He is amazing!! My favorite professor. This class was really easy if you did the reading. The people that are saying this class was difficult probably couldn't manage the 40 pages a week of reading..... There is a 2 papers and a final and a midterm. There is also a fill in the blank on the midterm and final and for the people complaining it's hard... IT IS NOT! If you do the reading and watch or go to lectures you will be fine, and if you are not, it's just because you didn't read or go to class. Not a hard class. Also Prager is amazing and willing to help you with everything and anything. He is also witty and funny and makes some of the dryer material a lot of fun.

This was the second time I took a class with Professor Prager. The first time I took his class was the quarter before: Sociology 101. Because I loved how clear he was in lecturing, I decided to take him again for Soc 102. Though I got a C+ in Soc 101, I knew that it had nothing to do with Prager, but with the way I messed up towards the end of the class (basically bullshitting the last assignment) anyway, I knew I could do better. He explains the readings so well that even if you don't do them, you know exactly what they're about. He answers student questions during lecture and has an open conversation. He also goes over the same reading/theorist enough times so that we understand. His lectures are also podcasted. However, it's always better to attend. He changed up the outline and had us do 2 papers (2-4 pages), 2 participation assignments (definitions and short response 1-2 pages), and a midterm and final. The midterm was 5 quotes which we had to explain in 5-7 sentences. For each theorist, he gave us the option of choosing one of 2 quotes. So 5 theorist = 5 responses. He didnt include a fill in the blank section. However, for the final, he did the same thing: 5 quote explanations for the different theorists, AND 11 fill in the blanks. He would pull out quotes from any of the readings and we had to fill in the missing word. We did have a word bank. As long as you know which theorist wrote it, you should know what words you can or cannot use from the word bank. AND 1 comparative essay of a theorist from the midterm half and the final half of the quarter. Unlike last quarter, this time I didnt complete all readings (which he posted for us) but I was still able to get by. Discussion section isnt mandatory but REALLY helpful if you can't do all the readings. My TA was Matthew. 100% recommend him. If you go to discussion, lecture, and do all if not most of the readings, you'll be fine!

Prager is awesome! I took 101 with him and then waited until he taught 102 so I could take that with him too. There's no better person to learn this stuff from.

The material in SOC 101 and 102 can be very dense and difficult to understand. Professor Prager does a remarkable job in explaining it slowly, thoroughly and understandably. He really breaks down the material so that the students can understand it and then analyze it on their own. He's one, if not the best professor I've had at UCLA.

Be sure to write down the key terms he writes on the board every class. These are invaluable for the midterm.

The midterm is structured with short answers on each author, a fill in the blank section, and long essay. To do well, you need to understand the basic argument each author makes, and know the key terms Prager writes on the board every class. For the fill in the blank section, pay attention in class to the material that he quotes, as this will probably show up. But you really need to do the reading, or at least skim it so that you're familiar with it, in order to do well on this section.

I was dreading taking 102 after having an awful 101 Professor but Prager made this class so painless & actually sort of interesting. Prager is super sweet & concerned about students; he legitimately wants us to learn & enjoy the material. If you go to lecture every day, write down his key terms, & take good notes, it's pretty easy to do well in his class. ALSO A HUGE PLUS: class was scheduled for an hour & 50 minutes but he always ended it a half hour early! :)

Professor Prager is by far the best professor I've encountered during my time at UCLA. I took Sociology 10, Sociology 101, and Sociology 102 with him as a professor. Each time, I learned many valuable ideals and sociological views. He allows students to make their own views out of the texts and is extremely helpful in answering questions. He analyzes the readings and asks for student analysis as well. He always specifies exactly what the students will need to know for exams but I feel that he never placed much importance on grades which was awesome. Taking a class with Professor Prager can be very rewarding if you enjoy reading, analyzing, and learning.

I took Dr. Prager for both 101 (Winter) and 102 (Spring) and it has been a surprisingly good experience. I was initially scared off by some of the comments that said how hard this class might be. I was also certain that I was not going to be in his 101 class because I was on the waitlist and he doesn't give out PTE #s; but as fate should have it, enough people dropped before the friday deadline and i was able to enroll. True-- this class is very challenging, and you will need to spend hours reading the texts to make sure you semi-understand it, but I enjoyed this class because he taught me valuable philosophies that can be applied to my life. I have to say--and agree with this who mentioned this--that Prager is one of the best professors I have had in my life. I believe he really cares about each person. I remember the first time i went to his office hours, I was a bit scared and somewhat intimated because its just a 1-on-1 chat with him; he makes sure to close the door so that the conversation you have with him is private. He took the time to get to know me for who I was outside of class and that is something that most professors DON'T do. He is not only the best teacher, but he is one of the nicest persons I have ever met.

In terms of class evaluation, I would say that it mostly depends on the TA. If you get a crappy TA, then you are pretty much set for a B or lower. If you feel like your TA is really good, your chances of getting an A is fair. The test set up varies by class, as well. In 101, he had word fill-ins (worth about 40%) and essays (worth about 60%) for the midterm and final. In 102, it was all essays, which did not appeal to my forte. (I was really strong with the fill-ins, but keep in mind that my experience was rather anomalous; most people hated the fill-ins). He may change the set up, so take what I say with a grain of salt. If you have fill-ins on your test, I would advice you to focus on those. People have the tendency to go directly to the essay only to find out that the fill-in sentences are all ambiguous, so they don't have enough time to finish it; and if they do, they do a pretty bad job at it. For 101, the midterm average of a C (mostly bc the fill-ins screwed most people over, but not me lol). For 102, the midterm avg was a B. If you find yourself engaged in 101 with Prager, and want to take him for 102, the only caveat I would give is the text he chooses are much harder (i.e. the class is much harder); but once you realize the overall theme of his class, it will all make sense.

I thought the way he taught the course was really exceptional, and I understood everything coming out of his lectures. If you have the opportunity to take Prager for 101 and 102, I would recommend it. I tried taking mann one quarter and I dropped it because he was a mess. Prager is cool. I got an A in 101 and A- 102; but i repeat, my experience is anomalous, and most people did not get A's. In fact, a lot of people dropped the course after the midterm. If I could take Prager again, I would; but unfortunately, I dont think he teaches anything other than 101 and 102. Overall, take him.