Nicole Marwell

This is the second course I have taken with Prof Marwell (Intro Latino Studies was the first). In this course (since it is only 15 people), she is more open and willing to be personable, which is at times not her style. She is still cut and dry, but she continues to try to extract the most clear cut points from class discussions. The background readings on anthropology and sociology fieldwork helped those of us out who are new to the field. The course is extremely interesting with various components of work, such as reading 100+ pages of reading a week, responses on courseworks, mini fieldwork assignments in two neighborhoods of your choice with a partner, and a final original ethnographic fieldwork in another neighborhood on a certain topic. It has a good variation which helps the course go by quickly. However, there were two points that I had problems with: She made us read her work, right after spring break no less! I personally hate reading the work of the professor in the class if it is in an intimate setting where you need to participate. She wanted to know what we thought of the work and made it the center of discussion for the class period. Second, she tends to play favorites. She was particularly rude to this one girl who always tried to BS her way through everything. Even though the girl obivously did not do her reading (she told us, the students) and pretty much tal…

The first day, Marwell seems pretty tough and mean, but that's generally to weed the weaklings out. Nevertheless, you'll never be able to shake the feeling that she's an angry/cynical person (or as one person said to me, a militant activist under self-restraint). No doubt this will come to mind as she grades class participation (15%) by calling on people randomly and putting questions to them. That aside, this is the most straightforward class I have ever taken--the readings hit you hard, but are really interesting (Marx, Durkheim, Weber, DuBois, and Gilman, plus examples of social theory articles). Likewise, the lectures are INCREDIBLY organized but only to go over the reading, though there's always a discussion waiting to happen. Grading is quite reasonable and fair. All in all, you'll end up quite acquaintted with the material.

interesting class but definitely not an easy A, more like a somewhat hard B. Marwell asks about 7 questions for the midterm, 3 which were ridiculous statistics that she expected us to somehow remember, the other were basically question that you could easily BS as well as the essay. I didn't read anything until the take home final and didn't really need to in order to participate (which is actually 15% of the grade). The class is pretty chill as you dont have to do the reading and you'll never be bored. There is a presentation that everyone has to do with a partner. I thought that this would be fun but it was quite intimidating. I never felt that marwell liked me very much, when people participate she stares at them with a serious face. The take home final was easy- two 5-6pg essays(I did it in one day) although I suspect that I got a B. This is a perfect class to P/D/F but if you choose to take it anyway just study some useless statistics for the midterm.

Weekly quizzes (keeps you up on the reading), take-home midterm, and final. Readings can sometimes be a bit much.

I am not quite sure why there are so many negative reviews about Prof Marwell. She knows the material well and her presentation is clear and concise, without the pretentious wordiness that some professors rely on. Since Latino studies is a realtively new field, she likes a lot of class participation in order to add to the scholar discourse. She challeneged many students to think beyond norms and vague terminology such as "mainstream," "culture," and the black/white dichotomy. However, she is cut and dry. At times, she seems unapproachable, but if you are confident, she tends to open up more about and be more lively. The material is extremely interesting (Im passionate about it). There are many readings that tackle different ideas such as, what is Latino studies?, migration patterns, and US imperialism and the marketing of Latinos in the US market. This course is definitely recommended!

I've taken 22 classes during my time at Columbia so far, and two of these has been with Professor Marwell. I am signed up for a third because they have been some of my best classes. Above all, she knows what she is talking about and she is very organized and committed to getting through the material. She's funny, down to earth and really personable if you take the time to get to know her. She always made herself very available outside of class to chat or help with questions about class/work. WARNING: She is not to be bullshitted as she can tell when you haven't done the reading or are making things up on the spot, and she is not afraid to call you on it. Do the reading, go to class, participate, and you'll be fine. The workload is extremely manageable, I found myself wishing this class was twice a week instead of some of my other ones. The fieldwork was extremely enjoyable and if you were committed to it the final paper came easier than you might think. Overall, she is one of my favorite professors so far, this was one of my most enjoyable classes so far, and I would defenitely recommend it to someone who is interested in the topic.

After reading all of Marwell's CULPA reviews, I was damn confused. After taking Marwell's class, I was daaaaamn confused. Sike! Let me set the record straight, though. Marwell is not the most personable professor in the world, but that's fine because I, unlike some apparently, don't need my theory relayed to me like cocktail party conversation. She is straightforward, has defined lessons and doesn't seem to skip a bit or fall behind in the syllabus. She asks questions, expects answers and appears genuinely interested in our responses. She was also careful to point out that we were welcome to come talk to her about graduate school and sociology in general. Everything about the class was fair. The weekly quizzes kept me on top of the reading. Three questions were posted ahead of time on Courseworks, one of which (generally the most obviously revelant) was chosen. The midterm was on point, as was the final. No surprises. The reading was dense, though short (generally no more than 50 pages per class) and it all seemed essential. I think it's almost impossible not to come away from Marwell's class without having a solid grasp of the theories presented, provided a certain diligence is there on the student's part. This semester I'm taking a graduate seminar on cultural sociology, and I can only imagine how lost I would be if I hadn't taken Marwell's class.

This was one of my favorite classes. The readings can be a bit long and are not always exciting, but I learned a LOT. Prof. Marwell is clear and goes into an amazing amount of detail in a short time. She doesn't mind digging deeper in to questions about the reading and getting into discussions. Reading for this class is mandatory since there are weekly quizzes on it (but they are not bad at all).

AWFUL class. Marwell seemed incredibly biased and didn't know her stuff. When asked questions on what she said in class, she either answered wrongly or circumvented the question without really answering the question. I would not recommend this class.

Give it a rest, guys. This sudden outburst of defense for Marwell fingers you as those "pompous assholes" who dominated (and yes, I'll admit, ruined) the class. Let's just stick to the facts. Compared to the rest of the Sociology department, Marwell stands out for her rigid, cold, and yes, boring approach to Sociology. And yes, I know that such material as this is hard to make completely enthralling, but believe it or not, I've seen it done. What gets me about Marwell is her own foolish idea that she has the "right" answer when it comes to this stuff, when in fact they boil down to more than one. I also agree that she was never so detailed as when she told the life stories of the various authors; and can anyone say that that last unit about current Columbia professors per the Classical authors was NOT a waste of time? Good professors require good rapport and overall passable social skills when it comes to their students and the communication of their lessons. Marwell doesn't have any of that, doesn't even come close, so that automatically requires the less-than-fawning reviews you will find from those students bright and brave enough to post them. For those calling all of us "pricks" and other such nonsense, I would say that you have made yourself look more of one than we have. These reviews are supposed to reflect upon the teacher, and not berrate other reviewers. Overall, do…