This was not an easy class for me because I do not come from a GWS background. However, if you go to this professor and ask her to help you she is willing to work with you. Hands down one of the best professors and classes I've had.

Weekly quizzes are 40% of your final grade.

Overall the class is fine. Quizzes are tricky if you miss lecture as most of the questions are based on things that she says in lecture, but doesn't write in the posted slides. VERY passionate (sometimes a little scary) about what she teaches. Discussion is kind of boring, but it is mandatory.

Cabell is a great professor and very accommodating. Grading can be tough as you don't receive a rubric and it can be unclear of how in depth of an answer she is looking for. Attending office hours to talk through exam questions or project ideas will definitely help to improve your grade.

Weekly quizzes are graded on a scale that makes no sense. I will use what the professor says in my quiz, and she will give me a zero. I answered the question fully, but she expected me to answer questions that were not asked. I think the material is important. I would not recommend this course to anyone, especially if you are new to GEN&WS.

Dr. Cabell was great! She definitely cares about all her students. Her quizzes are a bit hard, but only if you do not do the reading/pay attention in class. Start the project early/plan out how you'll complete it. I had to ask for an extension. Great prof and lecturer!

Cabell is awesome, and I'm taking another one of her classes for fun. She's fun to talk to one-on-one in her office hours, her lectures are funny and engaging, and she clearly knows her audience. The weekly quizzes can be deceptively hard, and paying attention in lectures is pretty mandatory for a good grade.

I learned a lot more from this class than I initially thought I would! Dr. Gathman sets very clear expectations, and its actually quite hard to do poorly in this class (there are lots of drops available on Canvas). There are a LOT of readings each week, though, but I found that it's possible to pass quizzes, etc. by just skimming them.

LOVED this class! Took it by accident but it honestly is so interesting and is really easy. Exams are take home and there aren't any in-class assignments!

Lectures are detailed and the professor is kind to questions. But the weekly quizzes are really hard and there is no lecture recording to refer. Readings are also important as they appear on quizzes. No final or midterm exam but you still need quite a lot of effort to get an A.

Lectures with Cabell were always fun. She is an engaging lecturer, and information is delivered in an accessible way. Canvas was easy to navigate, and expectations were clear. If you kept up with the weekly quizzes, things were easy. There was a good amount of weekly reading for discussion but a quick skim was often enough.

For an introductory course, I had to put in a lot of work in order to get an A. The quizzes were so difficult even though I did the reading every week.

Cabell is a funny professor for sure - but definitely not super relatable if you aren't a GWS/Sexuality major. 3 pretty simple take home exams with one drop, weekly quizzes based on lecture (attending 1-2 times a week is enough) and long readings that you need to read to do well. Discussion is waste of time but have to go to receive credit.

Cabell is very biased, but I love her(she scares me lol, not a woman to mess with) but she speaks with PASSION! TA was extremely particular, hard grader, will challenge you for sure. Weekly quizzes off of lecture content and poorly written. 2 papers split into multiple graded drafts, 14 total weekly quizzes, dis attendance, 2 presentations

I really loved this class! Cabell is passionate about queer studies and makes engaging lectures. She is understanding and accommodating to students' situations. The exams are fairly easy (take-home) and she offers many drops for assignments. The weekly quizzes are pretty difficult, so make sure to carefully read the assigned articles (can be long).

Cabell was an okay lecturer, but her lecture content has little to do with the work you do outside of class. The bulk of your grade comes from 2 papers that are graded VERY harshly and require a lot of work & do not have very clear directions. My TA is also very unhelpful and does not seem to care about the course. Weekly quizzes are also difficult

I loved this class! As a freshman last year, I was shocked by how detailed each lecture was. It may be uncomfortable at first, but I wish these things were less taboo as they are very important! Dr. Gathman was always a pleasure with engaging lectures. She is passionate and very willing to accommodate students' individual needs. Loved her fits!

Grading is extremely harsh for the essays

Cabell is a biased professor but she is passionate about what she teaches! She is accommodating though! However, I found her quizzes to be quite challenging. She does offer 3 drops for the lowest quizzes, but the class caused me a lot of stress. Also, the papers caused me a lot of stress because I had to wait for the final paper grade to be in.

