Linsenbard, Gail  

She's alright. The class is relatively easy, just attend the class and speak a few times and you're fine. There's an essay in the middle of the quarter and it's not hard at all, doesn't take much time, and is easily graded. However in class she gets so off topic that we didn't get through any of the class work EVER and so we were constantly behind. I was assigned to lead a discussion in class and we didn't get to it until a week and a half later. She's frustrating in the sense that she talks unbelievably long and it makes the class go by so slow. If you're not interested in this subject DO NOT TAKE IT. The tests were kind of easy but multiple choice is weighted way more than the free response (which is usually a two or more pages of writing) and so if you miss two questions for multiple choice but get an 100% on the free response, you get a 90 on the test. As well as, her multiple choice questions on the test are kind of subjective and can sometimes be an opinion and confusing. Either way, this class is an easy A but it's incredibly boring. Take your pick.

I thoroughly enjoyed taking this class with Dr. Linsenbard. She is extremely knowledgeable, and not just about WGS. She is a philosopher, so sometimes you end up pondering some really deep questions after class, but overall, as long as you are active in your learning and engaged during class, you should enjoy it. Her exams were really quite easy as long as you go to class and take note when she points something out in the readings. I recommend reading the chapters and going through her PowerPoints simultaneously for studying. But Dr. Linsenbard is far more concerned that you come away from her class with a better understanding of the world than a perfect grade. I highly recommend this class!

The load is super manageable. She is an absolutely amazing teacher. Super funny and nice. Will help you think critically about everything. And listens to other perspectives and engages in dialogues. She rlly encourages participation as well. Tests are super fair also. All around amazing lady. I want her to be my aunt or something she rocks.

honestly super amazing lady. Super funny, and the class is pretty easy. Participation counts for a lot, so if you dont do well on a test or something, she can bump your grade up a whole letter if you participate in class! Take her.

Professor Linsenbard is awesome! The way her class works is she will give a PowerPoint presentation on the chapter as a whole which literally consists of selected sentences from the textbook one day and then for the next 1-2 days the class discusses the chapter's readings. There are about 5-7 articles which are all less than 10 pages (lots are 5 pages or less) per chapter so the workload is VERY manageable. Every student is assigned one reading to facilitate for the quarter, which basically means you discuss the key points of the articles and then ask questions for clarification if you were confused by the article or ask interesting questions related to the reading that you want to hear your classmates talk about. You can volunteer to facilitate a certain article if you want to. Some people have expressed frustration because she often shares her opinions on the topics we discuss. I personally enjoy this because I hate when a professor teaches about controversial topics but then you have no idea where they stand. Even if you don't agree with her, it's very interesting and beneficial to hear her opinions as she usually has valid and sound arguments. The only reason you shouldn't take this class is if you are shy and don't talk much in class. Participation is 25% of your grade, so if you don't talk at least once every other class or so, you will likely get a bad grade in the class. Also, her tests consist of 12-14 multiple choice questions (70% of the exam grade) and a short essay (30% of the exam grade). Each multiple choice question is worth about 5% of the exam grade which can really hurt your grade if you get any wrong. BUT if you actually read the chapter and the articles, the questions are a piece of cake. As for the essays, as long as you answer the question you'll get 100% on it. Overall, I found this class enjoyable and easy.

I took WGS to fulfill a general ed requirement and could not have been more disappointed with this class. Linsenbard turned this subject into a purely political class that slammed republicans every chance she got. Although almost each class is designed to evoke class discussion, if you say something that does not align with her political views you will be immediately and aggressively questioned or lectured by her. Her tests are fairly difficult but you will need to complete all of the readings which can be long. I do not recommend this professor unless you are extremely liberal, if not take a different professor or GE.

story time: one day in class, while discussing domestic violence and abuse, she told us a story of her witnessing a woman violently screaming at her (inferred) partner (male) for an extended period of time in a public parking lot. She was shocked since this was the first time that she had ever seen a woman abusing a man rather than the other way around. She noted how he kept seeming to shrink away as the screams continued. She contemplated calling the police because she was extremely worried about the man and worried it would turn violent, but ultimately decided not to. She ended her recount of this event by stating how traumatizing it was for HERSELF. My takeaway from this is that she talks big about intersectionality but is still blinded by her own privilege and perspective. While I did find her to be extremely frustrating because of her ignorance, it was a SUPER easy class. I rarely actually showed up (mostly just showed up for first half of quarter and then popped in a few times at the end) and it didn't matter because she posts her lectures online (only after the chapter has been completed, but that's still always before her tests) and she tells you what the essay options are going to be on, so usually you only have to closely read like one article or section of the text. DO NOT BUY THE TEXTBOOK THOUGH. it is unnecessary. Just look up the articles that are being discussed, they're all super well-known so it's easy to find them online. The whole class is lecture followed by discussions of the readings, which are eye opening at the beginning and then they just become tedious because Linsenbard has to put her own privileged two cents each time. Also she is completely baffled by technology and anything modern.

