Kerbo, Harold  

Social Sciences

2.35/4.00

64 evaluations


SOC 105


Freshman
A
Elective
Aug 2001
If you want to hear Harold talk about all the books he has written, then take the class. If you want to learn more about asian countries, because that is all he talks about, then take the class. If not, then skip this guy.

SOC 110


Junior
B
General Ed
Mar 2009
This guy is a JOKE! The class could actually be enjoyable if he wasn't such a terrible professor! don't take him!


Sophomore
B
General Ed
May 2009
This guy is retarded. We did well in the class, but never paid attention. Even when we did pay attention, we didn't learn anything more than if we hadn't. I think he just gave out B's to everyone, but it was so painful it might not have been worth it.

SOC 213


Sophomore
B
Elective
Mar 2008
Loved him, but you got to really love this stuff to stay awake. Overall, his curve rocked and he was clearly knowledgeable. Would take him again.

SOC 217


Sophomore
B
General Ed
Aug 2008
Prof. Kerbo was a good professor in that he knows exactly what he's talking about - he's at the forefront of socio-economic research. The countries that you read about in your books are places he's literally lived and studied for years. A very interesting course, though slightly depressing as you are vividly shown how the American economy has been declining over the years... I disliked wal-mart from the start but now...I think I'll pay an extra buck for my bagle bites thanks...The only difficult part in this course is dragging yourself through the books...yes, they're boring, but they're also your grade. Oh, and the Pac sucks....way too comfy for a night class, bring munchies to keep yourself awake.

SOC 218


Freshman
A
General Ed
Mar 2004
Informative class, not too difficult. I got a 'B' on the first test, but after I knew the kinds of questions he asked, the other tests were easy. The class started off a bit slow, and in the beginning the book material was not tied so much to the lecture material, which was confusing - but once the class really got going, I felt more comfortable. Also... for the required reading, the 'Japan' book is (according to the professor) out of print, and not all the students could find a copy (so unless he changes the required book 'who rules japan,' I'd look for it early on. Overall, a pretty good class


Junior
N/A
General Ed
Jan 2005
This class was not difficult. There were 2 midterm counting 60% of your grade, and then the final for 40%. Kerbo was an awful lecturer. Half the time he went off topics, talking about his travels abroad or something similar that were not the least bit interesting. He does not tell you what to study for, which what is the second most infuriating thing about his class (the first being that going to class seems like a complete waste of time since he goes off topic so often). I would suggest taking this class, since the topics we covered were very interesting, just with a different professor.


Junior
A
General Ed
Feb 2005
Extremely knowledgable. Yea, he like research more than teaching, but when he lectures he has a wealth of knowledge that he shares in his own scattered way. Easy multiple choice tests. Interesting videos and books for the most part.


Sophomore
A
General Ed
Jan 2006
I found this course to be relatively easy, independent of the professor's ability to teach. Luckily i found the information somewhat interesting, which made it easier to pay attention, although the fact that it was a 2 hour long letcure made it damn near impossible to listen intently for the the entirety of the class. He wrote several of the books so if you read them and at least absorb some of his lectures, you shouldn't get any unpleasent surprises on the tests. The grade is based on two tests and a final (30%, 30% and 40% respectively) So if you really mess up on a test, it can really affect you. Luckily, there almost entirely multiple choice, so either you know it or you don't. If you're a good test taker, a near perfect score for the class is very possible, as there is usually a 5% curve.


Freshman
A
General Ed
Feb 2006
I enjoyed this course. Your grade is based solely on three multiple chioce tests (with a short essay), but they aren't that bad. Read the books and get the general idea of his lectures and it should be fairly easy. He's pretty awesome and I found the stuff that we were learning to be interesting.


Freshman
B
General Ed
Feb 2008
Kerbo is one of the most knowledgeable teachers I have had as far as his understanding of the material. In 218, you read two books that he co-authored and knows a lot of information concerning the other books. His lectures can be very oring sometimes and found myslef falling asleep a few times but overall its interesting. His tests are easy as long as you do all the required reading and listen to some of his lecturing.


