Reviews for SOCY105

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Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY105 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/31/2024	Dr. Parsells-Johnson is an incredible professor, honestly the best I've ever had! It makes me sad to see poor reviews on here because he genuinely seems to care so much about the students and the content as well. His passion for sociology definitely shines through, and his classes are beyond enjoyable! He's super lenient about attendance and assignments, and overall is super understanding about student circumstances. 100% recommend!
Brian Connor SOCY105 Expecting an A billyBobJones 01/10/2024	lectures are posted and readings are not required. curves exam and is a nice person
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY105 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/19/2023	He is a great person and really makes sure he doesn't offend students. Sometimes I think he over apologizes but I get it, you don't want to offend anyone. A lot of reviews say that he grades harshly but with my experience I would disagree. So maybe he has become a less strict grader. If you put in the time and work to do readings and the reading summaries (which isn't too much) you will get a good grade in the class.
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY105 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/11/2023	He's very nice, and lenient with deadlines. I just was never able to understand his slides. The way he explained and graded things was confusing. But there were only 3 essays and 2 take home exams, so the class wasn't bad. The final project was very group oriented, so if you had a bad group you were screwed.
Kalani Johnson SOCY105 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/07/2023	One huge pro about this professor is how well she explains lectures without relying on the slides she presents. She exemplifies and uses a lot of real-life events in order to connect to the class content and I'd say that has been the most useful in this class. She is kind of strict with grading and although you get less assignments in this class (I still find it quite surprising because of how challenging the content is in a way), at least you can have a class that weighs off of the workload which is nice. However, her lectures are sometimes unuseful and it is difficult to understand, and the amount of points she gives for the assignments affects a lot on your overall course grade which can put you at risk if you were to have a low grade in this class. A lot of the notes I take come from her speaking, so I recommend taking notes on what she says instead of relying solely on her lectures, but other than that, she engages with the class and can have give the class a good laugh. Not too bad of a professor.
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY105 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/07/2023	Overall, PJ is a very nice professor. He is down-to-earth and sincere and he really seems to care about students. He's the type of guy I would love to be friends with and have conversations with, but when it comes to teaching and grading, he is not the greatest. Don't get me wrong, I understand the concepts, but a lot of it is very hard to grasp your head around and PJ could break it down more. His writing assignments and the final project are very vague and hard to figure out. When it comes to the "reading summaries", which are the essays we had to write, I didn't really know how to improve on them. I tried to incorporate his feedback into my 2nd one, but it only increased my grade by half a point. The exams, which were all multiple choice and open note, were confusing as well. The first exam was entirely too long, but thankfully he shortened it for the second one. It was still a bit long in my opinion. The questions were worded where there wasn't a clear correct answer or a specific concept it was directly testing you on. In some other classes I've taken, MCQ's have been very academic and tricky, but I was able to figure them out after really thinking about what they were asking. His are not like that and as a result, I did fairly poorly on the exams. I'm not sure if all sociology courses are like this though, I get the vibe that this is how it is as a discipline and if it is PJ is a fine instructor. If there's one that breaks the material down better that may be a better option, but overall PJ listens to his students and I really value that. He may not be the teacher, but he is the kind of person we need more of in higher education.
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY105 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/06/2023	This class was quite confusing for the first few weeks. Professor Parsells-Johnson immediately starts teaching and it seems likes he expected students to already know specific concepts even though this is a 100 level class. With the first paper, he even admits that the name "reading summary" is misleading but it sounds better for students. The rubrics are extremely confusing but usually the week before any big assignment is due he will use slides to go more in depth about what each section should look like which I really appreciated and it made the directions more clear so don't freak out! Also I think that probably 10 or more of our classes were cancelled throughout the semester or we were planned to not come and do something online. Also one of our major papers got cancelled but of the three papers, the lowest grade was going to be dropped anyways. The deadlines are all "best-by" dates which is nice. I had a TA (who we never met) do all my grading and I got good grades on everything so I think part of your experience in this class is all based on who grades your papers. Parsells-Johnson tries very hard to make class light and entertaining but I think my class was just not into it so there was an awkward vibe but I think that mainly has to do with the students.
