I've tried so hard to stay awake in this class, but I immediately fall asleep once Landecker starts talking. Her voice is very unenthusiastic, so potentially interesting topics sounded extremely boring during lectures. The course is supposed to be about both human biology and society, but the focus seems to be mostly on biology. The exams are hard because she includes small biological details that we didn't know we were supposed to study. The questions are also really tricky, where you think two answers are technically right, but one is slightly "more correct" than the other. This professor pretty much ruined Human Biology and Society for me, but I hear that the class with Lynch-Alfaro is really great compared to this one.

As a 3rd year HBS major, this class is much like your other GEs - written portions on exams (this is what got me, forgot how to english), per-lecture readings, weekly discussion participation assignments (30 min spent typing them up), and so on. The grading for this class was fairly lenient, although as mentioned before, a large portion of it is up to the TA's discretion. The biggest takeaway from this class by far though, is the way Dr. Landecker presented the class material. For those who are interested in applying to the HBS BA or BS, I highly suggest you take a course with Dr. Landecker. She is truly passionate about her research, and if you are interested in the topics as well, you will find her lectures immensely engaging. This course was by no means hard, and is the most unique courses I've taken yet in its unconventional structure without a textbook supplement.

This class was not hard at all, as long as you put in a bit of effort. If you do the readings, go to lecture/section (participation is a large portion of your grade), and study for the exams, you will be fine. She gives a study guide for her exams and the material to fill out the study guide can be found directly in her lecture slides. Her lectures are also BruinCasted, which were useful to refer back to while studying. She doesn't allow technology (phones or laptops) during class so you have to handwrite your notes. Overall good class.

The other review for this particular quarter (Fall 2016) is unfair; while Landecker may not be the most engaging professor, she is extremely well versed in the material and wants to see students succeed. Lectures are BruinCasted, slides are posted online, and there is no textbook; instead, students have to read about ~4 articles per week and do a very short (less than one page) assignment regarding TWO of the articles per week. Your grade will be determined mostly by your TA, as they grade these assignments, the midterm/final, and the one essay that is required of you. The grading scheme is actually rounded out fairly nicely by large percentages attributed to participation in discussion, alongside a few (very short) participatory assignments that Landecker passes out every once and a while to encourage attendance in lecture. I also took Soc Gen 89 (the honors seminar for the course) and highly recommend; Landecker's 1-on-1 interactions are inquisitive and much more charismatic than the large lecture allows for. I am a more of a science-heavy student, so I actually wished we focused MORE on the biology-based material (we rarely discussed the biological causation/explanations of the material in-depth; rather, we focused a lot on their actual implications and this often spun the conversation in-lecture towards more societal narratives. Just another reason I disagree with the other review). The exam questions CAN be misleading, I admit, but they are not so impossible to navigate that you will fail the exams; review what she SAYS in lecture rather than the lecture slides themselves and the rest will follow (this is made easy by the BruinCasts). All-in-all, this class is not all-that-difficult to succeed in - it's up to you to put in a decent amount of work and not just blow this class off as an easy GE. I'd definitely take this class - with this professor - again.

I thought this class was very interesting and the professor was really nice and helpful! We had a multiple choice midterm and a take home final with short answer questions. There was plenty of opportunities for extra credit as well. Since this was her first time teaching the class, the midterm grades were curved.

I would personally avoid taking this class with Professor Landecker if you can. Her teaching style is mediocre (not a lot of student engagement, reads off slides, sometimes repetitive), but her tests are DIFFICULT. You will struggle if you aren't a fan of reading through the material and memorizing the little details. I got an A- in this class solely due to having to grind for the second half of the quarter with Dr. Venkat and studying a lot for the final. If this is your only option, you'll be fine, just stick to the readings and do not underestimate the course. You can do well if you really apply yourself. And if it's not your only option, I suggest looking elsewhere.

I really loved the subject matter of this class, but the readings were very long and made it hard to prepare for exams (which were heavily based on small details from the readings). We still watched some documentaries and tried several approaches, but the first half of the course was very dense.

I liked how we did short write-ups because they were very personal and easy to think about, but the exams were a bit tough. The midterm was a multiple choice, 35-point quiz on CCLE, but the questions were oddly specific and most of us received a C or lower. The final was open for us to complete for one whole week, and it was written. There were different sections, each of which involved incorporating material from the lectures and readings. The final was much easier because we were able to express our opinions.

I loved Prof. Landecker as a person (she's so sweet and hardworking) and this was her first time teaching the class so I knew there would be bumps along the way. If the midterm wasn't so difficult, honestly this class wouldn't be bad at all. I would still take it again though. Hope this helps!