Sophomore
B
General Ed
Apr 2008
class material is interesting. tests were fair. kerbos lectures had its moments every day but i found it hard to pay attention the whole 2 hrs


Senior
A
General Ed
Dec 2008
Kerbo shamelessly plugged his books all quarter, all of which were filled with numerous grammatical and spelling errors. In fact, he asked students to send him any corrections they found. Also, something is wrong with his emphases on words. If I ever hear the word "poor" pronounced as "poo-er" again, I will die. Also, he does not know how to use computers, and must have spent 10-15 minutes every class period figuring out where the cursor was on the screen, why WordPerfect wasn't opening, how to view photos in slideshow format, and how to zoom in on a PDF of a world map. His tests were pretty easy, though, and he always threw out the questions that most people got wrong. There was also always a curve. Get ready for a fun quarter full of awkwardly-pronounced words, slideshows from Kerbo's trips to Russia and Thailand, and horribly-outdated documentaries!


Junior
C
General Ed
Dec 2008
I pretty much failed both midterms, probably the final too, and pulled a C in the class. About 1/2 or more of the class had D's from his tests too which made him do a huge curve. You really don't have to waste your time by going to his lectures. All you have to do is read the chapters and remember some DETAILED facts because he will put some questions down on the test like "what is the percentage of..." . For the final, he does have a few questions based on lectures alone though. I attended class every day, took notes, read the chapters, studied his outline and STILL didn't know what to do to pass the tests. The material he covers every day could be condensed into 1 hour. I recommend taking another professor.


Freshman
B
General Ed
Dec 2009
Easy class... Professor Kerbo knows what he is talking about. one thing to make sure to do is read the books he has assigned and you will do fine on the midterms and final


Freshman
B
General Ed
Feb 2010
This guy had a really dry voice, and was really redundant in everything he talked about. I fell asleep in LITERALLY every single lecture, and didn\'t finish ANY of the reading or study for his exams and still got a B, so I figure if I actually tried, even minimally it would have been pretty easy to get an A. I only went to his office hours once because a friend wanted to go, and he seemed pretty willing to help my friend. The stuff he talked about was actually interesting when I listened, and I would take him again. He shows movies on VHS that are HORRIBLE quality to the point where your eyes hurt, but everyone leaves during the movies anyway so it doesn\'t really matter. What really counts is that his name is Harold, and that my friends is priceless. This class is really easy, but if you want to learn you could get a lot out of it so win-win?


Junior
N/A
General Ed
Feb 2010
Kerbo has been teaching a LONG time at Cal Poly. He obviously knows what he\'s talking about, but it is not a very interesting lecturer. He still hasn\'t discovered what \"Powerpoint\" is and he lectures by pulling up various PDF\'s with graphs and statistics, and uses microsoft word documents on screen. There is not much flow to his lectures and they are pretty hard to follow. There is a lot of reading in the class, but his tests seem to test you on the general knowledge of the book. This was really nice because it is overwhelming to get tested on an entire novel about sociology (which has a lot of statistics and comparisons). I think Kerbo is very knowledgeable, but he definitely puts me right to sleep.


Freshman
A
General Ed
Mar 2010
Harold is my boy!!! if you go to office hours and bullshit with him you will be fine. he had a big curve 85% was an A. the grading was only on two midterms and a final though so dont slack on the reading. once again Harold is my boy!!


Freshman
C
Required (Major)
Mar 2010
Where do I start. You are required to read 3 books, one for each midterm. However, you do not cover the reading material in class. Our first midterm was based on the first book and 2 lecture days. The way he asks questions on the exam are very detailed and confusing. For example, a true or false question could be true and false. If a different teacher is available, take them instead. The lectures were very boring, and he loved to talk about all of his accomplishments.


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Mar 2010
The person below me--The first exam was based on 2 lecture days because the guy was in Cambodia doing research on a furlough day and long weekend and he caught swine flu so he was out for a week or so, not really something that he planned. Anyways..Kerbo is a sheer badass. The guy has written a million books and coauthored another million. He really knows what he is talking about. The books that you read in class are actually about topics that affect our lives. His exams were a little difficult, but really not bad if you read the books and study a little bit. Your grade is based on 2 midterms (1 is on one book, the other is on 2 short books that he wrote which he puts on Blackboard) and a final (based on 1 book). Also, go to class as much as you can because there are 1 or 2 essay (short paragraph) questions that are mostly based on lecture material. The guy is a little unorganized but I RECOMMEND taking him. I would take him for another class for sure


