RELC 1220

I wasn't really sure what to expect with this class, but it was definitely one of my favorite classes I took this semester. Professor Spittler is super chill and really tries to keep the class engaged, which is helped by the fact that she clearly knows and cares about what she's saying. Most days we would discuss the book that was assigned the night before and give it more context historically. The only work was a total of 9 short essays (5 250 words and 4 750 words) that you could usually do without even going to class and the final was optional, but most people didn't take it. All in all a really easy class with a great professor, and I would definitely recommend it.

The professor is great! She knows what she's talking about. She definitely tries her best to make the class participate. As great as the class is, the grade is purely reflected of what your T.A. thinks of your assignment. I had a T.A. who did not want to read exactly what Spittler assigned. Even though I approached Spittler about this she did not help with the situation. I would compare what I wrote on my assignment with someone else in class to verify if our grades were valid and I would see that my T.A. would give me a lower grade for not getting the "right" answer (Spittler does not ask for the "right" answer, she asks for our own opinion) when my friend did not get marked off for writing her own opinion. Overall, the class grade depends on the T.A. you have.

I would definitely recommend this course if you're looking for a relaxed class that guarantees you at least a B. The lectures are really unnecessary in my opinion. Most of the time you don't have to pay attention to what Spittler says in class because you aren't going to use what she says in your paper. There are no tests in this class, only three 750 word essays and a few 250 word responses. SHE DOES however randomly tell you to take out a piece of paper and write a simple response to a question during class which you turn in to your TAs as participation (proof you went to class). You can skip class really but I attended every class and just zoned out unless she told us to do a quick response. Very boring lecture but material is kind of interesting if you are interested in the bible. Try to get a chill TA, go to lectures so you don't miss her pop responses and you will do fine.

No tests, 4 250 word responses, 4 750 word responses. Attendance is not taken in lecture, readings aren't necessary except in reference to writing prompts. My easiest class, but annoying. Not tough from a christian prospective, mostly about casting doubt of scripture, authenticity, and authorship.

This class is awesome for so many reasons. Professor Spittler is really funny during lectures and is really good at connecting the material (which is thousands of years old) to college students and modern themes.
It brought a whole new perspective to the Bible/New Testament to me. It was so interesting.
Grading is entirely based on your TA (generally grade fairly/easily). HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

A very easy class, but a little frustrating. Your whole grade is based off of a few writing assignments, which often have very little to do with the readings/class topics and have more to do with your discussion section. No incentive at all to go to class/read book. My TA was a little harsh grading, but not too bad. Class was often boring and had to pinch myself to stay awake some mornings. However, Ms Spittler is very approachable and extremely nice.

This class is great if you want to pad your GPA without putting in any effort. In all fairness to Professor Spittler, she is incredibly knowledgeable about the New Testament and really nice/approachable, but her lectures were really, really dull (some people found them really interesting, but I thought they couldn't last longer). 10 percent of your grade is section participation, so just talk in class and develop a good connection with your TA and this should be 100; 20 percent of your grade is attendance, which is done on Socrative so you could totally be in your bed and still be counted as present (this should be 100, as well); and 70 percent of your grade is your average score on 5/6 writing assignments. For the writing assignments, she assigns 6 and drops the lowest score, so you really only have to do 5 (this semester she assigned 5, so I only did 4). The writing assignments themselves are super easy (approximately 250 words) and, depending on your TA, not even an issue in getting an A+. I have heard stories of really harsh TAs, but my TA (Andrew Taylor) graded really fairly and met with me outside of section to discuss my paper before I actually submitted it. I read probably 1 hour TOTAL, went to 5 lectures MAX, and wrote probably 1000 words for this class and ended up with an A (could've gotten an A+ if I had written the fifth paper b/c my first paper grade was a B). Again, TAKE THIS CLASS if you want an easy GPA boost.

Take this class if you are looking to fulfill a gen-ed requirement. I can count on one hand how many of the readings I actually did and still was able to do well on all of the assignments. This class doesn't have any exams, just seven writing assignments, and of those seven you only need to do six since one is dropped. Spittler is a great professor and really listens to her students. As long as you show up for lecture (which is how you earn participation points) and attend your discussion, you should be more than fine.

This course is excellent. I could not recommend Professor Spittler and TA Jon enough. She just wants you to learn! I took this class in a COVID semester so we had a weekly writing assignment. These were super manageable. It's looking like I'll finish the class with an A. I would 100% recommend as a gen ed.

Such a cool class to take for intro or non-religious studies majors. Although I took this class asynchronously, I really enjoyed Professor Spitler's lecture style. She made several adaptations to allow her students to succeed during the pandemic, and clearly enjoys hearing from and interacting with her students during office hours. The weekly assignments were largely creative, low maintenance, and enjoyable. Highly recommend to anyone looking for a fun, interesting and easy class!