One of my favorite classes I've taken at the school. Very interesting and not too difficult in terms of work load. Chris is amazing.

very highly recommend any cs major take this for sci tech.

The homework was optional. We got full points for submitting an attempt. They were occasionally long.
Lectures were prerecorded. During the lecture, multiple choice questions would pop up for us to try to answer, as a comprehension check. He went over them afterwards. Each lecture is followed by a short, optional, 5 question quiz that we got full credit for so long as we got 1 question right. Chris was pretty monotone, so I could see people feeling finding his lectures unengaging, though the multiple choice questions helped with that. If you don't like listening to the lecture, he also posted each lecture typed up as a LaTeX document.
Tests (one midterm and a final) were multiple choice (he switched to this format because of Covid. I believe he will switch back to FRQs once we're back in person). They were pretty conceptual. If one understood the lectures and homework, they probably did well.
He had a nice grading system. If you do a homework or quiz, you get points and the number of points you're graded out of in the end increases. If you don't do a homework or quiz, you aren't losing any points because your grade never included them to begin with. The effect is if you have to miss a quiz/homework, you're good. If you feel confident in your understanding of the material, no need to do any homework or quizzes - just ace the midterm and final. If you're insanely confident, you could even skip the midterm, since if you do better on the final than the midterm, your final grade replaces your midterm grade.
He held live sessions once a week on a service called Campuswire where he went over several example problems. He seemed more lively here than in the prerecorded lectures. People could post questions on Campuswire for everyone to see and (in my experience) he responded within minutes.
Having a strong background in math is very helpful here. We used several results from multivariable calculus (ex. Lagrangian multiplier method). I can see someone who's not so familiar with multivariable calculus struggling.

I really enjoyed taking this class with Professor Surro. His lectures were posted all online, but he made sure to keep up with his students and make classes engaging. When I took it, there were reading quizzes that were fairly straightforward and made up a good portion of your grade. There were also data requirements, two assignments that were basically data reports. Overall, I would 100% take this class again and would recommend this to any econ major.

Chris is the best! This is the second class that I took with him after Econ 102. And the reason why I wanted Chris to be my instructor again is I just love the way he teaches. Even the driest and boring topics like the history of capitalism can be fun, with all the projects involved, like making data reports, essays, and final presentation. Overall, I’d say Chris is still the best instructor in the department, who actually cares about his students, wants his students to go beyond the limits (not just prepping for midterms/finals), that are often not useful for our future. I would definitely recommend Chris for any classes that he teaches.

Surro is very sweet and understanding. All his assignments are reasonable and considerate. He also explains concepts clearly. Comparing with other Econ professors with horrible attitudes he is a true blessing.

Surro is a really nice professor who is always willing to help you. I took this class his first quarter teaching Econ 11 and it was fairly difficult but doable if you put in the time. The class was made up of a final and a midterm and he gives you practice sets that are recommended for these exams.

Econ 11 has a reputation as being an ordeal of a class, but Surro made the experience fairly pleasurable. Who knew that doing the "optional but highly recommended" quizzes and problem sets would help your grade? I recommend coming in with at least a basic knowledge of multivariable calculus, or at least a strong working proficiency with derivatives; understanding how the econ terms translate to actual math saves a lot of time. Exams were fair; the midterm was easier than the final by a wide margin, but both were doable. Don't do what I did and forget negative signs.

Surro was extremely active on Campuswire and in answering questions overall, meaning that if you didn't understand a concept it was kind of on you if you didn't take the initiative to clarify it. I participated a bit on Campuswire, but I generally found that I didn't need to ask questions and consequently didn't feel like wasting his time with filler. The problem sets were generally easy, even if some skewed a bit long. There was a lot of plug and chug components, which admittedly were good practice for the tests. I could see people struggling if they aren't used to doing that much math.

If Surro teaches this class in future years, I would greatly recommend it. It's entirely possible that another professor happens to be easier, but you'll get a fair experience where your effort is rewarded.

Chris is an all- around great professor. He knows how to make his lectures and explanations clear, and he is always available for help when you need it. I felt like Chris did a really good job in making himself available for students in that way. That being said, make sure to use that resource because his tests are quite difficult. Like the other reviews said, just knowing the notes won't get you a decent grade in this class. Don't just know how to do every problem he gives you to practice, but always try to figure out ways where he can change/reword the questions to ask you something different and test different concepts. He likes to do that often during the tests. Other than that, I can confidently say that I learned a lot in this class despite it being tough. I'd say it is worth it to take it with Chris.

This class is easily the best class offered in the econ department. The subject material is basically going through the history of capitalism, and going over topics like Marxism, Hayek and Keynes, Great Recession, etc. There are two data reports, two essays, and a final group project. The professor is really clear in his lectures and you definitely learn a lot. The grading on the papers is kind of harsh, but if you go to OH and ask questions about what to write about the prof will lead you in the right direction. Grading on the data report is not as harsh, you just have to make sure to cover everything mentioned in the instructions. If you have a chance to take this class, definitely do it.

Fascinating professor! Professor Surro explained things in an engaging and clear way, always being ready to help, and he is extremely accommodating as well. Would definitely take again.