Junior
A
General Ed
Mar 2010
I had a really hard time understanding how the course reading material was approved for Dr.Kerbo\'s classes. Half of the material is a book Dr.Kerbo published, but it is outdated and FULL of typos and grammatical errors. I expect more from a published, tenured professor. Also, the classes were a mixture of him going off on tangents for most of the class and then showing a video. He assigns three books for the quarter and then has 3 exams, 1 per book. Yet, the exam is 30 MC questions which are a mix of questions from the 300+page book and the class. If more than half of the class got a question wrong his response was.. you guys just got it wrong. Not even clarifying where the question came from or why it was the right answer. I did well in the class, but I was very unhappy with this professor. I didn\'t learn anything from him- I just read it, and if I wanted to read about the course I would just buy the books and not pay for a 4 unit class. Overall, I was disappointed in the quality of teaching, as he spent the first week in Cambodia lecturing, it seems his priorities are in getting published and international travel- NOT teaching Cal Poly Students effectively.


Freshman
C
General Ed
Apr 2010
Professor Kerbo was a really nice guy.. However, I did not get much out of his class at all. You can tell that he loves what he does, but the way the he presents the material to students is very unclear. There are absolutely NO homework assignments but Kerbo does make you read 3 books and 2 looong pdf files on Germany and Japan outside of his class. He then will tell you that the midterms (2 midterms , 1 final) will be half on the book, half on lectures. But will not go any further than that. He also told my class that there would be 15 questions on the final directly from the previous tests, so I went in to study them for a couple hours, and there ended up being 4 or 5, along with a bunch of random new questions from the first chapters. This class was far too unclear and boring for me. I wouldn\'t recommend it.


Sophomore
C
General Ed
Jun 2010
Kerbo is a cool guy, but his class is really hard to sit thorugh because it is a 2 hour lecture and everything just seems so.. boring... There are 2 midterms and a final.. so its difficult to get a good grade unless you do really well on these exams which have some redicilous questions that pinpoint facts rather the bigger picture. I also take really good notes and read ALL of the material and I studied for a sufficient amount of time and I still came out with only a C. I wouldn\'t really recommend this class unless you already know alot about the material.


Freshman
A
General Ed
Dec 2010
He is extremely knowledgeable about what he lectures on. He teaches partially from books that he has written, which oddly enough, are the only ones you dont have to buy. If you go to class and actually read the book just once, you\'ll do fine. He is really easy to approach in office hours and is very calm. Awesome guy in a tweed jacket


Freshman
C
General Ed
Feb 2011
Kerbo is a nice guy. DEFINITELY go see him in office hours. Where he lacks is in his ability to teach. He struggles staying on topic and if you tune out for even just one second, you will be lost the entire two hour lecture. NOT FUN. I would recommend taking another teacher, but if you are put with Kerbo, make sure you stay on top of your stuff. There's no catching up in this course.


Sophomore
B
General Ed
Mar 2011
Kerbo is difficult to follow sometimes, and if you come into his class without a background in current events or politics, the class will be more challenging. He's really friendly and loves talking about all his personal experiences, although he is a little awkward if you go to his office. The exams are a little rough because they have some specific information in them. I got a 78% on both midterms, and ended up with a solid B in the class (maybe the curve was high enough). He has 2 midterms, then the final and THAT'S IT, so study! You don't really need to read the assigned books, but they're good to get a general idea and to look at their charts because he has a few of those ideas on his tests, and they don't cost much in comparison to textbooks. If I had the choice, I would have taken this class pass or fail, it would have been a lot easier and less stressful. But this is coming from an Animal Science major, not a Poly Sci major. Hope it's helpful


Sophomore
B
General Ed
Nov 2011
If people are deciding to take his class or not, well my criticism is that he isn't a bad teacher, he's decent and modest. Kerbo is a knowledgeable individual that definitely knows his history. He presents in a style that relates the past to the present by giving examples of his past experiences. Throughout the course he emphasized on reading his books which are helpful, so read them! His grading system includes two midterms and a final which isn't very comprehensive. The tests are in some sense specific but nothing that he didn't cover in class, but do indeed study for them which isn't hard. He answered my questions to a good extent which sufficed my understanding. Overall, I would take him again.