Mansoor Moaddel SOCY105 Anonymous 12/05/2023	Professor Moaddel is really nice. His lecture style is definitely boring and content-heavy at first, but once the content gets more interesting, and in his field of expertise, lecture is pretty enjoyable. The workload is not too heavy, but he's sometimes a harsh grader who doesn't leave constructive feedback which isn't helpful but it's not hard to do well in his class at all. Exams are also pretty straight forward, he will usually tell you what to expect and if he doesn't, the exam content is usually straight from his slides. There are also a lot of extra-credit/ make up exam opportunities, which is nice. He seems genuinely passionate about what he teaches, and seems like he cares about his students a lot too. He just seems a bit unprepared sometimes.
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY105 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 02/28/2023	This was first GenEd that I thought was overly drawn out with excessive and harshly graded work, this professor is too broad on his expectations for assignments in class and will make it seem like an assignment until you see a poor grade for an assignment you worked hard on. If you want a class that you deliberately want to waste your precious time with then go ahead, but if you make the right option, do not take this class with him. He does have a kind and understanding persona, but for the sake of your grade, there are better options. Also take in consideration I do not write reviews for these classes/ professors and taking the time to do this should speak volumes on how you should avoid this course with this professor.
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY105 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 12/24/2022	The only people who said he doesn’t grade harsh definitely wants to be teachers pet LOL. Worst professor ever. Grades harsh and refuses to admit his rubric and feedback are ridiculously unclear. Unresponsive through email. PLEASE DO NOT TAKE UNLESS YOU WANT EXTRA STRESS!!!!!
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY105 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/19/2022	To whoever said "A lot of people think that he grades harshly, but frankly, that's not entirely true." Yes, it is. I have spent hours upon hours across several days working on his assignments only for him to give me a mediocre grade. I'm not the greatest writer ever, but I have never gotten worse grades on writing assignments than I have in this class. Absolutely insane standards for a 100 level course.
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY105 Expecting an A- kitkaty 12/13/2022	Honestly not an evil professor, very accommodating to extensions and deadlines. Nice and engaging lectures. However, like all the previous reviews mentioned he grades harshly for a 100-level class so do not expect an easy A class which many do for SOCY. I would not recommend taking him unless you're interested in sociology discussions or is a sociology major (the majority of my class were not).
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY105 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/12/2022	A lot of people think that he grades harshly, but frankly, that's not entirely true. He expects specific things in his grading scheme, and doesn't have much lenience in definitions, applications of concepts, or otherwise. Yes, that is something that I would expect to see in a higher level sociology class than SOCY105, but I think he makes up for this. He is completely willing to work with you if you need extensions for one reason or another. Being an electrical engineering major, it would happen more often than not that a paper would be due within a day or two of an exam in one of my major requirement courses, and since he has a Bachelor's degree in math, he understands what that courseload is like. Additionally, he is a very knowledgeable person who does a remarkable job at keeping politics out of the classroom as much as possible, given this class could be easily turned into a propaganda fest, one way or another. I enjoyed his approach to teaching, and really enjoyed his envolvement of the classroom in discussions about the course material. Ultimately this class was NOT the easy A I was expecting it to be, rather quite the contrary, and I would not recommend it for anyone who only wants the easy A. Anyone who has an interest in sociology would absolutely do right to take this class, especially with Dr. PJ, and I would highly recommend him as a professor for other classes. His expectations are high but to be honest, welcome to college. This isn't high school anymore, and since I have experience with the UMD math department, I know what harsh grading looks like and this isn't it.
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY105 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/11/2022	Too much work
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY105 Anonymous 12/10/2022	Grades harsh, respond once a month. Way too much work for a 100-level
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY105 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/09/2022	Harsh grader and unresponsive to emails and comments. Do not take unless you Loveee sociology.
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY105 Expecting a C Anonymous 12/09/2022	Please do not take this class if you need it for a prereq or expect a 100-level type class. He’s nice, and clearly knows a lot about sociology. However, he expects a LOT OF WORK for a 100-level class and rambles a lot during lectures. It’s incredibly draining. He grades so so so harsh for a normally “easy” class, with his rubrics being incredibly unclear. Even tho prof leaves feedback, his standards are high and requires you to be deeply interested in sociology. The average for most of our writing assignments were C-! Attendance is mandatory. There are 5 big papers and then a BIG PODCAST at the end- however he takes 3 weeks to grade a paper so by the time I knew how bad the class was it was too late to drop out.
