Long overdue review but Professor Sexton's SOC147A class is one of my favorite and most memorable classes! I have never been more intrigued by the material required from a class than this one. Professor Sexton is very approachable, open, and willing to answer your questions. He engages the class in a respectful and passionate manner. I actually looked forward to reading the books and materials that were assigned in this class because they were so insightful and brought new perspectives that I found enlightening. The class atmosphere was open and receptive, and every discussion in class was filled with diverse opinions and ideas.

As someone who is NOT a sociology major, I stumbled upon this class by accident as a late add... what a blessing it turned out to be... This class was probably one of the most important classes I have taken at UCLA, and I am about to graduate. Organized, thoughtful lectures, reading materials and willingness to communicate throughout this course make it unique from all other college courses I have taken. The workload is not much, it is super doable if you stay on top of it. I was added 3 weeks late in the class and was able to pull of getting a good grade in the class, that should tell you alot. Professor Sexton is very accommodating and actually LISTENS to his students and takes time to sit and talk with every student about concerns or any other matters (I know, you dont see this alot at a school this big). The class consists of participation, 3 quizzes, a final, and a final project where you study a religion. It seems a lot at first, but trust me, you will have so much fun doing it and it is really hard to not get a good grade because everything you have to do is listed, along with the help from him and TA's every week throughout the quarter. Quizzes are multiple choice, straight up and not meant to deceive you. Overall, a really fun, informative, educational and super interesting and fairly easy class... Take this class, you wont regret it!!

I really enjoyed this class and I think I learned a lot about the sociology of religion from Professor Sexton! I never would have though I would take a religion course as a Sociology major, but I'm glad I did. The readings he provided were also very engaging, however, be warned you will be quizzed on the readings but because they are pretty good reads you should be fine.
This class also featured guest lectures from the authors from some of the readings which really helped give me an insight on what I read and its always nice to interact with an author whose work you've read before.
This class also featured an ethnographic paper on a religion of your choice, which I found to be very fun to do. Although it is a bit of work to schedule and conduct interviews, it was a fun way to conduct your own research.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this class to any Soc major because Professor Sexton is a good professor and if you follow all of the required materials and assignments you should do well!

The highlight of my undergraduate sociology experience! Dr. Sexton is an outstandingly knowledgeable and supportive professor who masterfully guides his students through the course material. His instruction enthuses curiosity and insight as he supports his students in their discovery of what religion is, what it means to be religious, and how complex societal issues can be evaluated through a religious lens. The course provides opportunities for students to engage interactively with course content. Throughout the quarter, students conduct an ethnography project on a religious organization in the Los Angeles area. The project provides hands on sociological research experience beyond the classroom, as well as meaningful community engagement. Along with the ethnographic project there is a final exam and a handful of quizzes on the readings. I found the workload to be comparable to other upper division sociology classes and I used audiobooks to stay on top of the heavier readings. Manageable and rewarding!

I would one hundred and ten percent recommend taking ANY class with Professor Sexton. This one particularly was incredibly interesting because he brought out some guest speakers who shared their lived experience with us. We all engaged in insightful conversation that day, however this is how every class of his is like. He promotes such a welcoming, thought-provoking environment that in every conversation I learned something new. As an adult entering society, I highly urge you to take prison religion as it helps shape you as a human as well as adds to your level of maturity. If you're lucky enough to take with Professor Sexton, you will see just how much depth he adds to an already nuanced class. As a Professor, he wants to see you win and will help guide you with every assignment. He's accommodating and flexible because he wants to see quality in your papers rather than just 'submitting from a grade' paper. Trust me, you will leave this class thinking about it long after because of how impactful the course is and his teaching perspective that helps really solidify your understanding in prison religion. YOU WILL LOVE PROF. SEXTON. Soak in all his knowledge and insight while you can, he's truly an amazing conversationalist and professor.

Overall this class was a decent class but the workload is pretty heavy. There is an ethnographic project where you need to go to churches and interview people, take fieldnotes and stuff. Then, there is a final paper on your project due at the end of the quarter. There are also some books you need to buy and read throughout the quarter with a quiz for each one. Also there is a survey due for every lecture and discussion due by the end of the day. In saying all of this, Sexton is a great professor and lecturer. There is a lot of work but as long as you keep up with it, you should be fine.

This was my third time taking Professor Sexton in my two years at UCLA. This class was super interesting because you do your own paper on an environmental institution through an environmental and sociological lens. For this paper, you use a combination of your own field work and peer-reviewed articles to analyze the institution and find solutions for them. Attendance was required, but all lectures were engaging. I would highly recommend this class because Sexton is super amazing, easy to talk to, and is super understanding. There's a lot of writing and reading for this course but all the material is interesting and it truly makes you analyze the work around us.

workload is crazy. He's teaching is okay, the grading is pretty tough. I really like the material in this class, but I wouldn't take this class again. This has easily double the work compare to my other classes.

Professor Sexton's class was honestly a large disappointment because he treated the class as if he were a celebrity during a talkshow. He often referenced his colleagues and used a lot of their own work as source material which gets annoying because it sounds like propaganda. He also had a very messy train of thought and lectures were extremely hard to follow despite the material being super easy.