Society and the Individual

I am a sociology major, and I took this course with Prof. McCallum as a freshman. It is true that he can be a bit scattered and all over the place when lecturing, but I think that this is a great introductory course to the discipline of sociology. He does a good job touching on the different topics that are covered more in depth in later sociology courses, and I think he makes the class engaging and relevant to the students. I appreciate how McCallum turns lectures into discussions, as it can make the environment more engaging.

I am a sociology major, and I took this course with Prof. McCallum as a freshman. It is true that he can be a bit scattered and all over the place when lecturing, but I think that this is a great introductory course to the discipline of sociology. He does a good job touching on the different topics that are covered more in depth in l …Read more

This class was one of my favorite classes here at Middlebury. Professor Owens was super knowledgeable. His lectures were engaging and humorous and I enjoyed going to them twice a week. The class is self-grading, so it is nice if you have a difficult semester.

Linus was a very intresting and engaging, but the lack of structure made it so no students participated. This was a problem becuase a lot of the class revolved around discussion. I also wasn't a fan of how much he let his own politics interfere with his teaching. He often was rude and disrespectful to students if they disagreed with him.

Very chill class, but requires some willingness to think critically about the material in your own ways. I enjoyed this teaching style because it was low-stakes and fun but actually taught you to think deeply about what you were learning.

Professor Han is a very interesting professor, and definitely will keep you engaged. My class was three hours on a Wednesday night and he does a variety of activities to keep the class engaged. I took the class at the intention of possibly minoring and sociology, but I didn’t know what it was truly all about I love the professor, but I don’t think sociology as a topic is for me. Great man though and different way of thinking about things!

Professor Han is a very interesting professor, and definitely will keep you engaged. My class was three hours on a Wednesday night and he does a variety of activities to keep the class engaged. I took the class at the intention of possibly minoring and sociology, but I didn’t know what it was truly all about I love the professor, but …Read more

Professor MacCallum is awesome. He is very enthusiastic about this subject. The readings can be difficult to understand sometimes but he is always happy to discuss! The class structure wasn't too helpful but doing the readings and going to office hours is helpful.

Professor McCallum is very passionate about his work and his very fun to engaged with one on one, he is just very fast paced with his lectures and sometimes they will be a bit scattered. there are only two papers with a take home final but sometimes even the goal on those is a bit scattered. His office hours are great though, he does much better one on one

It is a fairly easy course that serves well as an introduction to sociology as a whole since you get to explore multiple topics and their intersectionality. Professor McCallum is certainly fun in class and he'd extremely engaging, however there are moments where he seems to get carried away with certain topics and the intent of the days lecture gets a little scattered.

Linus is such an interesting guy, and the way he delivers the material during the lectures is always funny, and engaging. I really like how even in a big lecture hall he manages to engage with lots of students with running jokes, and things like that. The coursework itself is not very difficult, you really only have to do the readings and write a couple of papers, but I found it to be very enjoyable. As long as you attend classes, you can grade yourself, and have a pretty good time in the process.

Linus is such an interesting guy, and the way he delivers the material during the lectures is always funny, and engaging. I really like how even in a big lecture hall he manages to engage with lots of students with running jokes, and things like that. The coursework itself is not very difficult, you really only have to do the reading …Read more

I really like Jamie, he is really entertaining, however his teaching style is not effective in my opinion. I did not absorb any information and he moves pretty fast through the material. I felt unprepared for our papers. However there is not a lot of work so I felt I had a lot of time to prepare myself.

My experience in the sociology class left me with mixed feelings. While the subject matter itself is inherently intriguing, the course structure and delivery left much to be desired. The lack of structure made it difficult to fully engage with the material, leaving me feeling like I didn't take away much from the class. The course felt unstructured and dry, which made it challenging to connect with the content on a meaningful level. It lacked the engaging elements that could have brought the subject matter to life and made it more relatable. Unlike other classes that provided clear guidance and a well-defined learning path, this sociology course felt disjointed, making it hard to discern the overarching themes or takeaways. It left me feeling disconnected from the subject matter and, as a result, I didn't find the class as enriching as I had hoped. In summary, while sociology is a fascinating field, my experience in this particular class left me feeling underwhelmed due to its unstructured and dry nature. It made it difficult to engage meaningfully with the content and ultimately left me with a sense of missed opportunities for a more enriching educational experience.

My experience in the sociology class left me with mixed feelings. While the subject matter itself is inherently intriguing, the course structure and delivery left much to be desired. The lack of structure made it difficult to fully engage with the material, leaving me feeling like I didn't take away much from the class. The course f …Read more

This class was really good. A lot of time is spent on each topic and it's reinforced in readings, homework, videos, and lectures so if you don't get it the first time you will eventually. discussions are very well thought out and take almost the whole time or less on average.

