RELG 2300

This class is really worthwhile.

Very interesting and humorous lectures that will keep you entertained. Stay on top of the reading; it is dense but you have to do it. Only two short papers due regarding the readings. Be sure to know what author said what and be able to explain how the major traditions view certain problems/ethics, as well as major concepts....all of which he includes in his lectures. Go to class, or you might miss a pop quiz.

Matthewes has a good repuation and i've been disappointed with the class. He goes on incredibly random tangents all the time and will waste half the class talking about nothing, and while this is sometimes entertaining it does not help you to do well on tests. There's a lot of reading, and there are random in-class quizzes to make sure you've done it. Also he claims the class will look at christianity, judaism, and islam, but we really only looked at islam i think on two topics all semester. I think given the interesting topics of the class (lying, homosexuality, capital punishment, warfare, etc) Matthewes managed to make it more boring than necessary forcing you to try to learn 5 or so author's different viewpoints on each subject instead of a big overall concept for what each religion values. Papers were graded hard and I had the worst TA I've ever had. This class is overrated, i was amazed to see the Cav Daily saying how highly reccomended it was; it was okay but i would not necessarily reccomend it either. Maybe it depends what you're looking to get out of the class.

LOTS of reading for this class - all articles in two volumes of course packets. One midterm and one final are the only exams, and two 4 page papers. Topics covered very interesting and Matthewes is a great lecturer.

I loved this class, there was a bit of reading but it was pretty much all interesting and if you do the reading the class isn't very hard. Lectures are interesting and you get to think about why you believe certain things

Mathewes is an enjoyable lecturer, even if he does focus on the readings. There is a lot of reading, but it won't kill you if you don't read every last word. Do understand, you need to have a feel for all the readings to do well, and know some of them inside and out.

I thought the class was all right. I guess I had high expectations since everyone thought it was a good class (not just those on the course forum). I think he covered way too many readings than was necessary and should have focused mainly on the religion's view on each topic, not individuals who happened to be a part of one of the major religions. his lecturing style, i thought, was also very hard to follow. i wasn't sure what he was talking about half the time and didn't know if my notes were right. the second half of the semester was a little easier since i knew what to expect. it's important to know the main views of each article. the midterm and final are quote ids (not as hard as it may seem, but you really need to prepare for them), short answer on the main points of the article, and an essay section that ties in most of the readings. he sent out a past midterm and final, which was really helpful (some of the questions/quotes are the same). overall i wouldn't not recommend the class, but it would definitely not be one of the classes i'd recommend right away.

This is absolutely one of the best classes UVA offers. Professor Mathewes is truly an intellectual; he's very engaging and charismatic. It's one of those classes that really opens your eyes to new perspectives, and a new way of viewing the world. There's a substantial amount of reading, but most of the time I found it enjoyable. If you go to lecture and take good notes the exams will be fine. This class is well worth the time.

Some of the readings were interesting. But there were too much assigned reading in general (about 1000 pages). Quizzes are random and not very effective. Prof. Mathewes is an interesting lecturer. This course does challenge you to think more critically about ordinaray issues.

The class is really interesting and I highly recommend it. Matthewes lectures raise some interesting issues, but you must really know the articles for the exams. Scott Bailey was a great TA who really helped us understand the articles for each week.