Mason is very full of himself and his lectures are extremely dull. Be ready for many tales of his travels in Africa. However, the subject is really interesting and the readings are awesome. 2 book reports (3 pg each), a midterm and a final...not a bad setup.

Mason is so boring it's almost painful. The only important thing is attending Tuesday class as that's when he gives out quizzes on the reading. You must do the reading but even then, your grade is still up in the air with the ridiculous IDs he gives on his exams. Book reports also make me feel like I'm in 3rd grade again. For such a cool topic, he could have made this course so much better.

Mason is for the most part an engaging professor, though he can be tangential from time to time. I found the material extremely interesting, though it's definitely difficult to keep up with all the readings, and they're important for his quizzes and essays on tests. I really enjoyed the class overall though, you just have to accept that it's not going to be a breeze. Putting the work in is worth it, I learned a lot.

His lectures can be dull, but the readings are pretty easy reads and all the quizzes and exams are based on the readings.

Excellent course very interesting. He does have a tendency to go on tangents at times which seem to be guided by whatever book he currently writing. However I would recommend the class. Dont get to stressed about writing the book reviews as long as you read the book you have a B on the paper easily and an A is more than reachable. The test can be a little bit more difficult as some of the ID's seem to come out of no where. However if you show up for lecture you should be set.

great class. interesting lectures

Lectures are interesting, a decent amount of reading per week with quizzes sometimes, the information is really interesting though and the readings for the most part are very engaging.

Great class! Really interesting material and informative lectures.