Sophomore
Credit
General Ed
Dec 2011
Kerbo is a nice guy and good teacher but his tests are ridiculously hard if you haven't been taking notes or paying attention to the lecture or readings. If you don't at least go to his office hours instead of paying attention (as his lectures can be a little dry sometimes...) then prepare for a bad grade but hey if you didn't try you earned it. He's really approchable and once he gets to know who you actually are he goes out of his way to help you. Overall decent teacher.


Freshman
B
General Ed
Mar 2012
Nice guy, but his lectures can get boring (he does have some good stories/jokes though). He was always very informative and seemed to know exactly what he was talking about. A learned a lot in his class. The readings are long and boring (he wrote most of the required material) but necessary in order to do well. His SOC-218 is not a bad choice for your D2. Consider taking him.


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Jun 2013
Kerbo was just an average professor for me. He knows a ton about International politics, and he has lived in so many countries so thats great for this subject. But, his lectures are incredibly hard to listen to, and thats coming from a major... i mean this is my thing, and I still got super bored. And his class is tough because most test questions come from the lecture, so you kind of HAVE to force yourself to pay attention, but if you can, you'll be golden.


Junior
N/A
Required (Major)
Dec 2013
Dr. Kerbo is extremely knowledgeable about the material and he puts his own personal spin on the info. He's lived in, visited, or has personal ties to the countries we study in class so you know what ever you're learning is legit and relevant. He doesn't waste your time telling you stuff he isn't going to test you on. The tests (2 midterms and a final) are fairly difficult. Most of the questions come from the lecture. He provides a detailed study guide at the beginning of the class. You aren't graded on anything but the tests so make sure you study and get a good grade on them. It's very straightforward. Though this is just lecture, he really likes it when students ask questions and engage in discussion. Don't be shy to speak up! Overall, he's an incredibly insightful man and very helpful.


Freshman
C
General Ed
Dec 2013
Class is extremely boring, and Kerbo tends to just ramble on about topics, so it makes it hard to know what to take notes on. Tests are pretty hard, but there are no assignments to turn in or essays to write (which means you have to do good on the tests to get a good grade). I am a terrible test-taker so I was not too happy about that. I would suggest a different class to fulfill this GE. Never went to his office hours, but from what I've heard from other people he is very helpful and nice.


Freshman
B
General Ed
Jan 2014
Professor is Kerbo is a brilliant teacher that certainly knows his stuff. He literally wrote the books the class is on, which he uploads for free on his polylearn. That being said he is one of the most boring dudes ever and a terrible lecturer. Sitting in the comfy chairs of the PAC will make it IMPOSSIBLE to stay awake during this class. It was kinda interesting stuff and a decent choice for a D2.


Freshman
B
General Ed
Jan 2014
This was a challenging class. The lectures are extremely dull but if you pay attention and read all the books you will get an A in the class. He curves the finals.


Freshman
B
General Ed
Feb 2014
His lectures are boring as all get out, its impossible to even pay attention for more than a few minutes at a time! Luckily if you already have world knowledge and do the readings you should be able to pull a B, but wow I have never been in such a boring (and useless) lecture


Freshman
A
General Ed
Apr 2014
Kerbo is a great teacher if you have an interest in the subject matter, but if you don't then he's not going to inspire you to. Luckily I was one of the former, so the fact that he had a thorough and professional understanding of what he was talking about impressed me enough to make his completely bland and monotone teaching style irrelevant. If I remember correctly he was actually the one who invented this course for the school, so there's really no one better to teach it. I can see how less interested students would find it easy to fall asleep, but if you can get past the dullness of his voice his lectures are actually very clear and very well organized. This is not an easy class, but well worth it for the sweeping knowledge about the modern world it offers.


Freshman
B
General Ed
May 2014
Kerbo is an incredibly liberal professor who tends to become rather preachy. He also uses four books throughout the quarter, which can become rather expensive. However, he's a good teacher, though the lecture is slowed by the sometimes boring material.


