Professor
Katherine Coffing
1 of 1
Most Helpful Review
I didn't like Prof Coffing. I guess I wasn't that fair from the start with her because I was already biased. I have had bad experiences with female profs. All female profs that I've had have been overly enthusiastic with their material, which is annoying (for me), and made jokes that were so corny that I was actually embarassed for them. Prof Coffing is no exception. She seems to enjoy showing us slides of hominoid genitalia and sexual behavior. And she always makes a joke about them. Anyways, this course isn't hard really. But there's SO much material covered during the course. And, the test questions seem so easy because they are so general, but the answers they want are so specific, it's hard to know what they are really asking for. It's so frustrating because you finish the test thinking you did well because you knew everything they asked but you get a bad grade because they asked a vague question and was looking for a specific answer. I wouldn't say that this is a good class or a bad class, but a BORING one and don't take it if you are just looking for a GE class, there are much better ones out there.
I didn't like Prof Coffing. I guess I wasn't that fair from the start with her because I was already biased. I have had bad experiences with female profs. All female profs that I've had have been overly enthusiastic with their material, which is annoying (for me), and made jokes that were so corny that I was actually embarassed for them. Prof Coffing is no exception. She seems to enjoy showing us slides of hominoid genitalia and sexual behavior. And she always makes a joke about them. Anyways, this course isn't hard really. But there's SO much material covered during the course. And, the test questions seem so easy because they are so general, but the answers they want are so specific, it's hard to know what they are really asking for. It's so frustrating because you finish the test thinking you did well because you knew everything they asked but you get a bad grade because they asked a vague question and was looking for a specific answer. I wouldn't say that this is a good class or a bad class, but a BORING one and don't take it if you are just looking for a GE class, there are much better ones out there.
Most Helpful Review
Like the previous review, I find her to be the 2nd worse prof I have had at UCLA. This class is billed as a lecture, however, she calls it a discussion class. There was absolutely no meaningful discussion whatsoever the whole quarter. We had an 800 page reader with reading assignments for each class. The readings were very interesting, however, they were very redundant. The whole quarter consisted of reading for the day and then coming into class and reiterating what we read. When a student would question the readings she would basically ignore it. When she chimed in with her views she was very dry, boring, and monotone. Stay away from any class she teaches.
Like the previous review, I find her to be the 2nd worse prof I have had at UCLA. This class is billed as a lecture, however, she calls it a discussion class. There was absolutely no meaningful discussion whatsoever the whole quarter. We had an 800 page reader with reading assignments for each class. The readings were very interesting, however, they were very redundant. The whole quarter consisted of reading for the day and then coming into class and reiterating what we read. When a student would question the readings she would basically ignore it. When she chimed in with her views she was very dry, boring, and monotone. Stay away from any class she teaches.
AD
Most Helpful Review
This class could have been incredibly boring as, though I love Anthropology, australopithicines can be very dry. But it WASN'T! Dr. Coffing is a great professor. She's engaging, aware of the curent developments in the field, and encourages you to think for yourself. The midterm and final come almost entirely from the questions the students submit, so you have a very fair idea of what to know. She's very dedicated and interested in making you interested in the subject. I can't wait to take another class with her.
This class could have been incredibly boring as, though I love Anthropology, australopithicines can be very dry. But it WASN'T! Dr. Coffing is a great professor. She's engaging, aware of the curent developments in the field, and encourages you to think for yourself. The midterm and final come almost entirely from the questions the students submit, so you have a very fair idea of what to know. She's very dedicated and interested in making you interested in the subject. I can't wait to take another class with her.
Most Helpful Review
Professor Coffing led this seminar of about 16 students very well. Although there was a lot of reading involved, we would critically discuss each of the topics. "Critical discussion" may not be the appropriate description...it was more like ripping up some of the theories and laying down the truth. Coffing has made me more aware of my ability to be skeptical, which sadly seems like a new concept in a university setting where we are almost always expected to simply regurgitate others' opinions. Take this class if you want to be challenged and to challenge the work of other anthropologists.
Professor Coffing led this seminar of about 16 students very well. Although there was a lot of reading involved, we would critically discuss each of the topics. "Critical discussion" may not be the appropriate description...it was more like ripping up some of the theories and laying down the truth. Coffing has made me more aware of my ability to be skeptical, which sadly seems like a new concept in a university setting where we are almost always expected to simply regurgitate others' opinions. Take this class if you want to be challenged and to challenge the work of other anthropologists.
1 of 1
