RELG 1010

This class is fairly easy. Honestly, the readings are pretty useless, and your TA will most likely break it down for you. I made the mistake the first week of actually trying to read the Goldberg and Rayner text, but it was completely unnecessary. Go to lecture if you want to get all the details for exams. Of course you could just rip your answers from quizlet, but she'll actually give you the important details and you won't be scrambling around on the wikipedia page the night before the exam. Lectures are fairly boring and she talks quick, so every class is kind of a mad dash to write everything down, but this is really the only work you need to do for the class, besides prepare for the exam. For exams, she'll give out a sheet a week or two in advance with the IDs and Essay prompts that could possibly be on the exam, and it's your job to find the answers and memorize it. There won't be any surprises on the exams; it will just be a couple of IDs from the sheets and one of the essay questions. As long as you do your job and memorize the answers you should get an A. The only trick with the exams is to just put as much information as possible in each of your answers, especially the essays. They want explicit details, not an argumentative essay. #tCFfall22

This class is pretty easy in my opinion, and is definitely good to fulfill gened requirements, but honestly, it's not as interesting as I thought it would be. I like Professor Warren, and lectures are decent, but I guess I just wasn't super interested by the content matter. It's a pretty easy course-- All of the things on exams are given to you in a study guide ahead of time. If you do the study guide, you'll do fine. There are a good amount of readings, but I stopped doing any of them about halfway through the course and I got an A.

I LOVE PROFESSOR WARREN!! She is so sweet and loves the material so much. The class is super easy, but also pretty interesting (coming from a non-religious studies major). It can be a bit dry, but you do kind of need to take notes, so you stay alert. The readings sometimes are helpful for exams, but they're mainly for the discussion sections so just skim before those. She gives you a study guide before every exam. If its on the study guide, it will be on the exam, so just learn the study guides and make outlines for the essay questions so you know what to do when you sit for the tests. Its two midterms, a final, and your participation grade, but just talk every week in discussion and you're fine.

Lectures were pretty interesting and light-hearted but definitely need to take detailed notes so you can make use of discussion sections. You get study guides for the tests and tests are blue book with not very many questions. I struggled a bit with the format of the class tests, but if you can write a good essay then this class is for you. Overall pretty low-stress until tests come around, just know your key pieces of information from the study guides and you'll be golden

This class was a little different than I expected going in. I had the expectation that it was going to be more of a compare and contrast format of the religions and their practices, but it is actually a history class. Each lecture usually just focuses on one of the religions at a time, and there isn't a ton of discussion of how they interacted or changed each other. However, the material was still very interesting and, in my opinion, important to learn about!
That being said, I had a serious love-hate relationship with this class. Professor Warren was amazing - she was extremely friendly and absolutely hilarious! I loved having her as a lecturer. However, my main gripe with this class is that she did not allow us to type notes unless we had an accommodation. Although I could tell she always tried to speak slowly enough to allow us to get everything down, I just don't think that getting everything down in a class like this, where pretty much everything being said is important, is possible when hand-writing your notes. I always came out of lectures with a hurting hand and a feeling that I had missed a couple important things in my notes. However, this wasn't a world-ending issue, as Professor Warren gives out the test about 2 weeks in advance, and you just have to memorize everything beforehand, meaning that once we knew what was on the test, if we were missing something on it in our notes, we could ask a friend or search online. Taking the tests was never that difficult (although the 50 minute time limit was stressful but definitely do-able), but actually studying for them was one of the most painful experiences of my life. There is SO MUCH to memorize, and I never found a better way to study than to use Quizlet, which meant that I had to spend loads of time just transferring my notes from paper to the website before I could even start truly studying. The studying was also just extremely exhausting to me, and since the test is all free-response, there was this constant fear that I wasn't memorizing the right details or enough details. The entire experience of preparing for the tests was just extremely stressful to me. As for homework, there were readings for us to do, both for lecture and for our discussion sections, but I only ever did the readings for the discussion sections and I never had any issues with that. The discussion sections were really fun and useful (shoutout to Ame, the coolest TA ever), and they helped to make the whole class feel a little more manageable.
I got an A in this class, and I didn't struggle with comprehension, but I definitely struggled with the workload. Overall, I would only recommend it if you are good at memorizing things AND you are not a procrastinator, because procrastination will make the studying take absolutely forever and be unbearably painful. If procrastination isn't an issue for you, I'd say go for it! Professor Warren is really fun and the material was very interesting to learn about.