Overall the class is manageable. There's weekly quizzes with open notes, but sometimes your notes will not have what's needed on the quiz because it's hard to catch everything she says. For papers, she gives good feedback, and it's important that you follow it.

Lectures were interesting and Cabell is funny. This was my favorite class this semester and discussions were very interesting too. I actually looked forward to this class and I would definitely take it again. There are weekly quizzes, two papers, and no final.

Cabell is super sweet and funny. SOC200 is really easy as long as you occasionally show up for lecture and pay a little bit of attention. Weekly quizzes are open note, a few bigger assignments that do not take up much time

Cabell is a wonderful professor. She's empathetic, passionate, and clear in her expectations and grading. If you're at all interested in Sociology, highly recommend!

Dr. Gathman was a great professor! Definitely knows her stuff and I appreciated her attendance policy - super understanding. This class was mainly weekly work: readings from Canvas, lecture reflections, and short quizzes. There are only two bigger assignments and they are fairly easy. Class content was very interesting as well!

Cabell was a super chill professor, I loved her. Most readings for the entire semester were long and or dense but you only need to skim them for the general idea for the weekly quizzes. There are no exams, just 2 projects that are both fairly easy. Overall pretty easy class if you put in the work every week.

Loved the way that she engaged students in the material. Discussion section was always really interesting and I actually wanted to attend.

She has a wonderful sense of humor and great personality! The main concern with this class is the readings, you need to do them. BUT there is NO EXAM and lectures are recorded! Make up work for missing discussion is not awful either!

Okay you NEED to take Soc 160 with Gateman. THERE ARE ZERO EXAMS. ALL LECTURES ARE REMOTE if you want, she has a zoom open!! Some weeks she just assigns films instead of lecture which are usually about teen hookups and other dating topics. Overall just such a chill class. Attend discussion and participate you should have no prob getting an A.

Cabell is very accomodating: you can zoom all lectures/she posts all notes. Lots of reading for weekly quizzes which aren't too bad (normally) but you need to do the reading and 100% take notes during lecture. Discussion attendance is mandatory (its a lot of makeup work if you miss.) Organized and structured class -- you know what to expect.

I loved Cabell's lectures. She is super funny and it was good having a social sciences prof that could actually pull from personal experiences when teaching sensitive subjects like LGBTQ studies. Make sure you watch the lectures or attend class or your won't be able to complete any assignments.

Prof Gathman was a great professor. She is funny and is clearly very passionate about everything she talks about. Weekly quiz of 10 qest. and 1 lecture reflection a week. Her lectures were never boring! Make sure you do the readings and you'll do great (they're pretty interesting and have a wide range). Would def take a class by her again!

Dr. Gathman is one of my favorite professors because of her engagement with her students and the way she presents material. She is incredibly knowledgable and stays up to date on current events/politics/etc. so the class material is never dated. I look forward to going to class and the way the assignments are set up allows for a lot of flexibility.

She is a great professor. Such an insightful class.

I was at first really excited to take this class, but it was difficult to follow. The lectures and discussions sometimes felt like two different classes. There was a very short time window to take the quizzes, and they were really tough. She is very nice and accommodating for COVID, but there needs to be some logistical changes.

Professor Gathman is an amazing prof. I would recommend this class to anyone. She is a super fair grader and her lectures are super interesting.

Cabell is a great lecturer with no filter. The content she covers is very interesting and clear. If you ever have any questions, she answers them all in personal lecture reflections which is pretty nice. Be ready to read because there's a lot each week (it's interesting for the most part).

Great professor! She had relatively interesting lectures that were not mandatory and they were recorded in case you miss. The expectations for the class were very simple and straight forward. The class had a very nice routine to it, most weeks, I knew what to expect going into it which is really nice for time management.

Great prof. There were lots of readings but they were interesting and diverse. Her lectures expanded on them. Her attendance/participation was set up so you could attend synchronously or asynchronously without penalty. Very caring and willing to work with you if you need an extension or help. Sometimes grading criteria is unclear.

Cabell is a really cool lecturer. She has a personal connection to a lot of what she teaches and presents it in a really interesting way. I never really found myself bored in her lectures. There is a decent amount of reading, but it is mostly really interesting.

