It's a fascinating subject! The class is not difficult at all. The only assignments are a midterm, 10-page final paper, and a final. The tests are straight memorization of your notes according to the provided study guide, and the paper requires at least one in-person site visit to a religious ritual. The lectures are interesting, and since the professor does not record lectures nor upload slides, make sure to write everything down. The professor is a cool person too.

This was such a great class with a great professor!

FYI for those taking this class next, don't go on your phones or leave early, he will call you out, lol.

Simon's a great teacher, most of his classes are all 33%/33%/33% midterm, final, and a final paper. He didn't record lectures so participation in every lecture is a must. The exam questions are open response—just memorize and study the review bullet points like it's an exam and you can BS the rest. The final 10-page paper requires you to visit 2 religious sites and compare them.

Simon's very accommodating and I recommend you to take advantage of his OH if you have the time.

Overall, his lectures were pretty engaging as someone who took it as a blow-off GE class.

Prof Joseph is very knowledgeable about his field and an awesome guy. He helped me so much with my research paper and providing powerpoints for the lectures after I got sick.

I took this class to satisfy the diversity course requirement. I highly recommend taking this class because the professor is very passionate about what he teaches. I always looked forward to his lectures because they felt like a time to relax. The way he teaches the material helps you really learn the material without feeling stressed. His exams do require you to memorize almost all of his lecture slides.

Easy A class. Professor Simon will provide study guide for the midterm and final. The exams are heavily based on the lectures and the study guide. This class also has a final project which is at least 10 pages long but Professor Simon was super helpful. You can ask him anything about the project.

Professor Simon is an amazing lecturer! He was passionate about the history of religion and made the lectures engaging. In order to succeed in this class, you need to go to the lectures because he will not post the lecture slides for you to view at your own leisure, so make sure to take good notes and pay attention. He provides readings for the course (I didn't read any of them since I had other classes and work) and he may ask questions about the readings on the exams. However, I did fine in the class even though I missed a couple questions. He has you write a paper at the end of the course, give yourself plenty of time to do it! It is easy to procrastinate, start early on this and it shouldn't be too much of a hustle. Finally, if you have any questions, Professor Simon is very accommodating. During office hours he supported many students who were having trouble with the final paper. This class really makes you think about the impact of religion in our political system. Is America a Christian Nation?

Professor Joseph is a gem and can be categorized as a traditional lecturer. The content discussed is very interesting and he loves when students participate. The class is broken down as there is one midterm which is an exam 33% a final paper 33% and a final exam 33%. Class notes are integral for doing well on the exams and the assigned readings are secondary to help curb your knowledge of the material. I would definitely recommend him, and I am looking forward to taking another class with him in the near future.

This class was interesting, but the hour plus lectures did get a bit boring sometimes. It was in person, without the recordings or slides posted, so you had to get the notes from someone if you did not go to class. The issue with this is he adds on a lot of important stuff that are not included in the slides, and if someone did not take notes on what he talked about you kind of missed the material. He gives a study guide for the midterm and final, and if you know the study guide by heart you will do extremely well. The midterm and final were 20+ short answer questions matching the study guide exactly. I did not study enough for the midterm and did not do well, but ended up getting an A anyway (I think he curved the class a lot). Professor Joseph was really nice and provided all course readings, so there was not a need to purchase anything except blue books for the midterm and final. The final paper was kind of tough but as long as you wrote more than 10 pages and put in effort you got a good grade.

Professor Joseph is fantastic. He answers more questions in class than anyone I have ever met. The readings for this class were long but nothing out of the ordinary for an upper-division history course. Prof. Joseph can be a little socially awkward and is very sensitive to phone use during class but is incredibly helpful and knowledgeable. I recommend any class he teaches!