Freshman
B
General Ed
Dec 2014
Professor Kerbo is very knowledgeable. He has a good sense of humor and has conducted a vast amount of research living in Japan, Germany, Africa, pretty much everywhere. He has a tendency to go stray from the outline during class, however, some of the information he discusses is relevant, but for the most part, be sure to listen to what he's saying to determine whether or not it actually belongs in your notes. His exams often contain multiple questions on statistics & percentages, so whenever those numbers pop up on the outlines or in the lecture, write them down! His essay questions on the exams are very fair, and usually portray whether or not you have the right interpretation of the concepts. Reading the books is important because they contain vital vocabulary terms and concepts needed for the tests, so don't skimp on the readings! Professor Kerbo likes to show a lot of videos, many of which he formulates questions for the test, so definitely stay to watch those and take notes (some of the videos are actually cool). I definitely learned a lot in this class, however, it was at times hard to listen/stay awake during lectures, but nonetheless was worth the information I retained :)


Freshman
C
Required (Support)
Feb 2015
Dr. Kerbo is a really nice guy, but he's very monotone and his lectures are incredibly boring and painful to sit through (especially if it's an evening class like I had). He is very knowledgeable about the subject and has had a lot of experience in other countries, which makes for some interesting stories but are overall irrelevant to the class material. There are two midterms and a final, and no homework, which made it hard since the grade was purely based on the tests. There are four books that are required to read and if you don't read them, you're basically screwed on the exams since only a small portion of the test is on stuff he covers in class.

SOC 219


Freshman
C
General Ed
Jan 2006
This class is pretty easy if you read the material and attend lectures. Kerbo definitely has good stories to tell about his experiences which adds to the already interesting class. Kerbo doesnt go over the tests or anything, before the final I went in on his office hours and he gave me the keys and my old tests to look at, and I ended up acing the cumulative final. This class you have to put extra effort in, since it is a lecture class (less one on one)


Senior
B
General Ed
Dec 2007
Dr. Kerbo is an smug academic with an agenda to push on his students. When he's not dropping names and places he's lived around the world, he's ripping on the United States and trying to convince his students that the poverty here is worse than in third world countries because we don't have a collectivist cultural value. He's a dry lecturer, makes students pay ridiculous amounts of money for the books HE WROTE (yeah, he's one of those professors) and can't seem to get over himself.

SOC 309


Sophomore
A
Required (Support)
Jun 2001
This is a great class to take if you are taking a heavy load and don't have much time to devote to his course. The material we covered during a 10-week quarter could have been covered in 4 weeks.He is well educated re: Asia, but it got a little old hearing about his books and research. Being an A student who attends class always, I was a little offended that we were parked in front of a video on so many days, while he left to do things elsewhere. It allowed for very little opportunity to discuss the info in the videos. Re: his tests, they were based closely on his lectures and some from the readings. His questions can be at times, ambiguous, but he will never focus on the trivial stats, which is good.


Junior
B
Required (Support)
Dec 2001
Thinks a lot of the books he has written and the research he has done. One book you didn't have to buy, just check out of the reserve room at the library. Tests were not too hard and he was pretty interesting to listen to. Has spent time in Asia, which he makes a large focus of the class, so he had a good perspective.


Sophomore
A
General Ed
Mar 2002
Although I got an A in this class, I feel that Dr. Kerbo is one of the most laziest, worst professors on campus. He rarely lectures and when he does, they are disorganized and just a bunch of rambling. Practically every lecture he showed an extremely boring video that was out of date. While the students tried to watch these utterly pointless, TORTUOUS videos, Dr. Kerbo would leave and return after the video ended (usually 1.5 hours). I slept through most of these videos, but pulled an A by reading the books that he wrote. Easy grade but a horrible professor


Sophomore
B
General Ed
Mar 2002
His lectures are about the samething everyday....he repeats the same stuff His grades are fair two 30% midterms and a 40% final,,,,test are not to hard,,read the books...which he wrote..and braggs about alot...his class is not organized,,,or his lectures...rambles on and on about the samthing...leaves class while he puts on some video...not really helpful in office hours...AND THIS BOOKS HAVE ALOT OF MISTAKES!!!!!!! anyway...easy class if u read the books...but boring teacher


Sophomore
A
General Ed
Apr 2002
Kerbo was a nice guy. For 309, just read the books - or at lest skim them and you should be fine. He has a lot of experience with Asian countries, and he enjoyed relaying the information about these places. I enjoyed the class and didn't feel that the reading was too difficult. You will learn some interesting stuff. Overall, the teacher and the class are recommended.


