Elizabeth Bernstein

I also feel the need to write a review considering some of the negativity below. Prof. Bernstein is one of the best professors I've ever had- she is brilliant, kind, engaging, and a phenomenal facilitator. This is a seminar class that focuses mainly on our readings, which can be dense, but are always SO rewarding, esp. with Prof. Bernstein's help in facilitating meaningful discussions that allow me to leave each class with a much stronger grasp on the readings than I had going in to the day. This is my favorite class I've taken so far in my academic career. If you have the incredible opportunity to take a class with Prof. Bernstein, I urge you to do so!!

After reading the reviews below, I was super nervous about going into Bernstein's class, and almost decided not to take it. I am so glad I didn't listen to the comments below. I don't know what happened in that class, but my experience with Bernstein has been anything but monstrous or horrid. This class was amazing, and there hasn't been anything offered before that's remotely like it, and I sincerely hope they offer it again. Not only is Bernstein downright brilliant, she put together an amazing syllabus and facilitated amazing discussions. She managed to break down texts which were often more theoretical and dense than most sociology classes might assign, and explained them clearly and simply. She's also incredibly sweet, responsive to emails, helpful outside of class, and it was clear that she was just as invested in the class and the material we were studying as we were. I absolutely loved every bit of this class. It completely changed the way I think about sociology as a discipline, and the type of work that sociologists can do. You will want to work hard for this class, not just because Bernstein has high expectations, but because the readings are all absolutely amazing.

I took Prof Bernstein's Sociology of Gender lecture class this past fall (2012) and felt the need to review her, and it, after reading the reviews below. I really don't understand why everyone is hating on her so much... The class didn't blow my mind, but the lectures and readings were interesting, the assignments were pretty easy, the grading was fair, and the professor and TA's were completely pleasant. I had absolutely no issues with Bernstein or the TA's at all. I'm a Sociology major, so maybe I have a different take on Bernstein and her teaching style than Women's/Gender Studies majors, but I thought the class was really quite good! ATTN people who are debating taking this lecture: go to the first few classes. That's exactly how the entire semester is. AKA pretty relaxed, easy, and mostly interesting. It's not hard to get an A in this class and not have a complete meltdown about it. Go to class, take notes, and skim the readings. That's it.

I am not sure why Professor Bernstein is a professor. She seems to have no interest in students. She has been my adviser for two years and still does not remember my name. She never remembers appointments. If she wants to do her own research, she should do so without pretending to teach as well.

Heavy readings BUT always fulfilling and thoroughly reviewed in class. Usually somewhere from 50-100 pages a week, which are dense and take a few hours, but always so worth it.

This professor is a monster. She is condescending, passive-aggressive, and unsympathetic. You meet her three times and she re-introduces herself each time. She laughs and smirks at people in class. She doesn't want you to construct your own interpretation ever, she'll cut you off instead of hearing you out and explaining where she thinks you went wrong. The work load fucking sucks, and if you don't do well on one of them you're kind of in trouble. Don't take this class.

Elizabeth Bernstein nearly caused me a nervous breakdown at the end of last semester. She is power-hungry and a bully. Furthermore, she does not correct students when they mis-gender a trans person during a discussion of a film or a text with transgendered characters, and I think that this is irresponsible of her as a professor and as the controller of the classroom. If you want to do your own research and make students cry on the side, don't teach at Barnard.

Professor Bernstein does not give a shit. I thought at the beginning she was quirky and adorable the first month and a half of class, basically until right after the drop deadline, then she started doing the negative things people have already mentioned. When I would share in class she would smirk at me and try to cut me off, it just became a chore to participate just for my grade. when discussing the Brandon Teena Story she was fishing for someone to say that Brandon's transition was exclusively for the social gain of being a man. Somebody actually made that comment, and she was approving. I almost fell out of my seat I was so mad. I took this class as my WGSS intro class and that was the worst decision of my life. Sure some reviews say things along the line of "this is a sociology class, and if you're not used to that way of thinking then don't take it because this class is so awesome and eye opening." And to that I say: that's a load of bullocks. This class maintains the binary structure of gender and attempts to fit people of deviant gender identities into that binary. THIS IS NOT A REVOLUTIONARY CLASS IT IS NORMATIVE. WGSS MAJORS, DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS IT WILL INFURIATE YOU BI-WEEKLY (even tri-weekly if you go to discussion section). You can read the interesting things on the syllabus on your own time, do not take this class. Do not take a class with Bernstein, she does…

Stay away from this professor. She does not care about students. Her assignments are very complicated and if you are lucky enough to receive her as your grader instead of the TA for both of your papers, you are screwed. Also, she does not take kindly to any perspective that elaborates upon or goes beyond the points discussed in lecture. Other students found her engaging, and it is true that she is passionate about the topics she chooses. However, when she says something like "There are several ways to do this," she is lying. If you don't know how to write a sociology paper and if you don't stick to exactly what was said in lecture, you are screwed.

Professor Bernstein is an engaging lecturer, and she presents some interesting theories about an interesting subject. She fostered a lot of new ideas for me that I really appreciated. However, she can be fairly condescending. She would outright laugh at some students' questions or commentary. To her credit though, she does allow for a lot of class participation and discussion. I would recommend Bernstein simply for her knowledge of what she teaches (which is extensive), but you should know what you're getting into, particularly the workload.