were genuinely interesting. This was one of the most influential classes that I took at UVA as I still think about some of the topics we discussed in my daily life. The course was not too difficult. It does have weekly discussions and both exams and essays but I thought they were fairly open-ended and allowed me to explore things I found interesting #tCFF23

Prof. Hedstrom is the best professor I have ever had. He is incredibly engaging and entertaining. As someone who comes from no religious background or knowledge, I didn't think I would enjoy this class as much as I did. The beginning of the class is a lot of history and pretty boring but that quickly opens up into some very fascinating topics. I absolutely recommend this course to anyone.

If you have any interest in learning about spirituality and religion I highly recommend taking this class. The professor is clearly passionate about the class and it shows through his deep knowledge of the content. This class is neither just a religion class or just an American Studies class, I would say it's a very solid mix of the both. In terms of midterms and finals, be prepared to do a lot of writing. The midterm was an in class blue book exam of short essays and long essays - I consider myself to be a good writer but I found it hard to cover so much content in so little time. The final exam was take home and open note (still had the 3 hour time limit) which was better than the midterm, but it was still a lottta writing. If you feel confident in your ability to write strong analytical essays in a short period of time you'll be good. Once a week we submit a half a page journal discussing the weekly readings - there's a decent amount of reading but you can def get away without reading it all.

I took this class because I needed a class on Mondays and Wednesdays and ended up really liking it! Professor Hedstrom is such a kind, funny, and understanding man and professor. He included his own personal experiences and anecdotes to lectures which helped me stay engaged. I also had another exam on the same day as our final exam and because of my extremely cramped finals schedule, he let me move it to the day before, which was much appreciated. Your grade consists of 2 papers, with the first one only being worth 5% and the 2nd being worth 20%, a discussion engagement grade worth 25%, a midterm worth 20% and a final worth 30%. I was nervous about both the midterm and final, but they are graded very fairly, even though they seem very daunting. There's a lot of information covered and a ton of reading, but you can really get by with just skimming. Would definitely recommend this class!

Love this class! The material makes you think, and even if history isn't your favorite subject (as was the case for me), Professor Hedstrom's excitement about the material makes you excited as well! If you aren't as experienced in humanities classes (engineering major here), the writing assignments may take a bit, but they are manageable. You can get away with skimming the reading material with discussions. Loved my TA (Ame Wren), she was super sweet! Would overall recommend this class to anyone!

Coming into this course, I was extremely excited to learn about a phrase that I use to describe my personal religious affiliations. Matthew Hedstrom was such an enjoyable professor, as he would even include pictures of himself at certain sacred landscapes we would learn about in class! His enthusiasm and love for the subject made class fun to attend, even though attendance was not mandatory. The grade was made up of weekly reading response, discussion attendance, 2 papers, a midterm, and a final! Although it sounds like a bit, it was extremely manageable and not overwhelming whatsoever. His TA's were not the greatest, but as long as you show up, you'll be fine. There's assigned readings each week, but I completed about 40% of them and still succeeded. SBNR allows you to explore your own definitions of religion, spirituality, and more! Highly recommend. ##tCFspring2022

I found the material to be very interesting, and the lectures were enjoyable. This class is very heavy on the readings (usually around 70-100+ pages a week), but you can easily skim them and figure out what is actually important and applicable to exams/papers/discussions. The essays were easy and interesting to write about as well - I could usually knock them out in a couple hours. Since I took this course online, our exams were take home. I'm not sure if it is always like this, however. With this take home format, it was definitely easier to take the exams and find quotes from the readings to integrate into it. He also gives a study guide with a bunch of possible ID terms. Overall, I highly recommend this course! It's my favorite class I've taken at UVA so far and it isn't too hard. Anderson was also a great TA - take with him if possible!

Very interesting worthwhile class! Hedsteom is such a nerd, it was entertaining to see him geek out. He definitely eats this stuff up, but my TA pushes back on a lot which made the class more interesting and engaging. Two exams with study guides not very hard. One page paper, 3 page paper, and 5 page paper

I took this class because I love the AMST department and also was intrigued by the name: Spiritual but not religious. Hedstrom does a great job of keeping the lectures interesting with relevant historical examples. The reading is pretty heavy; at the end of the course you will end up reading around 5 books and a TON of shorter essays by various authors. However, I skimmed the readings for discussion, which you have an attendance/reading quiz each time, and was able to pull off an A-. There is a midterm and a final, both having term identification and shorter and longer essays that allow you to use what you read from the books and also examples you talk about in class. There are also 3 shorter papers, 1 is 2 pages, the other 2 are 4-5 pages, that allow you to use the books and expand on the ideas and relate them to class lectures. Overall, this was a worthwhile course! I learned a lot about spiritualism in the U.S. as well as the intermingling of Eastern and Western religions which you focus in on during the second half of the semester.

I love Professor Hedstrom, and really enjoyed this class. The material is very interesting, and Hedstrom does a good job of incorporating music/pop culture/personal vacation photos to keep it interesting. The grade comes from a few papers (one short, a couple longer ones), participation in discussion, a midterm and final, none of which were particularly hard. Isaac May was my TA, I'd definitely recommend him for any class. Overall, if you have any interest in religious studies, definitely take this class (or any class with Hedstrom).