MDST 2000

I absolutely loved taking this class. Professor Rubin is really funny and makes the already interesting subject matter even more interesting. Definitely recommend.

I did not enjoy this class. The lectures were very dry and barely covered the extensive texts he had us read. The weekly quizzes were extremely specific and take awhile to get a handle on how difficult they are. The discussion was the only reason I actually understood what was going on-- Rubin didn't even create a PowerPoint for his lectures (He would read off of a piece of paper)

This is honestly one of the worst classes I've ever taken. Rubin is awful. He is boring and basically just reads from the textbook. I'm pretty sure he doesn't even know what he's saying half the time and he's an insanely frustrating professor because the lectures are long and pointless. He just reads off a piece of paper and throws out random terms once and never talks about them again. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS WITH RUBIN. Take it with any other professor and I'm sure you'll be fine.

DONE TAKE THIS CLASS WITH RUBIN! He's so boring!! He speaks in monotone and just reads off of a sheet of paper, and I literally count the minutes until I can leave each lecture. The readings are really long and dense, and the reading quizzes are unnecessarily difficult: you have to actively study for them, they're not just basic comprehension. Also, for a class about media, you're not allowed to use laptops to take notes? So you have to write really fast whenever he says something useful, which is annoying. I should have dropped this class and I'm sad that I didn't. If you have to take this class, wait until it's a different professor. He means well, and I feel bad when people don't show up to class (especially when he calls on random people from the class list who aren't there), but also he sucks the life out of what could be an awesome class.

He is so nice and wants you to do well! Great!

Okay, I had HIGH hopes for this class, but sadly intro media studies is a class I can't recommend to anyone. Professor Rubin is a great guy, but he is seriously sooooo boring. He reads off a sheet of paper that he holds every lecture. If your own professor doesn't come to class prepared, why should you? That was another problem, our class filled up chem 402 (the big lecture room), but after the first class only ~30% of the class would show up. TONS of people skipped class, and as the semester began to wind down I did too. Class was almost useless as he just regurgitates the readings. Essays aren't bad depending on how harsh your TA is, I had Sherif and he was kinda wacky but a fair grader. I averaged a low A / high A- on the 3 essays. The weekly online quizzes that "test" your knowledge on the readings are pretty difficult as they are REALLY specific, and the readings are dry, dense, and boring. Don't take this class unless you're 100% set on majoring in Media Studies. It's sad how an intro class turns away so many people...

Honesty one of the worst classes that I have ever taken. I took this class assuming that it would be interesting and an easy A. boy was I wrong. This class easily ended up being on of my most challenging classes this semester. Rubin means well but his lectures are the most painstaking thing that I have ever experienced. I would either stare at the clock or play games on my phone. By the end of the semester I stopped going to lecture because it was so pointless. He would literally read off a sheet of paper or pull up random PDF picture. (as a media studies professor he really needs to learn the value of a power point). As for the readings they were incredibly dense and the quizzes that we took on them (before lecture...also very annoying) were actually very challenging. I found myself taking very tedious notes and reviewing for hours before each of the quizzes just so I could get a passing grade. This class has the potential to be very interesting, but Rubin sucks the life out of the class. If you want to take the class, save yourself and take it with a different professor.

IT WASN'T THAT BAD.

Rubin is a super nice guy who is clearly passionate about media studies, but the actual class isn't great. His lectures are dry because he solely reads off of his notes and uses barely any visuals, only a picture or two here and there. The weekly reading quizzes are not easy whatsoever and require an extremely thorough read through of each chapter before we even go over the material in class, as the quizzes are due before we talk about the material. Your grade consists of 30% reading quizzes, two 10% papers, a 20% midterm and a 30% final. The paper prompts, however, were pretty interesting. Overall, not an awesome class but not terrible. The ta's were fair graders. The hardest part was definitely the quizzes, especially since they are worth so much of your grade. Since I am majoring in MDST it wasn't bad for me to take it this semester and I sucked it up...but if you have time to wait to take intro I would take with a better professor.

These other reviews have taken the words straight out of my mouth. The only reason I even feel the need to write this is to further prove to Rubin and the department that this class was a disaster. The university offers so many great classes and after friends took this class last semester with Bruce Williams they could not recommend the class more as most of them were convinced by the class to become media studies majors. Even though I knew it was a different professor I thought that the department would have a standard course material for the introductory class, but I soon found out this was not the case. We used a completely different textbook from Williams and the book was the worst textbook I have read in college to date (It had a one and a half star rating on amazon). Rubin himself was nice but that did not change the fact that he was the worst lecturer I've had to date. I took the class to be able to apply to the major, but this class made me want nothing to do with it anymore. Completely disappointed in the class and the department for the way this class was taught and I can't help but wonder if my major would have been different if I had taken the class one semester sooner.