RELG 2650

Great class! It's not very hard and the material is pretty interesting, you don't actually have to do the readings because the lectures explain them well. Easy A class!

If you are pre-med - TAKE THIS CLASS. Seriously, the information is incredibly valuable and Professor Flores is the most approachable professor I have had at UVA. Go to office hours, get to know your TAs, as they determine majority of your grade. There is a good bit of weekly readings but if you are interested in medicine and policy they are actually enjoyable. Discussions are mandatory and clarify the readings a good bit. Overall, highly recommend this class as a supplementary class or elective.

The material for the class was super interesting, one of my favorite courses at UVA so far. The readings are dense so I normally skim to get enough to talk about during discussion for participation points. She reviews MOST of the reading in lecture but the study guides will be very helpful to show what information you need to get from the reading. The grading for the class was fair: 4-6 page reaction paper to a reading: 20%, participation: 10%, midterm: 30%, final:40%. The TAs and Prof Flores were both amazing so I truly enjoyed the class and I got the grade that I wanted. Coming from someone who doesn't like to read an A- is definitely achievable! Also just a heads up because she doesn't mention it, the course reader for this class is about $60 from NK Print and Design.

Expect to take this course with a bunch of very anxious pre-meds. It's good material if that's the path you're going down. As for me, I'm just a RS minor, so I probably shouldn't have taken it. Flores is very nice, but her lectures are incredibly dull. Also, assuming she still uses TopHat, maybe look elsewhere, because wow does that software suck. Still though, if you know her from somewhere else or follow her on Twitter and you wanted to take her class, you'll probably get something out of it, but it was definitely the low point of my day three days a week.

Prof Flores is extremely nice and definitely has a great sense of humor. One thing that I could not get past in this course is how her lectures felt like I was being read a textbook every class. I think she writes a script of what she wants to go over in class, which I appreciate as I'm sure it takes a lot of time, and it shows how much she wants to make sure we learn. However, I wish she would not write a script, and would instead teach more based off of bullet points. When she reads off the script, it can make the class feel so monotonous and boring. Whenever she would tell her own story, her voice was much more lively and engaging. For that reason, expect to pay attention hard in lecture to get anything out of it; the powerpoint slides do not help much. The TAs and Prof Flores were all very helpful, knowledgable, and accommodating throughout this semester. The class itself was not too bad, with the midterm, the semester paper, and the final being very fair. It's definitely possible to get an A, but I did study for the midterm and put a lot into my paper. I would recommend this class, just know it can be a bit desne at times. #tCFfall22

Preface - I took this class to fulfill a requirement and I thought that it sounded relatively interesting and fit with my field of study. If you don't have an interest in religion, don't take this class. The readings are so incredibly dense and you will be examining contested topics through a religious standpoint. There was more of a focus on ethics than I expected, which I appreciated, and Prof Flores is a lovely person. But the readings are so dense and it will be painful to get through if you don't have any interest in the topic and are just taking this class for an easy A. General note, I've taken several classes in the RELG department, and have not had a great experience with TAs, so keep that in mind as discussion grades are a major part of your grade.

#tCFfall2022

This was an alright class -- a bit over-hyped. It didn't require much effort, but the lectures were slow. The content on the surface level seemed like it should have been interesting, but the methods of this class made it pretty boring. Professor Flores is super kind and a great person, the content just moves slowly. Also, be prepared to focus much more on medical ethics than on religion. Overall, not a bad class, not a great class, but low effort either way. #tCFfall22

I highly recommend this class for any students going into any healthcare profession. It is an easy A, but also just a genuinely enjoyable course. This class discusses physician assisted suicide, different religions and their approaches to health/the body, end-of-life ethics, organ/tissue transplants, abortion, birth, public health and parenthood. It is a great course to take to better understand different views on hotly debated topics in medicine. Professor Flores is also such a genuine, caring professor. I would highly recommend this as a science and society credit too.

The grade:
1) The current breakdown: Participation: 25% (10% discussion + 10% Tophat Participation + 5% Outside Event) , Midterm: 25%, Reading Response Essay: 25% (20% essay + 5% presentation in discussion, opportunity to rewrite for a higher grade), Final: 25%
2) Midterm: Incredibly easy exam! If you study, you will find it simple and straightforward. The study guide provided is all you need to know for the exam.
3) Essay is a 3-5 pages double spaced argumentative essay on the topic of that week
4) She does not want anyone to fail, so she doesn't make anything impossible.