ANTH 2280

This class isn't very easy but it's also not excessively difficult. If you do the readings and keep up with lecture you'll probably be fine. The only issue is that she doesn't pause when lecturing and it is difficult to tell by her tone whether what she's saying is just background information for our edification or whether we should be frantically writing down every fact of the article she presents. It's difficult to study information for an exam if it never ended up in your notes.

This class was really interesting and moderately difficult. You have to do weekly readings that are interesting and write a 250 word reaction, 3 papers on books that are pretty easy to read, and a mid-term and exam. I think the thing that makes this class harder is that she makes the tests about her lectures, so if you weren't able to write all that she was saying in class or weren't paying attention you won't do well on the tests at all which account for most of your grade.

Way too much work for a course that I chose as an elective. Interesting, but still wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Carrie Douglass is sometimes out there, but overall an easy and worthwhile class. I put in minimal effort (<2 hours per week outside of class) and got an A. The exams emphasized memorization and picky details, but if you type down everything she says in class and read over your notes before the exams, you will do well. It's not very subjective like other anthropology (which I liked because I'm pre-med and am used to science classes), but there are a few short papers. However, mostly everyone got above a B, and most people got an A or A+. She isn't out to get you, but you definitely need to pay attention to what she stresses in class. She mostly reads from articles during class which can get boring, but bring a laptop so you can surf the web when the stories go on and on. A good easy elective for pre-meds.

As an Anthropology major, I've taken a few courses with Professor Douglass. As the head of the undergraduate department, she's one of the most knowledgeable Anthropologists I've had the pleasure of learning from. That said, this was my least favorite class with her. The material she provides as readings are really interesting throughout the course, but as an instructor her lectures this semester were completely unfocused and lacking in any particular direction. Overall, there isn't a significant amount of work, but what work you do have, mainly book readings outside of her course-norm article reactions, can creep up on you if you don't stay on top of them. We had three five page papers and two exams for the class, as well as fifteen article reactions, which sounds like a lot but really isn't. You don't need background experience in Anthropology to succeed, either! In the end, I've enjoyed what I learned, but would recommend Symbol and Ritual (ANTH 2310) if you want to take one of Professor Douglass's courses.

Carrie Douglass is, to say the least, one of the quirkiest professors I've had. While I know she is very knowledgeable about the material, her delivery was extremely subpar. I never knew which information was relevant to lecture - I always was wondering if she was lecturing or going off on another tangent. The delivery of the material was very poor, and for those reasons it was hard to understand some of the concepts. There was also a lack of organized structure; she just spoke for 75 minutes and we were supposed to understand. The material itself is interesting, but Douglass was not my favorite. Side note: all of the readings and books she had us read were extremely outdated, and sometimes were not related back to during lecture. 4/10 don't recommend.

okay, Professor Douglass does go on a lot of tangents during class and has ... different opinions on some subjects. The key to her class is to know when to pay attention. Pay attention to main ideas and the main points under those ideas. Sometimes she does throw in random statistics but those are easy to figure out. Her exams are also a lot. She does one mid-term and one final (but the final isnt cumulative). On the mid-term she makes you take 10 terms and relate them to medical anthropology and give its significance and under what topics you studied them. Then you have 60 multiple choice questions. She gives 70 questions but you only have to answer 60, so i guess its nice you can skip 10 questions you have no idea on. The mid-term and final together are worth 45% of your grade and she says you can only miss a single day of her class and if you miss more than that you can not take the final (which is ridiculous, but you will find a way to get away with missing more and still take the final). In addition, you have to do these reader reactions, but those are super easy. Oh, and there are three book reports which are pretty doable also.
Overall this class is doable and has some shortcuts if you can find them and if you have a good TA in the class. I got an A-, but that's because I liked the class and really put some effort into it.