I have mixed feelings about this class. Overall, I probably would not recommend this class. Prof. Warren is super cool, but the lectures were pretty dry and you spend most of it scribbling down everything so that you can adequately prepare for the test. This class was pretty easy, BUT the exam structure is the worst. Basically, you get a list of terms, quotes and possible essay questions two weeks before each test. Then, you have to create and memorize responses for each of the IDs, quotes and essays. The two week period leading up to every exam is super stressful, especially because you aren't allowed to take digital notes in lecture- so finding anything in your notes is much harder. Overall, this class was easy if you were not preparing for an exam, but with 3 total exams (including the final) 6 weeks of the course are not very enjoyable. That said, if you actually put in the work, getting an A is completely possible, it's just a really tedious process. If you do decide to take this class, make sure your TA is Lauren Wheeler. She is a super helpful TA- she always made sure we understood the content and was the only TA who provided review sessions for every test.

I had never taken a religion class before but found this one to be interesting since it was way more history based then religious philosophy or thinking. I did fall asleep in some lectures and there are no posted notes, but the exam questions are given to you ahead of time and my TA (Ame Wren) helped to make sure everyone was prepared. I never did the readings, but maybe skimmed over some of them before discussion section and still felt overall prepared. Prof Warren is great and really cares about her subject and the students(she brought us starbucks since we had a 9am exam) and Ame was also wonderful. This is a good, easy class that I recommend.

This was my first RELG class at UVA and I really enjoyed the content! I took it to fulfill my Historical Perspectives requirement and I would 10/10 recommend doing the same! Professor Warren was very passionate and invested in the class and I really got a deeper understanding of all the religions discussed (Christianity, Judaism, Islam). The readings were pretty long and they were dense, but if I'm going to be honest, I never read and I ended the class with an A-. The only downfall of this class is that during lecture there are no slides (and if there are they only have pictures) and all of the info is spoken so it is pretty difficult to make sure you catch everything if you are handwriting your notes. With that being said, if you type your notes it may be easier to catch all the details. You are given the study guide before the exam with everything that you will see (identification terms, quotes, and essay questions). The study guide will have ~8 identification terms, 5 quotes, and 2 essay questions, but the exam will only have 3-4 ID terms, 2 quotes, and 1 essay question. The final has a few more IDs and quotes but you still only have to answer 1 essay question (you are still provided with all the preparation beforehand). You'll have to be able to identify: dates, authors, definitions, and significance of the words or quotes, but having the exact info you need is extremely helpful so you aren't blindsided by the exam. The grades consist of 10% for the first exam, 25% for the second exam, 40% for the final exam and 25% for participation in section. I highly recommend this class for students of any year at UVA.

This class was important to me for understanding the origins and history of the Abrahamic religions, which most people should probably be aware of. The content was pretty interesting, and I certainly feel like I now have a good understanding of Western religions and my own faith. Professor Warren was a good lecturer, and she was goofy in an entertaining way sometimes. It is a history class in essence, so the two tests and final were short answer and essay questions, which involve lots of memorization. Overall, it was a good class with important material, and I would recommend it. Lauren Wheeler was also a great TA—she was very on top of things. #tCFfall2021

This class was fairly fun and easy. The lectures and readings are quite helpful and contain a lot of the test information. The review sheets handed out by the professor are also amazing and getting an A is pretty easy as long as you do the lectures, readings, and fill out the review sheets beforehand. The TA meetings are also straightforward and mostly just talk about the readings.

this is more of a history class than a religion class and is hella difficult unless you’re already well-educated in terms of christianity and judaism (there’s barely any islam in this course). test questions are given out before the exam but it’s not that helpful unless you can explain your answers well and in the way that the professors and TA want. discussion was hard too because it was all the super christian kids spitting facts that they already knew while all the people who weren’t that religious sat there clueless.

Here's the truth: the readings aren't necessary until you get the study guide. Hell, attending class probably isn't even fully necessary most of the time. Warren gives out a study guide before every exam, so you can just google what you need to know and, while you'll miss a few specifics she'd want to see for an A, can probably scrape out a B.

That said, I did all the readings and went to every class, so I'll review from that perspective. If you do that, you'll do really well. She gives a study guide, so if you've done the readings, you'll have plenty of time to dig through your notes and figure out the perfect answers before the tests. Warren is very interested in the subject matter and is enthusiastic and lively. One time, she sang us a song she wrote, and it was actually very nice. Discussion is useless, but what are you gonna do about that? It's 10% of your grade, so go. But you'll be bored.

