MDST 2000

I enjoyed MDST 2000 a lot, but not much of that was because of Professor Williams. His first few lectures were interesting, but as the course went on, they became less focused and near-irrelevant to the reading and quizzes--he often went on tangents, and his sparse lecture slides made it hard to figure out what we needed to take notes on. The class had online quizzes every couple of weeks, and due dates and listings were extremely inconsistent, though Professor Williams recognized this and offered retakes if you ended up missing quizzes. Professor Williams also repeatedly cancelled lectures with no communication to anyone, not even TAs.

However, MDST 2000 itself is very interesting. The textbook, while long (and required reading for the quizzes), was quite fascinating, and the papers--one on "A Day Without Unnecessary Screens" and the other a textual analysis of any piece of media you wanted--were really fun to write. TAs are the ones grading both these papers as well as the short essay portions of the midterm and final, so take the time to look for a good one. #tCFF23

Dr. Williams is such an engaging lecturer! He brings up really interesting examples and makes profound connections. Media studies is an interesting area of study because it encompasses many different fields. Dr. Williams has his PhD in political science, so many of the examples he provides political, but he also talks a lot about economics and social justice. There are readings for each unit that are important to do because you will have a quiz on them. If you do the readings and take notes you should get at least an 80 on them. The lowest quiz grade will be dropped too. There are two papers that are actually kind of fun to write and are very relevant to the course. The midterm was fairly easy and did not require too much studying. I found the final to be much more difficult, but still a pretty fair assessment. The TA's for the course are amazing! Go to their office hours, there are so helpful. I went to office hours for both of the paper's and was very pleased with my grade both times. Do not be intimidated by this being a 4 credit class, it really is not any more work than a 3 credit class.

Professor Williams has been my favorite professor at UVA! His dry sense of humor isn't for everyone, but if you click, you really click. He knows what he's talking about, and has passion for the material. As long as you do the reading and quizzes, and come to class prepared, you'll be fine for the course. Two papers of about 7 pages are required. The midterm and final are easy to pass if you actually study.

Professor Bruce Williams is great! He is very blunt and is unapologetic about being very liberal which I loved! The set up of the course was pretty standard. We had a midterm, final 2 papers (5-7pages), and about 6-8 Collab reading quizzes. The material was interesting and useful to me. The only downside to this course is that sometimes the professor goes on tangents. Sometimes the tangents are very amusing and relatable to the lecture but you also can get lost taking notes on things that are just stories. Overall, I learned a lot from this course and I think everyone should take it no matter what their major is.

This is my favorite class of the semester. Professor William's lectures were interesting between the content and his animated lecture style. There is a lot of reading per week with nit-picky reading quizzes (lowest dropped), but they only average for 10% of your grade. If you have time, visit him during office hours. In the entire 250 person lecture hall, he takes pride in knowing his students personally. Even if you aren't considering a Media Studies major, this class is a winner.

This class was pretty good for an intro course, especially since Media Studies is such an interesting topic. Professor Williams' lectures were a hit or miss - sometimes they were interesting, other times he would go off on a tangent and everyone would be wondering "what does this have to do with the course material?" The readings were also a hit or miss, some were unnecessarily long and boring but others were short and simple. All the chapters from Media/Society were pretty good - be aware that there are weekly reading quizzes (super easy)! The two papers are also pretty easy, as long as you understand the material and you aren't writing it the night before. The first test was really easy, the final was pretty good if you prepared - just a lot of writing. Would highly recommend taking this course, especially with Leigh Miller as TA!

This class is easy, but be aware that Prof. Williams tends to go on tangents (and sometimes repeats previous tangents) during lecture. The course material is mostly common sense with some interesting topics thrown in. The two papers are pretty easy to write as long as you don't write them the night before. There are some weekly quizzes, but you should be fine if you just read the textbook. Overall, the class could have had the potential to be much more interesting and engaging, but Prof. Williams's teaching style simply didn't allow for that. If you want a simple, fairly interesting class, take this one.

