SOC 2230

To preface, I have not received by final grade for this class but I am expecting an A due to my current assignment grades. The grade for this class consists of 2 exams (midterm that covers 3 units and a final that covers the other 3 units), 5 module projects that you do with a group (however we only had 4 because Professor Greenland had surgery during one of our modules, but we had an assignment that took place of this missing project), attendance, an impact essay (1 page summarizing what you learned from attending a seminar outside of class), and a 4-5 page essay about the book Punished. It seems like a lot but honestly it is spread over time and isn't too bad. The readings for this course are HEFTY - you will spend probably 4-5 hours on reading alone a week. The module projects are manageable if you have a good group - if you are the person that puts the most in for projects, just be aware that you will be doing that the entire school year. I'd say me and one other person in my group did every single group project while the rest of the group put in the bare minimum. As a fourth year taking this course it would have been nice to have group members that actually shared group work so I could have spent less time on these projects. The exams are fairly easy but sort of subjective (I felt as if there was not a correct answer for some questions but rather many correct answers). The impact memo is easy. The Punished essay is alright as well if you spread out reading of the book. I would say things are graded fairly - there are random points taken off for certain things, but its never many (at least in my case). Attendance is taken for this class every class using a QR code that you scan into and this is part of your final grade. The course material for this class is fairly interesting, but it is very much stuff that is talked about on the news and Twitter. I would say this class is extremely liberal, but I think Professor Greenland still welcomes other opinions.

This class was really great! The topics were really interesting and the discussions they sparked in discussion sections were really interesting. Prof. Greenland was amazing and kind and it was such a great class. I recommend. The tests are not bad at all and the readings are interesting!

Prof. Fiona Greenland is such a sweetheart. She is very knowledgable in the topic and careful/ very respectful when dealing with potentially sensitive topics. I genuinely enjoyed being in her class, even though I have a really bad habit of tuning out. She is a captivating lecturer, and the exams are pretty easy. There is a lot of readings (like 4 a week), but she goes over all of them in class so you barely even need to skim. Grading consists of a midterm, a final, a final creative project, and discussion. Go to office hours! She's very nice, and talking with her is enjoyable. I enrolled 2 weeks after the class started, and I still managed to keep up. Even though I didn't plan to enroll in this class, I'm glad I did. It ended up being one of my favorite classes, and the one I put the most effort in because I actually cared about the work. 1 note I would mention is that she's against technology in class, so you have to take notes by hand, but powerpoints are always posted (still go to lecture though because her ppts are a guide and she gives more info in person). 10/10 would take this class again.

Professor Greenland is simply one of the nicest human beings that I've ever had the chance to meet. She is a great lecturer and the content is super interesting, which makes it easier! Definitely recommend taking this class. Not such an "easy A" as some people think, but super interesting, not that much work, and you will do well as long as you do most of the readings (which are captivating) and go to class.

Professor Greenland is very intelligent and knowledgeable about criminology, and the lectures are highly informational. This class touches on many interesting topics and I never regret taking it. The readings though can get dense, and the multiple choice questions on one quiz were difficult. The only assignments are the readings, which I strongly encourage you to do. There are three quizzes taken in the discussion session, one midterm, and a final. I think I did an average job in this class and ended up getting a B+ (I was quiet in discussion so that took away some participation points too). I would recommend this class if you are willing to put some work into it. It was the most challenging course I took in my first semester at UVa.

Prof. Greenland is fantastic! She really enjoys the course and teaching, and knows the material well. She gets very excited about teaching criminology. The readings are tough and long. Most of them are interesting, but you don't really need to read them in full to do well in the class. I read very little and got A's on the midterm and the final. The readings are explained at length in lecture and discussion. The TA I had wasn't great and her participation grading was pretty dumb. I got a B on participation and thought I shared enough each section and let others chime in too. This isn't an easy A class as the quizzes are tough, but as long as you go to lecture and discussion you can pull out a B+ very easily. The class itself is interesting and really dives into multiple criminological theories ranging from psychological to solely biological. The end of the course looks at criminal justice inequalities and the prison system.

I took this class thinking it would be an easy A but it was not. The readings are extremely dense and the essays on exams are graded harshly. There are three quizzes in sections throughout the semester and everyone did so poorly on one of them that the professor had to change the quiz from out of 20 to out of 15. Participation is 20% of your grade so you have to speak up but discussion sections are large and if you don't do the readings you can't really contribute. This class definitely involves a lot of effort so if you're willing to put in the work and you're interested in criminology you should take it, but there are a lot of other classes much easier than this one.

This course dives deep into exploring the racial inequality of the criminal justice system and is REALLY interesting. Yes, the readings are dense but the material is worth it. My TA, Yen-Yu was pretty trash and didn't do much for me, so I worked extremely hard on the mid-term and final and ended up with an A-. Other than doing readings and filling out optional study guides based on them, you don't have to do anything for this class to do well. Participation in discussions is 20% of your grade so make sure you do the readings and speak up. Overall I would recommend this course to anyone but don't expect it to be an easy A.

This course broke my record for the worst grade that I had for the past three years. The readings are dense although those in the first half of the semester are interesting, the rest is really boring and redundant. And the final is even cumulative!!!! I doubt that if anyone would be able to remember all those details for the readings, except if you r extremely hard-working. I was fouled by the overly praised reviews for this class and if I were given any chance, I would definitely not choose this class to fulfill the requirement.

This class is the best sociology class I've taken at UVA so far, and I'm a sociology major. The topics are really interesting (I never felt bored in lecture, even though no electronic note taking was allowed) and the readings shed light on some the many reasons why people commit crime (poverty, gangs, etc) and other interesting criminological theories. Another thing I really appreciated about this course is how intersectional it is. There were many readings about race and crime, and topics that are intersectional by nature, such as hate crimes toward people of different genders, sexual identities, and disability status. My TA Alida was probably the fairest grader and best TA I've had at UVA, and discussion sections were helpful and easy to participate in if you do the readings, plus you get 2 unexcused absences for the discussion. However, even though I didn't do the readings in time for discussion some weeks, I still was able to participate in discussions based on what I gathered from lectures. I consistently got 1 or 2 questions wrong on all 3 of the quizzes in the class (they were 15-20 questions long, part mult choice and part short answer) and questions were not needlessly complicated. There are reading guides for the readings too, which really helped when the textbook readings got dense. You have to buy two books for the class, Essential Criminology and The New Jim Crow, but they are also on course reserve at the library which I found helpful. The course grading is 25% for the midterm, 30% for the final exam, 25% for all 3 quizzes together, and 20% for participation. Professor Greenland is a great lecturer and makes this course all the more enjoyable. I recommend taking it with her if you can, not only because she is good at teaching the material, but because I hear Buckelew is a harsher grader than Greenland. This is a GPA boost course for sure (I got an A-), but it's also really interesting, which is a good and rare combo at UVA, so even if you're not a sociology major, I would definitely take the class if you're interested.