SOC 1010

This class was pretty interesting! We talked about social institutions like gender, race, class, etc. She sometimes tends to get a bit jargon-y, and the seminar style is pretty fast paced and kind of stressful because a large part of your grade is participation, but she has to think that what you're saying is pretty insightful. I suggest trying to put out 2 points per class that are insightful and you'll probably get an A. There's a lot of reading but you can kind of skim some of it. Overall, it was a pretty interesting class, and she's pretty clearly about what she expects for an A. One annoying thing she did was make the cut off for an A- be a 91 instead of a 90 for no reason other than she heard that if you make it 90 students will annoy her about bumping up an 89...

I really liked this class and it is a good introduction to sociology that goes over the important aspects of sociology (gender, race, class). I think it might be easier if you have already taken other soc classes but overall it is a worthwhile course!

I did not take this course but I know my TA from last semester in another class is TA'ing spring semester and you DO NOT want to take her. Her name is Yen-Yu Lin and she is awful.

This course is a really good intro to sociology and it covers most of the lecture. I really like Buckelew as a professor because she is really enthusiastic about what she is teaching and cares for her student. She allows a lot of opportunity to pass.

Buckelew is the best professor I've had at UVA so far. The new grading system is really good so if you just complete the required coursework you guarantee yourself an A. Basically you get the grade you deserve. A decent amount of reading and you do need to go to lectures/discussions but really an enjoyable class with no final exam.

Prof. Buckelew is really great. She uses a grading system that is mostly based on completion (if you follow the guidelines for all the assignments you'll be fine). Lectures were pretty interesting, she does try to make it engaging and I was never bored. Discussion sections are run by the TAs and we would generally review lecture content in groups. I thought the topics we covered were really interesting (plus the books are really cool too). Definitely recommend if you need social science credit!

Prof. Buckelew has really designed an excellent introductory sociology class in that you get out of it whatever you put in, and you ALWAYS know where your grade stands. She makes it a priority to "reduce student stress" as you will hear her say throughout the entire semester, and make sure that her course is truly accessible to all students. She has used "specifications" grading which seems a bit wack in the beginning, but ultimately makes it so that people that get better grades have to do more work and those who do not want to put in the work get lower grades. It really levels the playing field where you either pass an assignment or fail it (with many chances to redo it if you fail it)! I highly recommend this course with Prof. Buckelew– you will definitely not regret it as long as you come into the class with an open mind, and know that she is truly there for you beyond completing the VERY REASONABLE assignments. Of note, this review was written by a STEM major, so definitely do not be afraid to take this class if you do not fit in the traditional "humanities" category. Just go for it!

Dr. Buckelew is inspirational and powerful. Her class really makes you think of the world differently. She uses a unique grading system that guarantees the grade you want, so your invested effort is really worth the outcome. I highly recommend this class for anyone as your beliefs will be challenged (in a good way).

This course uses specifications grading: each letter has a specific set of requirements that has to be fulfilled in order to get a certain letter grade. This means that every assignment is given a complete or incomplete. You also get 4 tokens at the start of the course. Each time you have to redo an assignment or need an extension on an essay, you have to use up one of your tokens. The number of tokens you have at the end of the course determines whether you will receive a +/solid/- letter grade. You must get 8/10 on each of the quizzes (3 instead of 4 due to COVID-19), miss no more than 2 discussion session (yes, the discussion sessions are mandatory; two lectures and one discussion per week (each is 50 minutes only)), show up to lecture on time, complete all of the essays 2.5-3 pages (3 instead of 4 due to COVID-19), complete the Wiki Note Bank and the Discussion Forum once per unit (these you should do the first week that they are assigned because you can redo for NO PENALTY but you cannot use a token on it once the unit is over), and complete the research mini-project (only for students who want to receive an A-range grade in the course). Professor Buckelew will hand out a 10-page syllabus detailing this grading system, as it is new to many students. If you look at the Spring 2019 grade record, the vast majority of students got A+, including me. If you commit yourself, to the course and study hard to learn the material, you will too. The readings are not too difficult. Out of the 12 teachers I have had this year, Professor Buckelew is the nicest when it comes to grading. She uses this grading system because it reduces stress and allows students to redo work. She is genuinely a very kind, thoughtful, and sincere person. I would recommend going to chat with her during office hours. Many students in the class are Premed students hoping that this class will help them prepare for the MCAT. The content is very very interesting but a lot of it is not needed on the MCAT. But the vocabulary is absolutely vital. Overall, I would highly recommend taking this course with Professor Buckelew.

This course somehow changed its grading system this semester so all the past reviews are non-referable: it's now cumulative. This means that every assignment has points, with a total of 100 points, meaning you have to lose no more than 7 to get an A. No tokens and redos anymore. 4 quizzes, 3 counts. No discussions, no free-talk or chatting in lecture either, a not interactive course at all. There are 2 essays. No Wiki Note Bank or the Discussion Forum or research mini-project. New thing: Memo every week, 5 points each, with ambiguous criteria and world/sentence limit. However, it seems to be extremely hard for actual intro-level students with no background knowledge to get 5 on these, most people get 4, including me, a few who wrote their memo very thoughtfully like a research paper with many references get a 5. Therefore, if the grading this hard, students who get 4 this time would keep on getting 4, losing at least 9 points, probably end up with A- or B+ in the class. Some argue this is probably to scare students so they work hard on it, but that's a terrible and unhealthy strategy that hurts devoted students who tried their best (remember this is an intro class), kills their enthusiasm for the subject and trusts in the course. I committed myself to the course and study hard, spending more than 5 hours outside the course, but it didn't payback. Many of the readings are difficult and long (especially if English is not your first language), some not.
Professor Buckelew is nice, she's a great lecturer, but I don't understand why she suddenly decided to make it hard for students while COVID still goes on. According to previous students, she uses the token grading system because it reduces stress and allows students to redo work, but now she canceled it. I recommend the instructor as I felt her passion and gained a lot, but I won't recommend the layout of the course and the stress it bestowed upon students.