I had the pleasure of taking Comm Studies 165 with Professor Von Blum over a year ago and it was the best choice I ever made. Von Blum is an amazing speaker and teacher. He managed not only to keep me interested for three hours, but to get me to WANT to come back to lecture each week. This class was so brilliant because the content is so intertwined with his own life and he teaches from personal experience. He's very approachable and he loves helping his students. He teaches you to THINK and to challenge yourself, not just to regurgitate facts that you'll never care about again. It was a truly inspiring class. Grading is 2 papers and a quiz to make sure you attend lectures. Very straightforward and he even gives you a choice between several paper topics.