Though I wasn't particularly interested in the subject, Professor Warren is really passionate about this subject and makes it somewhat enjoyable. Do not waste your money buying the course packet or any books. Warren posts almost all the readings from the course packet on Collab and you can just check out the books in the library. Even then, you don't really need to do the readings to do well in this class. I stopped taking notes on the readings by the third week and got along in discussion by skimming the readings. Make sure you take detailed lecture notes as they'll be helpful for exams. She gives you a study guide for each exam that is the exact same as the actual exam. This class was pretty easy and had very little workload.

Professor Warren is very knowledgeable about the course material and as long as you take notes during lecture you should be able to do little to no work outside of class. She tells you to buy around 5 books at the beginning of the semester which is unnecessary. My TA (Raihan) always discussed the readings for discussion very generally, so doing reading outside of class was pretty much optional. To do well on exams, all you need to do is go to lecture and take detailed notes, which can seem tedious at times since you are forced to try to write down word for word Warren's lectures, since she only puts a Powerpoint up to show pictures of the people/texts she's discussing. If you are looking for a class that is super low maintenance, this is the class for you, as long as you do well on exams because those are your only grades besides participation in discussion. I met with my TA once outside of discussion to ask a question about exam grading and saw my grades improve significantly after, so if you have Raihan as your TA I would recommend seeing him once outside of class to show him that you care about your grade.

The readings are for discussion; the lecture itself does not require the readings but they're usually closely related. Professor Warren is a solid lecturer and her exams are based entirely on study guides. Though the tests are almost entirely based on memorization and are completely free-response, they're quite easy provided you study far enough in advance. Solid choice overall for gen ed provided you put the work in.

Prof. Warren is a great lecturer and the material of the course, along with the readings, is very interesting. The discussion sections is a little bit pointless but easy points. The only thing is I recommend taking notes during lecture, however, you could get away with not because every test has a study guide provided ahead of time with everything that will be on the exam on it. I'd recommend this course to anyone.

Great lecturer, easy easy tests- 3 tests with given study guide (10 terms listed, 2 of them will be on exam) kind of deal

This class was very easy because she gives you a study guide before each exam with all of the possible terms/essays you will be tested on, so you just have to memorize your answers word-for-word and spew them out on paper the day of the exam, although memorizing everything is a pain in the ass. Discussions were pretty pointless but they are mandatory. Professor Warren is one of the nicest and kindest professors ever, but in her lectures she just jumps from point to point and you often have no idea what she is talking about, so lecture notes aren't very helpful.

Aside from the fact that Professor Warren talks a mile a minute, this class wasn't bad. Attendance isn't mandatory, but the lecture notes are super important, even though you don't have time to write down half the things she says. Professor Warren gives you study guides before each test with the exact questions she'll ask, but since you have time to prepare the exact questions prior to the test, the TAs are pretty harsh on what they're looking for (i.e. exact dates and definitions). I rarely did the assigned readings and still did really well. This discussion sections can be a little dry, and I didn't have a very helpful TA when it came to answering clarifying questions about the material. This class is an easy A if you put in the work into answering the study guide questions.

This class is so easy with minimal work, however the lectures are composed of Professor Warren talking and you frantically taking notes. The lectures are boring and I've had trouble staying awake, but you do so little work in this class that it is worth it. She also gives you study guides for the tests, which is 75% of your grade, and they are exactly the test.

Professor Warren was really cool. She was really sincere and made jokes often during class. That being said, I thought the lectures were slightly boring but was probably just me not being super interested in the information. Warren provides a study guide for the tests and final and you basically just have to memorize all the information in order to do well. The only grades are the tests and participation in section so its really important to study for them. However you can do not great on the 1st test and still get a good grade in the class (I got a 75 on the first test and ended up with an A-). Readings can be boring and not all of them are necessary. Overall, pretty easy class and definitely informative.

I absolutely LOVED Professor Warren. She is hands-down my favorite professor at UVA, and she may be the kindest person I've ever met. She made a lot of jokes in class, and she always encouraged us to go to office hours. She basically spent the entire lecture talking pretty fast, so it was difficult to write down everything she said. That being said, my TA, Isaac May, was amazing as well, so he went over all the information that we didn't understand from lecture. The readings are pretty quick but definitely not necessary. If you have any religious background in the three main Western religions, you can get away with using that for discussion. Professor Warren provided study guides for the three exams. They took me hours upon hours, but if you put maximum effort into them, you are basically guaranteed an A (and you feel very accomplished after finishing them). I would recommend this class to anyone who needs to fulfill historical studies/humanities or just wants an easy-ish class!