Junior
C
General Ed
Apr 2002
This class was a joke. If you want a class that you can pass without going, this is the one to take. We watched videos in almost every class. Before the final we watched all these videos on Africa and then there wasnt even one question on the final about Africa. No one in class knew what to study for any of the exams because he was so unclear. Kerbo poped in a video and then took off every day. I dont get why he is a teacher, all he cares about is writing yet another book to brag about.The class was made up of 2 midterms and and a final. I didnt read and thats probably why I got a C, but his exams were not hard. Take some other general ed class and if you have to take it, avoid taking this awful teacher at all costs!


Junior
A
Required (Major)
May 2003
Generally, Dr. Kerbo's demeanor, lecture style, and level of organization all indicate that he really doesn't care that much about teaching. He uses outdated information, poor reading material, and somewhat irrelevent videos. With that said, there is some good material in the class. And the subject matter itself is extremely important. He's a nice guy, although he is distant in his interactions. If you are interested in learning about political economy and global economic stratification, I recommend that you take History 214 with Manzar Foroohar instead.


Junior
A
Required (Support)
May 2003
Dr. Kerbo is a very smart and thoughtful teacher. He really enjoys research and has done his fair share on the subject matter, having written several of the books for the class. Counter to some of the other evaluations of his performance, Dr. Kerbo does not brag about the books he writes. He talks about the books he writes because they are part of the class. His lectures are clear, and if you do your reading at all, you should be able to keep up with the class and get a decent grade. In addition, the video's shown in class are very relevant to the class material and do appear on the tests. I recommend taking Kerbo


Senior
B
Required (Major)
Sep 2004
You know what...Ive grown to like this professor a lot. No, teaching is not his number one priority. More than anything he uses teaching to facilitate his traveling and research, which frankly I think is a mighty swell idea. I recently studied abroad in Thailand with this Doctor Kerbo...so I saw the man plenty. His tests are straightforward and on the difficulty scale they'd fall somewhere around the middle. Oh yes...and might I add, anyone contemplating studying abroad in Thailand or Vietnam with this this professor, I would highly recommend it. Mmhmm.


Senior
B
Required (Support)
Mar 2006
Kerbo is an excellent instructor and knows the material backwards and fowards. The book-his own-is well written and easy to follow. There are only 2 midterms and a final-multiple choice/true false and two short and very easy essay questions. The only tricky part is there are only 40 mc/tf questions per test worth two points each so if you dont know the material fairly well you can drop a grade fast. This was a fairly easy class but I got a B instead of an A because I underestimated the tests. However, I would definately recomend this class for the low level of work involved and the interesting topic material.

HUM 310


Junior
N/A
General Ed
Sep 2009
To all you haters out here: go suck on a rock! Kerbie is the man!

SOC 323


Junior
C
Required (Support)
Oct 2005
This class was quite difficult. Kerbo writes the book for Social Strat. and really knows his stuff. Unfortunately, the class was five weeks and we covered a lot of info. in a short amount of time. Questions on the exams were very specific. There were three exams total; fifty m.c. questions and two essays. You get to pick between four essays and write on two. Besides the difficulty in the course, Kerbo is a great guy and well informed in his subjects. I'd reccommend taking this class even though it was a struggle.


Senior
A
Required (Major)
Sep 2008
A great class, by a great instructor, a tribute to Cal Poly.


Junior
B
Required (Major)
Dec 2008
Kerbo was the BANE OF MY EXISTENCE this quarter. He is the most unorganized, lazy, useless teacher I have ever had at Poly. He rambles on ridiculous tangents for half of lecture, about his insatiable lust for southeast asia and the many books he's written. He has no lesson plans and is technologically retarded. Completely scatterbrained. Unbearably boring textbook, unbearably boring lecture. He knows his stuff when it comes down to it, but has no idea how to convey it to a class. My least favorite teacher of all time.