Professor Williams is a great lecturer and the material blew me away at times. One thing I would warn people about is the amount of reading. Some are super lengthy and the weekly reading quizzes are pretty specific. That said, if you go to lecture, take good notes, and read the assigned articles/chapters in the textbook, you'll be alright. There were 2 5-7 page papers with prompts that were confusing. Your TA can really make or break your overall grade so be careful and meet with them to discuss your essay topics.

I love this class! Bruce is an amazing professor and really cares about his students. He is also a good advisor. If you have questions about the major or classes in general, he is definitely a good person to talk to. Overall, I have really enjoyed taking this course. Although the reading is a bit much, it is interesting enough.

A bit boring and dry. Kind of common sense information. The professor is a good lecturer. If you read from the book, you'll be fine. Weekly quizzes on each chapter. Two papers 5-7 pages which are pretty easy. Midterm wasn't too bad either; easy to get a B.

Do not under any circumstance take this class with Williams. He will not teach anything about media studies during the lectures and will only try to instill his political views on his students. It takes him about four lectures to get through one set of slides and he typically just complains about politics and is very okay with creating a political divide in his classroom. If you're looking for class that will be informative and interesting, look elsewhere. If you must take this class (Godspeed to you) then please take it with another professor. You will not learn anything in Williams's class.

Obviously you have to take this class to get into the major, but don't make your decision off of this class- because its topic matter isn't the best. Its kinda boring/dry compared to the other media studies classes you could be taking- just power through it and know that this class is only a basis (and a boring one at that). It gets better!! #tcf2016

Williams is very passionate about the class, although he often tries to instill his own beliefs and political views into his students' minds. He additionally is not afraid to share his opinions or call out people in the classroom. Participation during lecture is not mandatory but it is during discussion. There are weekly homework quizzes online, two papers, a midterm, and a final. The tests are pretty heavily lecture-based, so if you attend class and listen you should be fine. It's also helpful that he posts the PowerPoints on Collab before the exams. Overall, it wasn't my favorite class, but Williams is pretty fair and it is a pre requisite for the Media Studies major.

I personally thought he was interesting and funny, but some people were definitely turned off by his dry sense of humor. This is one of the most interesting and fulfilling classes I have taken at UVA, so far as the subject matter. I have recommended it to many people already!

The fall 2014 semester was taught by both Bruce Williams and Andre Cavalcante, and they were both great. Both of them brought totally different perspectives on the media world, and both opinions provided to be very informative. This class and this subject as a whole is very relatable to the evolving world around us, and this course was filled with information that I found to be useful in the real world. There are two papers, both interesting to write, a midterm, and a final. The midterm and the final are very straightforward as well, although you must read the textbook very carefully, as some of the questions can be very specific. Also, if you can get Stephanie Doktor as a TA, sign up for her section. She's amazing and really cares about her students.

This course wasn't too difficult-- I recommend staying on top of the readings and attending lecture (there are opinion-based iClicker questions in class and you get points for being there to answer them). There are two essays, which are both pretty easy and interesting to write (I got a B and an A). The tests aren't too difficult, either. Just make sure to read the textbook and the articles. Ahrum was my TA and he was AWESOME. Just a really, really cool guy. I took this class as a first year and I would recommend it to anyone.

This lecture was SO boring, his lectures are way behind where you are in the readings. My TA was good (Francesca Tripodi) but she was a hard grader. The mid term is multiple choice and essay…grading depends on your TA. Make sure you do the collar readings. Class isn't that hard but it also isn't very interesting….I took digital media which was way better with Siva and this class deterred me from media studies. Pretty easy for 4 credit class but wouldn't recommend.

Professor Williams is kind of funny/entertaining, so props for that. However, Media Studies is really boring and lectures involve a lot of statistics. It's hard to stay awake in class, and if he catches you sleeping, it makes him pretty mad. It's a good way to fulfill Humanities area requirements with a 4 credit class though. The midterm was hard.

Class isn't too hard, Williams gives extra credit, so go to class for that. Content is interesting for someone interested in Media Studies, but I can see how others can get bored. He gives a bit of reading, and expects you to absorb all of it without giving it much attention. He tries to be funny and he has a lot of real-life examples to make the content more interesting.