Hindu Traditions of India

Such a great course, one of the best I've taken. I took this to fulfill a distribution requirement, but enjoyed it so much I want to take more religion classes. The material is very interesting, there are a lot of readings, but it is worth your time. Prof. Ortegren is a great teacher; she really makes you think about the material and is good at explaining things. I learned so much, definitely recommend.

Such a great course, one of the best I've taken. I took this to fulfill a distribution requirement, but enjoyed it so much I want to take more religion classes. The material is very interesting, there are a lot of readings, but it is worth your time. Prof. Ortegren is a great teacher; she really makes you think about the material and …Read more

I found this class to be applicable to all people and their concepts of religion. Ortegren prompts you to think about religion broadly outside of Hindu Traditions. Her scope of Hindu Traditions is narrow because of her research but overall she has a very good sense of what it means to be a Hindu. Its a little weird that she is a white woman teaching about Hinduism however she is self aware and approaches the situations well. I also loved the way she approached writing. She outlines your papers for you. I even came to her with a prompt I had for another class. Overall, I loved the class and would recommend to anyone.

I found this class to be applicable to all people and their concepts of religion. Ortegren prompts you to think about religion broadly outside of Hindu Traditions. Her scope of Hindu Traditions is narrow because of her research but overall she has a very good sense of what it means to be a Hindu. Its a little weird that she is a whit …Read more

Professor Ortegren is so cool. I respected how passionate she was about Hindu Traditions, and how much she cared about imparting a surface level of understanding of these traditions in us students. She made very clear the material we would be quizzed on, so we were always prepared, and helped immensely with our papers. Her guidance there has translated well for me even outside of the religion sphere, so my writing has gotten much much better. I appreciated her honesty and candor, and she created a space in the classroom for us to be able to speak our minds without fear of judgment, and was always willing to answer questions honestly and fairly.

Professor Ortegren is so cool. I respected how passionate she was about Hindu Traditions, and how much she cared about imparting a surface level of understanding of these traditions in us students. She made very clear the material we would be quizzed on, so we were always prepared, and helped immensely with our papers. Her guidance t …Read more

Prof. Ortegren is the best professor for learning about Hindu Traditions in India. She combines her own experiences from researching in India with the class materials. She is very passionate about the material, and the classes are very engaging. We need to write eight responses throughout the semester, two papers, three quizzes, and one final group project, which is very doable. She will grade the first paper a little harshly just so you can improve your writing skills. Overall, definitely take the class if you want something interesting on your schedule!

Prof. Ortegren is the best professor for learning about Hindu Traditions in India. She combines her own experiences from researching in India with the class materials. She is very passionate about the material, and the classes are very engaging. We need to write eight responses throughout the semester, two papers, three quizzes, and …Read more

Prof. Ortegren is an amazing educator. She is a genuinely engaging professor and I deeply admire her teaching practices. The readings can get long, but they are really interesting. The papers are intimidating but she walks everyone through the writing process and will literally sit down and outline your entire paper and help craft a thesis with you. Things can get confusing but Ortegren really encourages an environment where questions are welcome. Overall, this course is challenging if you slack off, but if you keep up with the readings as best you can, it's a chill course.

Prof. Ortegren is an amazing educator. She is a genuinely engaging professor and I deeply admire her teaching practices. The readings can get long, but they are really interesting. The papers are intimidating but she walks everyone through the writing process and will literally sit down and outline your entire paper and help craft a …Read more

Professor Ortegren was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the content which made lectures interesting and engaging! She did speak very very quickly which made it hard to get back on track with notes if I zoned out for a second. I thought the papers were graded fairly and I she covered a huge amount of information in a digestible way. highly recommend this course

Prof. Ortegren is a great professor who does an excellent job of providing a broad survey of the study of Hindu traditions. She is great at facilitating class discussions and provides a lot of support with essay writing. My only critique is that some of the assignments felt like busy-work, and there's a fair number of them to do.

Prof. Ortegren is definitely passionate about what she teaches in this class and knew how to make her lectures fun. Very helpful to students and clearly wants everyone to succeed. There are two papers, a final group project, and a couple super low stakes quizzes. I definitely suggest meeting with her to outline your papers.

One of the best classes I have taken here at Middlebury. She is so understanding and a very fair grader. She gives great writing advice and truly just wants you to learn. It is heavy project and participation based.

Prof. Ortegren is an amazing professor. She's very passionate about what she teaches. Although the class is reading heavy, the short exams are pretty easy as long as you take notes in class. The course is pretty chill.

Professor Ortegren's class was super fun and interesting. She engaged with us and slowed down if we didn't understand something. She is also very caring towards her students. I would definitely take this class again!

Ortegren is super cool. Love her general enthusiasm for all that she teaches. She really cares about her students. Two papers and final projects with a couple of easy classes. Her first paper grading can be harsh but the second is way easier and it does not affect your overall grade as much.

This course was great! Jennifer Ortegren is incredibly passionate about the subject and while the class moves pretty quick, I felt like I learned loads. There are a few papers and quizzes, but I felt they were pretty manageable and all you need to do is go to her office hours to do well.

Professor Ortegren shows a lot of enthusiasm during class. You can tell she enjoys her work and really wants you to think about religion differently. Her approach is about religion in peoples' everyday lives. I definitely recommend this course. There's a lot to take from it and it's very interesting. Constant reading, only a few papers, and few quizzes about general concepts.

Professor Ortegren is super nice and very engaging. You can tell she is passionate about the subject which makes the material interesting. Reading can be tough because you have at least 1 or 2 per class that can take awhile and if you don't read them, participation is tough to do.

Ortegren is an amazing professor. She is so passionate about the material and genuinely cares about her students. She is pretty flexible with deadlines as long as you reach out to her beforehand, although she does have somewhat stricter attendance guidelines. The reading quizzes are pretty easy as long as you take notes in class, and the two major papers were not too bad either. She brought in some really cool guest lecturers too.

Ortegren is an amazing professor. She is so passionate about the material and genuinely cares about her students. She is pretty flexible with deadlines as long as you reach out to her beforehand, although she does have somewhat stricter attendance guidelines. The reading quizzes are pretty easy as long as you take notes in class, and …Read more

There is a fair amount of work for this course, but the professor is extremely helpful when it comes to paper writing, and helps you come up with plans for the writing. She offers a lot of support overall.

Amazing class with an amazing professor. She teaches perfectly, allowing us to learn how to write. She leaves harsh comments but grades fairly giving us space to improve in our writing. Definitely take the class.