Heather Warren is AMAZING. I have never met a professor who cares so much about their students. She is extremely accommodating and compassionate. Her lectures are essentially her just talking and telling the story of history, so pay attention and take good notes. Nothing is up on powerpoints for you to copy. That being said, her lectures are interesting and everything you need for the exam will be in your notes, as long as you take them. She provides a study guide before each test that is the ACTUAL test, as well as some additional problems. She essentially trims the study guide down to make the test, so as long as you know the study guide, you will be fine. I took this class for my historical studies requirement, and I am so glad I did. I am not very good at history, and I managed to do well in this class. On top of that, I experienced it with a great professor! I cannot recommend this class enough.

In all seriousness, this may be one of the easiest courses you ever experience at a school like UVA. If you need an easy class to round out a tough schedule, look no further than this one. Professor Warren is an incredibly intelligent person. From what I hear, she was a Rhodes Scholar back in the day. She's interesting in lectures and really cares that you actually learn something. Don't get me wrong, it's not easy to get an A, but I got an A- and I really didn't put in much effort. I don't think I really read any of the books, she just has a course reading packet you should skim before discussion. Two midterms and a final plus discussion points make up the grade. Two 50 min lectures per week plus a discussion. Patrick was a fantastic TA, I believe he did his undergrad at UChicago. If he is still a TA for 1010 I would 100% recommend him. Go to any review sessions that are offered, trust me. I switched into this class after I dropped something else at the last minute and it was a good choice to make. You don't need to have any interest in religious studies to take it, although it obviously helps if you're interested.

Warren was an excellent professor. The lectures were crucial, but they were interesting to listen to. If you go to lecture, the class is an easy A.

Great professor who is very approachable. The TAs are hit or miss but if you are familiar with the readings and contribute you'll do fine.

This class is very much a history class and less so a theology class. The lectures are pretty boring and the material is thrown at you very quickly, but I've found that the material we learned has been useful to know in other areas of my education and life in general. Warren gives you very solid study guides so that there is no room for question as to what will be on the test, so long as you complete these and memorize the dates you can get an A. Be sure to know what your specific TA is looking for in your responses though, since they are all short answer and can get picky about what you must include.

Easy Class but you must know EVERYTHING from the review sheet. Easy to get an A-. Professor Warren is very nice, but talks fast during lecture.

Heather Warren is an incredible person and professor. Although her lectures are as dry as a desert, she really wants everyone to do well in her class. It is incredibly easy and consists of 2 midterms, a final, and a discussion participation grade. She practically gives out the test in advance so if you complete the study guide, the exams are cake. Interesting material, incredible TA (Patrick Derdall) and very easy.

The professor is amazing, and the reading isn't actually necessary if you can bs your way through discussion because before each exam she hands out a list of all possible test questions, about half of which will be on the actual exam. Just make a study guide (or look one up on Quizlet), memorize it, and you're guaranteed an A without having done any reading.

This is my favorite class to recommend. Professor Warren is so awesome, and even though the material can be a little dry sometimes, she is always cracking jokes and making funny comments. I took this class in the fall and her other class (RELG 2160) in the spring, and they are two of the best classes I've taken here. The reading isn't super necessary and before every test she gives you a review sheet that has everything that could be on the test, which really isn't much at all, so its very easy to do well. She's also just a great person, and offered to let students come over for thanksgiving if they didn't have other plans. Take this class!

Professor Warren is great. She's a very interesting lecturer and she does a great job of delivering very thorough information. Coming to lectures is crucial to doing well in her class, though non-discussion readings are unnecessary. In addition, she gives you the test in advanced which is really nice. If you come to class every day, engage in discussion sections, and do a thorough job on the review sheets, this class is both easy and rewarding.

This was one of my favorite classes. Prof. Warren is an amazing lecturer and she really knows the subject well. Every class is a pretty intense 50 minutes; you are basically scribbling notes nonstop. Normally I'd end up with a good three to four pages of notes. But it is totally worth it since there is really not that much work outside of class. Just don't expect her to put up notes on powerpoints or anything, you really have to pay attention. The material was interesting and eye-opening.
She basically gives out all the possible test questions on a study guide. It's graded harshly, but if you study beforehand it is no problem. And I would recommend writing down all of your answers beforehand and showing them to your TA so that you don't miss anything.
Discussion was pretty good also, that probably depends on your TA.
Overall, I highly recommend this class. It's not easy, but it's pretty straightforward and I learned a lot. If you attend the lectures and take notes you will get a good grade.

It's evident that Professor Warren is really passionate about what she teaches, and she gives out a "study guide" for every exam.

