RELA 3000

Prof. Hoehler-Fatton is awesome and any course she is teaching is worth taking. She is one of the most organized professors I have ever had, and her passion and knowledge for what she teaches are very apparent. This course had a pretty balanced reading load with three smaller books sprinkled in throughout. She lectures on course material on Tuesdays while Thursdays are mostly devoted to small and large group discussion of reading questions, which is when reading is "due" by. I believe we only had one or two actual reading quizzes across the semester, and both were mentioned in advance, so it is up to the student to actually keep up with the readings. The midterm and final exam are writing heavy and will make your hand sore by the end, but are graded fairly and easy to study for with her provided study guides. There is one 3 page essay on a current event and how it relates to class content, and it came with a pretty structured guideline on what the prof was looking for. As long as you keep up with the readings, the class itself isn't all that difficult, and I think anyone interested in the topic will be able to get a lot out of it!

This is the second course I've taken with Professor Hoehler-Fatton, as I took African Religions during the Spring 2021 semester. I would highly recommend both courses! Professor Hoehler-Fatton is a compassionate teacher and really engaging lecturer who cares deeply about the course material and students she teaches. RELA 3000 was broken into a midterm exam, final exam, several reading quizzes, and an issue paper/presentation. Participation in weekly discussions about the assigned readings was also factored in. There's a decent amount of reading each week, but I always found what she assigned really interesting and worth reading. Plus, she usually emails out discussion questions each week to guide you through the assigned readings and emphasize ideas and themes of importance. I definitely recommend taking at least one course with Professor Hoehler-Fatton while at UVA, especially if you're considering the Religious Studies major or minor. She's always happy to advise students, talk with them about their interests, and recommend further reading outside of class if interested!