SOC 2052

I took this class as my first sociology class and found the concepts really interesting. This class doesn't focus on stats, it's more about case studies and understanding generalizations and trends in groups of people. If you are not willing to commit a large amount of time to readings, don't take this class. The readings aid comprehension by providing trends through anecdotes, and they seem excessive to a point. Overall, I very much enjoyed the class because I put the work in, but if you are looking for an easy sociology class, this one isn't it.

I took it with Pugh and it went okay. It was my first sociology class, and I learned some really cool concepts such as the marriage-go-round. I just didn't enjoy the class that much because a lot of the readings had to do with theories rather than actual stats. I had a hard time accepting some of the theories just because a lot of stuff was based on interviews and personal anecdotes, which the authors generalized to a group. In addition, the professor didn't post slides so it's much harder to catch up when I miss a lecture because I'm sick. The exams also didn't have clear grading lines. Granted, I'm a CS major, and I'm more used to concepts and guidelines that are more clear and less debatable.

Professor Pugh is a decent lecturer and her midterm and final aren't crazy hard, but that's about all the positives there are. The TA's grade extremely harshly on the 4 papers you are assigned for the semester. Also, there is a lot of unnecessary reading, I cannot emphasize how much reading there is that is completely extra. While some of the readings are kind of interesting, there are some that are extremely boring. Pugh also makes you purchase 4 books, one of which is hers, which means she is forcing you to give her money if you think about it. Also, there are these dumb reading circle assignments each week which Pugh kept saying helped to synthesize our readings but I didn't feel that way at all. I felt like they were a waste of time. Overall, it's a decent class but if you can find something better to take I would do that instead.

DO NOT RECOMMEND. Be mindful that this course has changed. The structure and professor is different than other years so be careful when you see the high marks and positive comments. I took this course with Professor Pugh and it was TERRIBLE. Coming from a sociology major, do NOT take this class. Excessive amounts of busy work, trivial reading, a pointless discussion section, and she never ties the themes together. The exams are extremely detailed and she intentionally gives exams that you will not finish on time. Beyond this, she is unapproachable and rather pretentious about her views on Sociology. Don't expect an easy A or even a good class.

I took this as an easy class, it was not that easy. Lectures are somewhat interesting but there is a lot of reading and a good amount of writing.

I am a sociology major and this is my least favorite sociology class I've taken. Overall an easy class, but there are many other easy soc classes I'd recommend over this. 45% of the grade is a group project completed over the whole semester that only very loosely relates to the course material, and your grade/enjoyment depends on if you get a good group or not. Honestly, the project would have been easier and more enjoyable as an individual project. iClicker quizzes on the readings that were ridiculously difficult even if you did all of the reading. Final wasn't bad aside from a LOT of writing. Like I said above, easy class, but there are more enjoyable and interesting classes out there.

i really do not understand the negative remarks about Prof. Pugh's class. I'm not majoring in anything sociology related but LOVED her class. Time went by so quickly. The final was straight forward if you looked at the previous exams and studied the iclicker questions, hence why 46% of the class gets an A/A-. The previous people below are just bitter about the fact that they didn't do well because they did not put any effort. She's a great lecturer. Do the readings, make a study guide for the final, get an A+. Take this course, you won't regret it.

This was a decently interesting class. Very low workload and no midterm. The only things your responsible for are readings (these were lengthy at times), an iClicker quiz on those readings, a social action project (completed mostly out of class with a group, they make it sound big but its completely manageable), and a cumulative final that focuses entirely on the readings. Really not bad. I put forth zero effort in this class and made it out with a B+.

This was probably my least favorite classes I have taken at UVA. As previous reviews have said Professor Pugh changed up her course for whatever reason. While I did go in looking for an easier course and because I had never taken a sociology course before, this class is not an easy class nor do I now have any interest in sociology. The final exam is difficult if you are not someone who is able to remember the main themes of 30 different readings throughout the semester and then also provide specific details that show examples of those themes. The final, as stated below, is the only assessment of this course other than the daily clicker questions from the readings which provide absolutely zero help with regards to preparation for the final.

The social action project which was 45% of our grade required us to spend a lot of time and the grading is very subjective. Each point taken off is equal to one percentage point in your final grade.

Finally, each lecture is boring and is hard to put into place with regards to the entire course in general. The readings are in no particular order along with the lectures, which makes understanding the material in general extremely difficult.

I would not recommend this course with Professor Pugh if you are looking for an easier course or just an interesting sociology course because it is neither of those.

I disagree with the previous negative reviews. Professor Pugh is really passionate about the topics in lecture. This is evident, because she is an EXCELLENT lecturer. Sure she doesn't go straight into the meat of the lecture right away, but the statistics & facts that she talks about are to supplement the lecture. It is not a waste of time if you put in a little effort to get something from the class. However, some of the readings are dense and unnecessarily long. You don't have to read everything to do well on the iclickers. Like the previous reviews said, your grade is based on a project, iclicker questions, discussion, & the final. The final was honestly not bad. There was a lot of anxiety in preparation for it because it was the first true assessment administered to the class, but if you have a good sense of each major topic covered in lecture, you should be fine. With discussion, you get whatever you give- so participate and try to get something out of it.

This class has changed from the past and no longer has a take home final or two papers, but instead has a social action project that comprises 45% of the overall grade. The project itself is not that hard, but it has a lot of components that do end up being a decent amount of work. The project was graded fairly easy by my TA (Kara Dewhurst) but the scale was completely skewed, because every point that she took off equated to a percentage in the class.

Beyond just that project Professor Pugh is a boring lecturer and does not ever remain on one central topic. She just rambles about the readings, and goes on unnecessary tangents that add nothing to the class.

Lastly, there is only one test, which is the final, and she does not give good advice at all on how to prepare for it.

I felt like this class was a waste of my time. I would not recommend this class if you are not a sociology major because you just do a lot of pointless dense reading and then you're expected to memorize topics from all these readings for the final. The only reason people went to lecture was because there were iclicker quizzes almost every class, if it weren't for these there would be no reason to go because Pugh would just ramble on and not stay rooted to any central theme. Overall, I regret taking this class and had little interest throughout the semester. Oh and discussion was miserable.

A solid Sociology class. Interesting but not life changing. You don't need to read to get through the semester but it will come back to bite you on the final if you haven't read all semester. A little bit too much work than I would have liked to have for a soc class but still a relatively easy A. Matthew Morrison is a great TA

This class is very easy. I went to most of the lectures but didn't really pay attention. I never did any of the readings either. The papers are mostly common sense and can be written without much knowledge in sociology. Grade really depends on the TA.

interesting class
lectures were boring at times but overall okay
two 5-7 page papers and a TAKE HOME final...
not bad

A very interesting class that looks deeper into families and relationships. Good lecture material and data. Well-organized. Pretty easy class. Two papers and a final.