Jeffrey Parsells-johnson SOCY105 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/06/2022	Professor Parsells-Johnson is a very interesting and knowledgable professor and he knows how to keep a classroom engaged. He also is understanding when it comes to deadlines and will always be willing to work with you if you need an extension. However, even though this is a 100 level class be prepared for the grading to be very harsh and more like to that of an upper level class than its 100 level designation. And although he does give extensive feedback, I would not recommend this class if you do not have more than an elementary level understanding of sociology or see this class as easier to get an A in, as even if you put in the work to obtain a better understanding of sociology in the class you most likely will not end up with an A, but an A- or B+.
Kalani Johnson SOCY105 Anonymous 10/05/2022	Unhelpful and not approachable. She does not seem particularly interested in Sociology and is not engaging or welcoming with the class. Would take with a different professor if possible
Brian Connor SOCY105 Anonymous 05/12/2022	Professor Connor is an easy 5/5 professor, he is very kind and genuinely wants everyone to pass. He gives many opportunities for students to earn back lost points and submit late work for credit. The workload is more than manageable- 11 weekly summaries, but you only need to do 7, and 3 take home exams including the final that you have 2 weeks to complete. There was an optional extra credit assignment and he allows for exam corrections to earn back half the points you lost. Again, an easy 5/5 would highly recommend.
Brian Connor SOCY105 Anonymous 04/17/2022	Dr. Connor is kind and accommodating. However, the class was a TON of writing and it is boring for the most part.
Mollie Greenberg SOCY105 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 04/14/2022	She's super sweet! She always tried to make the Zoom class fun by having people participate! She is very understanding and accommodating of people's needs and will break her back trying to help everyone out! This class had weekly quizzes where everything was found online, a couple random assignments based on videos, and NO EXAMS! I took it Spring 2021, so it might have exams now. This class was an easy A and she makes it more enjoyable! I highly recommend Professor Greenberg!
Mansoor Moaddel SOCY105 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/10/2021	Lectures could be a little bit boring at times, and he has a little bit of a thick accent so it was somewhat difficult to understand him at times, but overall great class and great Professor. He was very clear about what we needed to know for our exams. Everything on the exams were exactly what was on the slides. He gives you a variety of questions to prepare before hand, and picks a select few of those to test you on. Also the work load was super light. Only 4 Reports over the course of the entire semester, and it was group reports so you pretty much write a page or less for each report.
Philip Cohen SOCY105 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/02/2021	Prof Cohen is very nice and extremely knowledgeable, but he's very awkward and is so lenient that people in class take advantage of him by not doing homework and not coming to class. I was genuinely interested but the class was just not engaging enough to make me want to keep going. I ended up going to most of the lectures online.
Mollie Greenberg SOCY105 Expecting an A- Anonymous 04/09/2021	She GENUINELY cares about your wellbeing n is very understanding, lectures can be a little boring but she means super well. 10000% take her class!!!
Zsuzsa Daczo SOCY105 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 01/22/2021	Thoughtful, kind, and really funny. She talks a bunch about her son and her divorced husband. Class content is also really interesting.
Zsuzsa Daczo SOCY105 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/12/2021	I had Zsuzsa for SOCY105 online. Lectures were long and a bit boring, but the class was super easy and she is extremely lenient about grading, retakes, etc. Take this class if you want an easy A, but don't bother attending lectures. I would have been way happier if I had started skipping them earlier in the semester.
Zsuzsa Daczo SOCY105 Expecting an A Anonymous 09/01/2020	Amazing professor. She genuinely cares about her students and wants you to succeed in her class.
Zsuzsa Daczo SOCY105 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/15/2019	Best teacher you will ever have! She is thoughtful, understanding, caring, and will help you always! Also loves listening to feedback.
Daniel Swann SOCY105 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/06/2018	One of the smartest people I know. This was the only class this semester I never skipped. He's so interesting and focuses on making you learn about social issues and not memorize stuff. Barely any work just quizzes he tells you about before hand