I was very excited for this class, but I did not get the experience that everyone said they did. The tests were very specific, and even with open notes they were hard to pass. Some test questions included content from subtexts from one of 30 readings on the exam. I wish If I had a different professor I might have enjoyed this course!

Cabell is my favorite professor at Madison. I took two of her GWS classes and enjoyed both. She is a very engaging lecturer and she really cares about her students. For 200 however, there is quite a lot of reading and there are weekly quizzes (open note) on both lectures and readings. If you follow along and take good notes, you should be fine.

My mind was blown by some of the things I learned in this class. I loved the material. Upperclassmen will probably not struggle with this course, especially after how it was adapted. One frustration is that Dr. Cabell multiple times spent 15 minutes of class talking about course logistics. It was still a great class.

Cabell's lectures were always super interesting, but the first exam was too difficult for a 100 level class. Everything was made much easier during the past few weeks, and I'm sure she'll make changes to her exams in the future. If you're an upperclassman taking this class, you'll pass super easily. Make sure to read ALL the readings though.

Cabell was super accommodating during COVID-19, but before that the class was too much. For an intro GWS course, we read 10+ articles per week and the first exam was impossible. She promised to alter the second one which she did, but I think she takes the class a little too seriously for the 100 level. Great lecturer though you really learn a lot.

Cabell is a nice enough prof, but not nice enough that it rules out the difficulty of her teaching. (For reference, I took GWS 200 with her.) She assigns heavy reading material every week, and has a very difficult quiz on those readings every week. Her questions are super specific but can also be trick questions. If you have her, go to every class.

During the COVID-19 pandemic and the transition to online classes, Cabell was extremely empathetic and sensitive to our situation. She allowed for numerous grade drops and pretty much made it so that this unprecedented period of time wouldn't impact performance in the class negatively. Very knowledgeable and reliable. Highly recommend her classes!

Nit-picky quizzes. Content during lecture is second to none- Gathman peddles in junk science.

This class was structured poorly. Lectures were mandatory but we were never tested on the material from them in any way. Monthly writing assignments were always graded rather harshly by a grad student.

I have mixed feelings writing this commentstill being emotional. I like the prof as a person, think she's really knowledgeable,and like what I learned from the class. However the course is so hard. Weekly quizzes and exams are both tough. it's like, the efforts I put in don't match with the score. suggest thinking well before choosing the class

Really enjoyed her class. If you do the readings each week, you will be able to do well in the class. Each week has one quiz and four quizzes are dropped at the end of the end of the semester which is great. Both of the exams and the final were curved so while they are difficult, the majority of people did well. Taking her again next semester!

I really liked Dr. Gathman as a person and she is very knowledgeable about the topics she teaches, but the class is pretty hard. The quizzes and tests ask very specific questions about the readings and sometimes the questions just don't make sense. Most of the readings are okay but it's a lot of work and some are pretty long. Tough for a freshman.

She focused on specific topics, while brushing over important information. Most of the readings were based on insignificant data just for Gathman to prove her point. Readings were extremely long and heavy, 5-7 a week!! Quizzes on readings were extremely specific and didn't test your knowledge but whether or not you wrote down menial details. Awful.

Avoid by all means!!!!!

She's sweet, engaging, relatable and knowledgable. Wide range of topics covered, and I never felt like she was being preachy, which I expected from an LGBTQ+ studies class. I felt like I learned a lot even in the subjects that I was already pretty knowledgable on. Would recommend.

Take this course. It will change your life. Cabell Gathman changed the way I look at the world today for the better. She is amazing. Her hair is a different color every week, it's great! I received an AB in this course.

Oof, maybe it's because I'm part of the LGBT+ community and have the vaguest of idea of what is happening in the world, but I didn't learn anything I didn't already know. Most of the things in the class didn't actually have any significance, we read an absurd amount of studies with tiny sample sizes, and some of the most lukewarm takes ever.

Gathman's class was extremely interesting and eye-opening. Reading is quite abundant in this class and I definitely recommend spreading out the weekly readings and take diligent notes. Weekly quizzes are on reading and are open note. If you read you are fine if you do not... :/ Would take this class again!