Senior
B
Required (Major)
Mar 2009
Dr. Kerbo is a very nice person, but I'm not too sure why he's teaching, exactly. He jumps all over the place and no one in the class really had any idea what we were being tested on... It was a guessing game. He DOES love to shamelessly plug his book- which was mentioned below. He talks more about the fact that he wrote the book than anything else. And yes, awful with computers... you WILL waste a good 15 minutes each class just waiting on him to set stuff up. That, and he's usually about 10 minutes late to class every day. Wouldn't take him again.


Junior
A
Required (Major)
Jan 2012
Dr. Kerbo was very knowledgeable in social stratification. The class was interesting, however, kind of boring. I felt like he took an interesting subject and made it less interesting. He wrote the text book, which you do have to read/skim. It has great graphs/tables/charts and shows that he has a lot of experience in the field. There were three exams (not cumulative) and that is it. As a sociology class, I would have liked more discussion but it was all just lecture (which got boring). Overall, not a bad class at all.


Junior
N/A
Required (Major)
Oct 2013
HE DOESNT READ YOU ESSAY QUESTIONS ON THE MIDTERMS. focus on the mult. choice! he is pretty hard but fair and tells you what he is going to test you you but he will trick you! GOOD LUCK may the odds be ever in your FAVOR!


Sophomore
N/A
Required (Major)
Nov 2013
I love Professor Kerbo! He is extremely knowledgeable of the subject matter, and genuinely cares about his students. The lectures are a bit unorganized, but Kerbo makes it easy to figure out what is important. Make sure to ask questions if you don't understand the concepts. The class is of average difficulty and interesting/relevant! There are 2 midterms and a final. Nothing else goes into your grade, so make sure to do well on these. STUDY THE LECTURE NOTES. He says exams are 50% book 50% lecture, but they mainly focus on SPECIFIC DETAILS from the lectures. Memorize important dates and information from the graphs he shows in class. Overall, Professor Kerbo is awesome. He's very approachable and wants his students to be interested.

SOC 400


Graduate Student
A
Required (Major)
May 2015
This is best instructor at Cal Poly bar none. I took his class on social theory as well as social stratification and inequality. They were two of the best courses I ever took in college. During Social Theory I achieved 18 units at 4.0 that quarter, and was on the Dean's list 4 in a row quarters to close out my undergraduate degree. He is one of the only academics at Poly to produce. He authors his own text book for social stratification, and updates it every few years. The new editions are actually worth it and not just to cash in for some printer, because of his in depth analysis and the mountains of data he compiles. There is no one with a higher IQ at Cal Poly than this man. I have been away from his class for a while, but purchased two of his latest text books so I can spread the info to others. I will be buying two of his editions every time he updates. The quality of this teacher is legendary. The way he ties into William S. Domhoff's work is absolute genius. If more took his class and listened, America would be going up instead of sinking into the tubes right now. This man is amazing.

SOC 421


Sophomore
A
Required (Support)
May 2001
I really enjoyed taking Kerbo's social theory class. He is a very inteligent man. Yes he tends to ramble on about his published books and his knowledge about asia but really it is all usefull info. The way i see it, the longer he rambles, the less notes you have to take. His tests are very fair and straight out of the notes, at least in this class. All exams were essay and he is a very fair grader. I must say i was sad when this class was over. Take this class if you want to do well!!!


5th Year Senior
A
Required (Major)
Mar 2002
Kerbo is not a bad guy in any way, just not a compelling speaker. Yes, he does talk about his books and Asia, but I really didn't think it hurt the class. The only problem I had with the class is the 10 (count them) page paper he has you do. I mean come on, I've got a life to lead here. 421 is an interesting class, and Kerbo is a fairly easy grader, but you will spend some time on the paper and the reading. If you have the time, take the class. If you have a heavy load, though, find another class.


Senior
A
Required (Major)
Apr 2005
He's a really nice guy and very knowledgeable but his lectures are very hard to follow. He goes off on tangents and you can't tell when he's talking about stuff you need to know and when he isn't. He is willing to help anyone that comes into office hours though and he grades a lot easier than I thought he would. The exams are all essay. He gives you 5 or 6 questions and you pick three and write on them. There is also a paper. You have to pick a theory and apply it to something in real life.

POLS 858


Senior
C
Required (Support)
Nov 2016
Business majors: A degree for the intellectually impaired, HA HA.