I took the class because I was told that it was extremely easy. I was not let down. On the first day he lays out how to get a good grade. Come to class, turn in the papers, and don't be on your computers in class. All you need to do in this class is submit 4 B level essays and come to most classes, and you will be able to grade your self a grade at the end of the year.

I think that this was a great introduction to the field of sociology. You start by learning about different prominent theorists and their theories, then you move on to more contemporary issues. My professor, Jamie McCallum, focuses his scholarly work on labor and income inequality, so a lot of what we learned about was in that realm. I thoroughly enjoyed the readings although there were a bit dense and lengthy every once in a while. He lets you grade your own work and gives you fun prompts for assignments.

I think that this was a great introduction to the field of sociology. You start by learning about different prominent theorists and their theories, then you move on to more contemporary issues. My professor, Jamie McCallum, focuses his scholarly work on labor and income inequality, so a lot of what we learned about was in that realm. …Read more

Although Jamie can be a bit scattered in his teaching style, I enjoyed this course and felt like it gave an intro to soc -- although we did look at traditional theory, the bulk of the class drew from contemporary issues and his personal experience with soc. The difficult part is drawing a connection between the two parts, but I think that Jamie cares most about effort and is happy to meet with students to go over material. The class had 2 papers and one optional take home exam that counted for extra credit, so the workload wasn't crazy. I think that coming to class having done or at least skimmed the reading with specific quotes noted is important as well.

Although Jamie can be a bit scattered in his teaching style, I enjoyed this course and felt like it gave an intro to soc -- although we did look at traditional theory, the bulk of the class drew from contemporary issues and his personal experience with soc. The difficult part is drawing a connection between the two parts, but I think …Read more

Professor Han has a dry sense of humor. He incorporates his own life experiences and pressured us to look into our own lives to see sociological concepts. I really enjoyed his class. I would have wanted it not as a once a week 3 hour meeting but besides that I had no complaints. Pretty self-directed as far as assignment due dates go

I enjoyed this class. I sometimes thought Professor McCallum's lecture style was a little disjointed and confusing, but the concepts we went over in class were relatively easy. The readings were interesting, and he gave interesting prompts for the two papers we had in this class. The papers and the course are all self-graded, and there is a final project instead of an exam.

Great course and would recommend to everyone. There is a lot of very dense reading but most of the concepts are covered in thorough detail in class- take from that what you will. Lots of writing assignments, but the topics were interesting. Han is extremely funny and his lectures are very engaging.

Linus is so interesting and engaging! Not a normal sociology class you would expect as his lectures are quite all over the place, but Linus can always connects reading materials to real-life scenarios in unexpected ways and unique perspectives. Linus cares a lot about students' opinions and can always elaborate so much based on whatever you say in class. This class makes me decide to major in sociology :)

Linus is so interesting and engaging! Not a normal sociology class you would expect as his lectures are quite all over the place, but Linus can always connects reading materials to real-life scenarios in unexpected ways and unique perspectives. Linus cares a lot about students' opinions and can always elaborate so much based on whate …Read more

It was an easy class but he is a bit strict grader. And a lot of readings but chill class. This is an easy class to take if you already have 3 difficult courses in your schedule. He is fun. To me, the class was boring because I wasn't really interested in the class but many might like it.

The class was very interesting and you cover a wide range of topics. There is time for lots of discussion in the lectures and most of the readings were manageable and engaging. Although, his teaching style can be all over the place so sometimes the class could be a little bit slow.

It was a great introductory course. It touched upon several topics that I found quite interesting. The professor was also entertaining and did not assign much work for us to do. He was very laid back and we learned a lot from the class.

A very enjoyable course, a good change from my typical Midd classes. Lots of Lectures, Readings, and weekly discussions. The professor chooses not to use grading throughout the semester. There are three essays but once again they are not graded.

Jamie McCallum lecturers are engaging. The readings are ok but the papers and grading system is very good. Jaime is a great professor and the workload is very manageable. I would recommend people take this class with him.

Linus is a very interesting guy. He shoves his views down your throat and seems to always complain. I found the information in the class very useless and I would often feel annoyed during lectures. Despite this, it's the easiest class you will take because it is ungraded and you give yourself the grade you think you deserve.

LOVED PROF BHAVE. she is super accommodating and understanding. her lectures are interesting and funny, which is rare as the class could easily be theory heavy and boring. the three essays are reasonable and she grades fairly.

Jamie is very funny and great to listen to. He makes the concepts fun. Besides that, the class has no structure, so make sure to keep up with readings to do assignments. For the assignments, there are multiple choices to pick from for your grade.

I really enjoyed this class. He was the best teacher and so funny. I really enjoyed the readings he picked as he spotlighted relevant and genuinely interesting topics after covering the basics of Marx and Weber.

Class is very laid back. Heavily based on reading and lecture. This class only had two papers and one final at the end of the semester. The papers are very informal and usually around 3 pages. No presentations or exams.