You lose interest due to all the reading that is needed for the course. Some were over 100 pages. You can choose not to do those readings but you better know the readings that you did read for the quiz. Didn't take notes during lectures because you're not quizzed on them. I wish I didn't take the course. Last lecture has unecessary NSFW pictures.

Gathman's lectures did not have much info, so it is useless when it comes to writing papers. She tests us on the most detailed and useless info in readings(which are too much to begin with). She is the type of person who seems like she would care about others but doesn't. When she talks about racism, it's only "Black & Latinx folx have it worse."

Genuinely enjoyed Gathman as a professor as I found her very personable and articulate. She's very knowledgeable and clearly wants to convey it to her students, but I do see the side of her where she is very opinionated. She was never rude to her students and was very accommodating (had lots of options for assignments) and was very welcoming.

Gathman is a very intriguing lecturer. She somehow finds a way to make the material interesting, even if it might actually be dull. Although there's lots of readings, the class is very flexible (i.e. many grades are dropped and there's options for how you want to complete your assignments/quizzes).

She was a good professor, there are a lot of quizzes and reading, but only 2 papers. These are overall better than having tests. She also made lectures engaging.

Yes things are graded tough, but Gathman's lectures are so inspiring, funny, and relevant. The information covered in this course is extremely valuable and I would highly recommend taking this course as long as your schedule it's too hard already.

Quizzes, assignments, papers-- all due at the same time, even on the weekends at noon. Unreasonable for summer when students are working full time & wanting to knock some credits out. The book is a bunch of articles she put together & charged $100+ for. I was really hoping to learn a lot in this class so I'm very disappointed in how it's run.

I feel that Cabell did a really wonderful job with this class. She was incredibly engaging and made lectures entertaining, something that most teachers do not do. I do agree that there could have been more content on intersectionality and race problems, but what she did present was great. The weekly quizzes can be a bit of a pain.

As a gay man, I was excited to take GWS 200, Intro to LGBTQ+ Studies. The class has extremely high potential with the array of information that it covers, but the professor ruins that. She is very passionate about the top, which helps solidify, but if you question anything she says (most studies aren't statistically significant) you wont do well.

Cabell has an entire week devoted to fandom in her intro to LGBTQ studies class at UW Madison, with nsfw fanart in her powerpoint slides, as though that is somehow relevant to LGBTQ issues. Not a good class for anyone interested in actually learning about the LGBTQ community.

Ridiculous that she is allowed to teach such an important topic. Completely does a disgrace representing the LGBTQ community. Harsh grader and attending events outside of class required.

Worst professor I have ever had at UW Madison. It is an absolute disgrace she is allowed to teach there and devalues the institution. Her readings are excessive and from unrepeatable sources. She grades harshly based on her own opinion and makes students feel unwelcome in her class.

Teaches according to her own personal views and uses the course as a platform to boost her own ego. Poorly designed for an introductory course--focuses on her opinions instead of an actual overview. Textbook is $100 and is literally just essays collected by Cabell herself. She could've put all those up on the course website but did not.

Honestly all I can say is worst, most inconsiderate professor I have ever encountered. Her responses to questions are pretty much, figure it out. She grades this so unfairly and clearly does not care about her students what so ever. As a summer class, she had due dates Saturday and Sunday at noon as well as others making it hard to turn stuff in.

The content is interesting enough, but Cabell is a terrible and unfair grader. She grades based on her own opinions and if she doesn't like what you have to say, it's wrong. She is also very contradictory in her expectations for assignments. Readings are rarely discussed in class, so expect to learn a majority of test material on your own.

I found all her of lectures very valuable and engaging. Quizzes were tough, but do your readings and show up to class. Put in a normal amount of work and you should get an A or a B. She's very helpful outside of class.

Dr. Gathman is an extremely talented and knowledgeable lecturer, she makes class fun and interesting and is always trying to be as inclusive as possible. She is also understanding of students' diverse needs, and is very accommodating of any requests for extensions or concerns, etc. No exams, only weekly quizzes that are not bad as long as you read.

Cabell teaches multiple sides of every issue, covers a wide variety of topics and grades fairly. Most important to me was how she treated me as a disabled student who needs accommodations. Cabell is the best professor I have had to create an environment where my disabilities are not a burden.

