SOCI UN3235

Somewhat heavy, but you can do it all, and it won't make a difference. Some not so great students did very will, and some exceptional students did poorly.

Medium. For Movement I believe I had three essays, two 8 pages ones and one long one for final. For theory there are five short 4-5 pages essays I believe, and maybe one final. Readings could be long some time, but usually bearable. You will need to read for participating into the classes, and she gives pop-up quiz on the readings - scary but very helpful with understanding your material.

8 blog posts, 2 papers, a presentation on a specific social movement, 3 trips to events outside of class and a blog audit

I must agree with the negative reviews of this class and the instructor. I found Minkoff's style to be off-putting at best. Although the readings were wonderful, the lectures did not reflect the richness of the texts. Of most importance, however, is the fact that Minkoff is not qualified to evaluate students regardless of her standing in the department. Some top students did poorly, and some students who could barely form a sentence received superior grades. As a result of the less than stellar teaching and evaluation, my interest in sociology in general, and social movements in specific, has been greatly diminished.

Denise Milstein is definitely brilliant. She is a very intelligent, sweet and understanding person. I take her classes twice- social movement and social theory. She likes to lead the class in discussion, and she is very good at facilitating good discussions in class. But don't think of her as one of those professors who expect you to speak for the whole 75 mins when they only say one sentence or two. She's very good at lecturing, definitely the best on I have ever had on this campus since she is very good at catching the points of reading and explaining all those abstract terms in very clear ways. You feel the time pass so fast in her class - you are so immersed in the protectors' stories, the thinkers' theories, and you keep your brain running to catch up with the flow of the thought, even after the classes end. You really think a lot in her classes, definitely worth a try.

While the content of this class is very interesting, the class was extraordinarily unorganized and difficult to follow. We often did not know what our assignments were until a day or two before, and the Professor was impossible to reach by email, and often did not show up to her office hours. She had a lot of unrealistic expectations, such as having us come to a 7 am taping of a TV show or staying 20-30 minutes after class ended for a panel. The workload is not crazy but just extremely unpredictable. DO NOT take this class if you are a planner or it gives you anxiety if the syllabus is changed every week.

Doesn't matter how hard you work, if she don't like you, it don' matter

I took Social Movements last fall, and was greatly disappointed by this class. I found this instructor to be rather pompous, the TA (who was from NYU) not particularly knowledgeable, and the whole experience rather demeaning. As an older GS student, I lived through some of those social movements, and can tell you first hand, the information was inaccurate. As a student with a near perfect GPA, I was also astounded at the subjective grading, especially since I know this material inside and out, and could have taught the class in a far more engaging manner. Needless to say, I dropped this class half way through the semester with no regrets. I did receive a "what I say goes," type response from Minkoff after expressing disbelief in the TA's arbitrary grading system. Her inability to listen to valid concerns combined with her I'm the chief, judge, and excecutioner mentality (unfortunately she is the chair of the Sociology department at Barnard), made this a no win situation for this top student. Being male also did not help. However, if you are a rather dim witted pretty female, who knows how to kiss ass, you'll do just fine. Fore me, I want my money back!

A fair amount of reading, most of it necessary. Two 4-5 page papers, midterm and final. If you do the reading and pay attention in class, the exams are a breeze.

Professor Minkoff is very intelligent and incredibly knowlegable in her field. At the beginning of the course you will probably find her lectures dull. She is not the most inspired lecturer, and until you get some kind of handle on the material you won't see the point of going to class. But let me assure you that this class is fascinating, and Professor Minkoff does a wonderful job of pulling everything together at the end. The readings are informative and sometimes even fun, and the writing assignments are relevant, short, and enjoyable.