I'm currently in the middle of editing my final paper for this class so we shall see what my actual final grade is but this has been a very poor integration of writing II and a history GE. I think this is not too horrible workwise but just has sudden periods of an influx of work which can be pretty annoying. I think the content was somewhat interesting and Bonesho's lectures were very digestable and easy to follow as well as the exams weren't too bad but the worst part about the class was the writing II aspect. I think she was just overambitious about trying to incorporate an essay component into this class, I felt like other than a few times in discussion there wasn't really any direction of how to improve our papers or how to be better writers in general. Not to mention, that in general the TAs graded pretty harshly on both drafts of the papers and even if you spent a decent amount time editing your previous paper your grade only goes up by 2-3 points. Honestly, I wouldn't have even been mad at the janky way this class was implemented if the TAs weren't such harsh graders for no reason. I don't know what happened this quarter with this class whether the last set of TAs were replaced completely but at least I can almost guarantee with this current grading scheme there is no way 50% of the class is going to get As like Winter 2020. If she adjust the class to account for the harsh grading of the TAs I will modify my review slightly but doesn't change the fact that this is a history GE class that had a poor attempt of being a writing II.

Professor Bonesho taught us a way of viewing Judaism with nuance. I think that’s the one thing that I’m proud to have taken from her and undeniably, it was something I was hoping for from the class. I wanted a new way to view religion, and Bonesho delivered.

She prepared incredibly organized and engaging lectures - every single lecture. I do wish the lecture slides held less information and were more engaging sometimes. Once she asked us to send in words through our phones. The words created a word cloud that updated in real-time on the slide. I felt that method’s way of creating vulnerability yet retaining anonymity caught and held everyone’s attention.

Bonesho also knew my name, but I’d never been to her office hours or introduced myself to her personally. She probably glanced at it when I handed her one of my papers, but she really had a way of creating an environment where we felt seen, mostly because I think she let the whole class debate almost every lecture, implying all of our nuanced opinions carried some value.

I’m really glad I took this class before graduating. I don’t remember what I got so I just put “P”/pass in my review. I did turn in some papers late though and remember her late policy being lenient with grade deductions. Also, for the reading...it's pretty long and in depth, but the book's easy to carry. I didn't read it in full, but by skimming between classes and listening closely to her lectures, I did really well on the exams. Tests aren't nit-picky on historical details, just know the main characters in Judaism over time, what they stood for, and how to show the validity and flaws of each person's perspective.

This is NOT an easy GE. If you want a guaranteed A, don't take this class. BUT, you do learn a lot, and you will do well but only if you put in the work for it. I asked questions, went to TA office hours, was engaged, kept up, etc, and that's why I got an A. You cannot slack and expect to do well here.

But it's definitely a very interesting class. Bonesho is very nice and approachable-- good professor. Pretty hard class. A LOT of essay writing too. Final exam is 4 take home essays.. a lot a lot of writing.

This is a great class that I would recommend to anyone. You don't need any prior information about Judaism to succeed and Professor Bonesho is extremely helpful. The class consisted of two papers, one in-class midterm, and a take home final. In addition, she gave 6 quizzes (drops the lowest one) to test if you have done the reading (they are fairly easy). The readings were usually around 20 pages a week and were pretty interesting to me. Overall this was a fulfilling class in which it wasn't too difficult to manage, yet it was also a great learning experience.

As a pre-med, I appreciated having a writing class option that was somewhat relevant to my studies! It definitely was not easy (I don't think any writing 2 class is) and my TA was unnecessarily harsh at times, but I feel like I took some cool medical history knowledge away from this class so I'm definitely not mad. Also, Professor Bonesho is a sweetheart and kind to students who are struggling during COVID-19.

I really liked Professor Bonesho. The material was very interesting and I found the readings to be pretty engaging. There was a decent amount of reading, but I didn't feel like I had to understand or read it all. She went over the most important concepts during lecture and even did little rituals and activities to help us understand what she was talking about. Dr. Bonesho is very passionate about what she teaches and I'd recommend this class highly as a Writing 2 class!

Honestly I'm surprised this class wasn't a writing II credit. There was soooo much writing involved. The midterm was pretty challenging in addition to there being papers/"projects" due nearly every other week. Professor Bonesho is really sweet and I had Julianna as a TA who was awesome but definitely would not recommend taking this if you're looking for an easy and/or light GE.

Overall this class was fairly easy. 25% of your grade is small, easy assignments and participation basically. There are two papers. I felt that the grading was pretty lenient. The lectures were generally pretty engaging, but lost my attention sometimes. There can be a considerable amount of dense reading, but my friend never read and ended up with a B in the class. I started off strong, but ended up skimming most of the readings. If you are willing to put in the time and meet with your TA about your papers prior to submitting, it will definitely reflect in your grade. Also this class covers a ton of stuff and is pretty historical. I thought it was going to be more modern cultural study-ish, but it's pretty much a survey of Judaism over time (which I probably should've expected).

Grade was made of midterm, final, 4-5 page paper, 9-10 page paper, and 5 one page reflections on specific readings. My TA was super helpful and was a generous grader but I truly think the TA makes or breaks this class. This information is not helpful in life but is not very complicated. The only readings I read were to get sources for the papers and to respond to the reflections. The workload is pretty high but I think it was fair given my TA for a writing 2 class.

Prof. Bonesho is great professor, and I feel like the class was interesting both as a GE and a Writing II course. I may be biased as I enjoy writing, but all the essays for this class were manageable in the given time frame. The professor and TAs also offer a lot of support to help you throughout the process. One complaint I had was that the lectures were not recorded or live streamed, and the slides acted as support for lecture not a replacement for lectures themselves. So, if you missed a lecture, you would only get bits and pieces of the content covered. Many of the initial readings were long and boring, however I believe that it got better over time! I would recommend this as a GE for any major!