Papers were graded really harshly. Failed a paper right away guidelines not clear. For tests multiple choice had a lot of trick questions and tough percentages. The short answer was fair but weighed less. I felt like I understood the material really well and didn't feel grading reflected. lecture was well done. Can be aggressive and patronizing.

Good class if you're interested in the topic. Cabell presents a lot of info & usually it's pretty interesting. Tests are nit-picky on details from lecture & readings. Discussion attendance & participation are required & graded. 4 short papers w/ lowest score dropped. Would take again. Not the easiest class, but put in the work & you'll do fine.

Her lectures are always very interesting. She does have hard exams that test you on unnecessary information like percentages from articles and small details. For a 100-level/intro class, it required a lot of reading and homework. Have to write 8 500-word papers over the semester, which just gets annoying.

I am a senior this year with a 3.6 GPA. I know how to study and go to class, etc. This class is ridiculous. The grading is tough and can bring down your overall grade. The test questions are irrelevant details (e.g. what % of people...). She took her online tests (with notes to use) and just distributed it in class (no notes). Stay away.

Cabell was an amazing professor. I took this class as an elective, as I only needed one sociology class but am hoping to have the opportunity to take a class with her again. I attended most lectures and studied a lot for the exams, so I wouldn't take this class unless you are truly interested in gender studies. Highly recommended!

Don't take this class. She is very opinionated and preaches her personal beliefs instead of fact. I am pretty confident that 80% of the information she teaches is made up by her and not backed up with research. Also, her crediblity is questionable at times. She has her PhD yet lectures like she is a whiny teenager.

I enjoyed this class and especially the professor, however, unfortunately discussion and having Cabell as a TA was terrible! She grades papers in an opinionated matter, marking points off for subjective aspects. She is condescending and I thoroughly hated discussion. I highly recommend either taking this class with another TA or not at all.

If you put something "stupid" in a paper, she puts it on Facebook for all her professor friends to laugh at. Or maybe so everyone will feel sorry for her because she has all these terrible papers to grade. She does not attach your name to it, but still - not professional.

Knows her stuff, but grades based on her opinion. Also extremely judgmental in a discussion setting. Claims to provide a safe space yet when students don't word something perfectly she looks at them like they're stupid. Try, and you'll get a good grade, but not very agreeable on a personal level.

True, Cabell's a strong personality, but here's the thing: people only really complain about professors/TAs that give them bad grades because they didn't TRY in a 100- or 200-level class. She makes herself available to help, & it's an easy class, so if you put forth the effort, there's no reason you shouldn't get an A.

Cabell is really cool and nice. She's really approachable and available for students. The class is really interesting. Exams are only worth about half of your grade, so getting at least an AB should not be difficult. I really feel like I learned a lot in this class and I really enjoyed it.

Cabell is a horrible professor. She is totally biased and expects you to memorize her personal opinions because she tests you on them. No curve and you have to get a 95+ for an A. Ethnic studies is a requirement and I hear this class normally isn't too bad but DO NOT TAKE WITH CABELL!!!

I absolutely loved this class, it was in summer session and though it wasn't curved, the grading wasn't that tough and there were no exams. She joked around a lot and the mood was always light. I feel like everything she was teaching was relevant and current and I use what I learned in daily conversation. Take this class!

She is not a bad teacher, definitely knows the material, but she is a bit abrasive. I agree with the other comments.

Cabell is very opinionated and self righteous. Her personality is extremely strong and I think you either love or hate her. I lean more towards the hate side of that...I took this class for fun and it has become my least favorite class in my schedule--nightmare! WAY TOO MUCH WRITING!!!

Fascinating class & she did a great job of presenting the material in an accessible way. Good discussion & incorporation of lecture material & especially the assigned readings. Lots of essays (take home tests) & reading response papers. If you work hard, are honest & don't plagiarize you'll be fine (altho some complain=tough grader). Pink Hair!!!

Loved this class! She was a wonderful professor. She brought new insight to the subject matter, incorporated relevant current events, and was very knowledgeable. I really liked the format, having pop quizzes on the lecture notes was a motivation to come to class, but a good way to give credit to those who work hard. No tests, a couple essays.