The class seems like it should be relatively easy because professor Warren gives you a review sheet with everything you need to know about each test on it, however Nauman graded the tests ridiculously hard and makes the class way more difficult than it should be. However if you are able to get a TA that isnt extremely picky on the tests, then the class is actually very interesting.

This class is retarded, the lectures consist of her speaking with no powerpoint slides for you to keep up with the notes and you're not allowed to have your laptop out to take notes. On top of that Nathan's grading of exams is fucking rediculous. If you're looking for an easy humanity DO NOT TAKE THIS.

Professor Warren is genuinely interested in the subject material as well as the success of her students. She is very accommodating for her students. I'm not interested in religion or history, but the class wasn't that bad. Warren provides test reviews for each test so if you do and study those, you're good. Also Nathan was really nice and knew what he was talking about.

Professor Warren is amazing! I love her lectures. They are very thorough and interesting. She goes kinda fast at times so it can be hard to keep up while taking notes. Depending on your TA you may be able to get away with skimping on the readings; mine focused on the primary sources because the others tended to be on subjects we were talking about in class. The two tests and final involve IDs of terms, IDs of quotes, and an essay question. You are given a review sheet ahead of time with everything that will be on the exam plus a little extra (so you don't know which of the terms, etc will be on the exam but you know they will be from the ones on the review sheet). I would definitely recommend taking this class, just make sure you get a good TA.

This class was one of the easiest I've taken at UVA but I found it really interesting and not boring. I'd recommend going to class because she distills all the readings for you, and then you don't have to do the readings. The tests were taken straight from the study guide, which was taken straight from the course. So if you go to class and study what is on the study guide - 3 terms, 2 short answer, 1 essay appear on the test - you will definitely be getting a good grade.

one of the easiest classes i have ever taken, you don't even need to go to class because her test study guides have everything you need to know on them!

Professor Warren is an engaging lecturer and coming from a Buddhist(ish) family, it was really interesting to learn about the origins of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Midterms are easy, just term IDs and essays.

Ben Maton is a cool TA, very helpful in exam review and leads a good discussion.

Professor Warren is a great teacher and is really interested in what she teaches/makes the class interesting for the students. There is a study guide for the mid-term and final so the class is not too challenging, but enjoyable.

Very interesting class, and Professor Warren is a great lecturer. Because she's so passionate about the subject, going to class is actually fun. Just make sure to take the study guides seriously when you get them. This class does a great job of presenting the history of the major Western religions. Also, Ben did a great job as a TA.

The class is relatively slow even though professor warren is very enthusiastic about the topic. The readings are not really even needed. There are two midterms and a final, but for each she gives you a study guide. Be careful her grading is very nit-picky and you have to memorize certain specific things about each thing. My TA Ben Maton was very nice and helpful.

Professor Warren is extremely knowledgable and enthusiastic, and the course material is interesting. However, her lectures aren't very clearly organized, always run over, and deal with A LOT of information. She essentially gives you the test before hand, which makes it easier, but also makes her very nit-picky about grades. Readings aren't that necessary.

Prof. Warren's enthusiasm really takes this class to the next level.

the course was called western religious traditions, but my ta himself said it was a history class, which wasn't what i wanted. and professor warren grades really harshly. she is so nit-picky. i spent an excess of amount studying for her midterms and finals, but it didn't pay off. i think my other finals actually were affected by that. even though i felt i really knew the material i would get tons of points off for not having exactly what she wanted, which i don't feel grading should be like. she was knowledgeable and enthusiastic, but pretty hard.

This was an interesting class, through the lectures were long and your hand would cramp up. Most of the reading, while there was a lot of it, was fairly interesting. Prof. Warren really cares about how her students do and even curved our first test by 13 points b/c of how poorly most did. I'd definitely take this class if you are at all interested in comparative religion.

If you are good at history, you will do well. She talks fast so write fast or bring a laptop. Dan was an awesome TA and had the best review sessions. Memorize, memorize.

Great class. As long as you take notes in class, and g to discussion, very easy and enjoyable.

Although the lectures were really boring, Professor Warren is enthusiastic and you doe learn a lot in the class. She gives you the midterm and final before the test, but in exchange you have to do a lot of preparation for it. As long as you are willing to study a lot for the final and midterm you will be fine.

She loves her area - therefor talks alot. You will take a lot of notes. She does give you a review sheet however for the midterm and final that is basically the test. So go over that - but be careful because she looks for specific details - Really isn't terribly difficult - don't need to do ALL of reading - basically for discussions - but if you can come up with somehting to talk about otherwise you are golden.