RELS271 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Rachel Schine RELS271 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/11/2024	As long as you're interested in religion, take this class!!! Dr. Schine is an AMAZING person and an even better teacher. She clearly loves what she does, and it will be impossible to find another person nearly as knowledgeable about religious studies as she is. The class is a smaller setting, and has somewhat of an unusual structure, but it works. Mondays are lectures, and on Wednesdays she introduces the topic with a lecture and then has small groups present the readings of the week, followed by a class discussion. The main assignments are participation, 2 or 3 reviews that are 3-4 pages long, and the final project. Two things you should know: 1) the readings can be very long and time-consuming, so its best that you have an interest in religion, and 2) the final project is an 8-10 page paper so be ready for that. But Dr. Schine is very inclusive of any topic you might want to do as long as it holds some relevance. I truly enjoyed this class!
Maxine Grossman RELS271 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/02/2023	Professor Grossman is very kind and does her best with the difficult task of teaching a concept as diverse and unexplainable as religion. She is very clearly knowledgeable about the subject but oftentimes has trouble containing all of her expertise in an organized and brief lecture. Lectures can often run a minute or two overtime and more often than not you will not get through the entire slideshow. Grading in this class can sometimes be unclear or contradictory. For example, one of the main assignments for the class is a weekly reading check that has a stated sentence limit. However, when staying at this sentence limit I have received comments asking for another sentence or two. My grades on these assignments increased after disobeying the sentence limit set by the professor herself. Ultimately, despite some of these causes for frustration Prof. Grossman does have a true passion for her craft and a desire to help her students succeed. Also although her assignment grading can be very technical exam grading seemed very lenient in comparison.
Maxine Grossman RELS271 Expecting an A Anonymous 08/24/2022	Honestly, RELS271 is probably one of the top classes I've taken ever. Prof Grossman, as other reviews have said, is very engaging, has high expectations, will give so much help when you ask for it, and provides genuinely interesting readings/assignments. You come out of 271 with a general but still nuanced understanding of religions, theories of religion, and how to communicate well about it. If you're not interested in the subject though? Or perhaps interested, but not great at putting in effort into readings/asking for help/talking in class? This class may not quite be your vibe, nor may Prof Grossman. But if you're interested and willing to struggle with the material a bit, you'll get SO much out of this course. Would recommend!

Rachel Schine
RELS271

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/11/2024

As long as you're interested in religion, take this class!!! Dr. Schine is an AMAZING person and an even better teacher. She clearly loves what she does, and it will be impossible to find another person nearly as knowledgeable about religious studies as she is. The class is a smaller setting, and has somewhat of an unusual structure, but it works. Mondays are lectures, and on Wednesdays she introduces the topic with a lecture and then has small groups present the readings of the week, followed by a class discussion. The main assignments are participation, 2 or 3 reviews that are 3-4 pages long, and the final project. Two things you should know: 1) the readings can be very long and time-consuming, so its best that you have an interest in religion, and 2) the final project is an 8-10 page paper so be ready for that. But Dr. Schine is very inclusive of any topic you might want to do as long as it holds some relevance. I truly enjoyed this class!

Maxine Grossman
RELS271

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/02/2023

Professor Grossman is very kind and does her best with the difficult task of teaching a concept as diverse and unexplainable as religion. She is very clearly knowledgeable about the subject but oftentimes has trouble containing all of her expertise in an organized and brief lecture. Lectures can often run a minute or two overtime and more often than not you will not get through the entire slideshow. Grading in this class can sometimes be unclear or contradictory. For example, one of the main assignments for the class is a weekly reading check that has a stated sentence limit. However, when staying at this sentence limit I have received comments asking for another sentence or two. My grades on these assignments increased after disobeying the sentence limit set by the professor herself. Ultimately, despite some of these causes for frustration Prof. Grossman does have a true passion for her craft and a desire to help her students succeed. Also although her assignment grading can be very technical exam grading seemed very lenient in comparison.

Maxine Grossman
RELS271

Expecting an A
Anonymous
08/24/2022

Honestly, RELS271 is probably one of the top classes I've taken ever. Prof Grossman, as other reviews have said, is very engaging, has high expectations, will give so much help when you ask for it, and provides genuinely interesting readings/assignments. You come out of 271 with a general but still nuanced understanding of religions, theories of religion, and how to communicate well about it. If you're not interested in the subject though? Or perhaps interested, but not great at putting in effort into readings/asking for help/talking in class? This class may not quite be your vibe, nor may Prof Grossman. But if you're interested and willing to struggle with the material a bit, you'll get SO much out of this course. Would recommend!

Reviews for RELS271