She means well, but she's a little scatterbrained. Will talk to hear herself speak. Repeats points several times in class; honestly just read the powerpoints because that's all she does in lecture anyway. Loves her "all/none of the above" option on tests.

Prof Linsenbard is super quirky and seems like a kickass person to go out to the bars with. Sometimes in class, she would get a little bit flustered, but for the most part presented the information pretty well. This class is NOT easy like its lower level counterpart: WGS. She really steps up the intensity of the tests, which have 12-14 multiple choice and a short essay. There is a LOT of material, so make sure you are reading and keeping up with the material. Also, take note of what she emphasizes in class, because it will show up on your tests. Other than that, cool class. I was never really into feminist theories, but it opened my eyes to the importance of equality in regards to gender.

I wouldn't take her. She likes to rant on about what she likes and doesn't like and is too biased at times. She would relate feminism to politics at times....which made me question the purpose of her class. Sorry but I wasn't paying to listen to her talk about her political views. Overall, she keeps you all two hours and can talk for days. She grades on participation and complains that "you didn't participate enough" when she can't keep her mouth shut for a minute. I advise to not take her.

if Simone de beauvoir were alive today, she and Linsenbard would be in a cafe somewhere discussing existentialist philosophy. Basically what I'm saying is Linsenbard is incredibly well informed, passionate, and open to let the class work out difficult social problems and philosophical questions for themselves. Would recommend!

Dr. Linsenbard is, without a doubt, the absolute worst professor I've had the displeasure of taking at Cal Poly. I absolutely love philosophy. This class does not even deserve the honor of being called a philosophy course. Whereas every other professor in the department keeps their own personal political beliefs private, recognizing that they are not conducive to the course, Dr. (and I cannot believe that any institution granted her a doctorate) Linsenbard makes her personal beliefs very clear: that Trump, and most Republicans, apparently, are horrible fascists, and that Marxism is the only moral politico-economic institution. Her class is not at all open to Socratic dialogue: if you disagree with the narrative being pushed, you will have a class full of angry feminists getting mad at you, and likely believing you to be sexist/racist/homophobic/transphobic/whatever other adjective they can throw on you. As far as the course material goes, it's largely a joke. To call it in any way academic is dishonest. Her grading system is 20% attendance and participation, 20% the midterm (which were 14, multiple choice questions, comprising 70%, and an open-ended essay, comprising 30%), 30% a course paper (on why feminism and feminist philosophy is still relevant in the 21st century), and 30% a final (yet to be taken: I don't want my final grade to bias my review). On the multiple choice section, the questions were in no way representative of the course itself, being insanely detailed about small things, and she acted like she did everybody a huge favor by curving it because everyone did so horribly, and made sure we were aware that there will not be a curve on the final. Overall, this course is a 0/4 stars, and if you don't have to take this class, don't.

I had an extremely hard time in this class. I loved going everyday, I participated heavily, I even chatted Linsenbard up in the hallways in order to get on her good side... and she just did not love me. I don't have the syllabus beside me but from my recollection the class is made up of a Midterm (13-15 questions, in-class essay), essay (prompt given in syllabus, due last day of class), and final (13-15 questions, in class essay). At the beginning of the quarter she really stresses the journal requirement and that she has the right to collect them at all times (this is kind of like your weekly homework), but literally I never did a single one of them and she never collected them, so I wouldn't stress about those. She said she felt our class was engaged enough so she didn't need to collect them, if your class blows then maybe do them. I TANKED the midterm. Studied my ass off, made flash cards and everything and literally got an F. She says the questions are about the first half of the class.. they aren't... literally study only Simone de Beauvoir. That's her favorite philosopher so literally all of the questions were about her. For the in-class essay portion, I got an A... BUT Linsenbard grades it 40/70, as in the essay was worth 40% and the MC 70%. So with my not doing too hot on the MC, I got an F. I talked to Linsenbard about my grade and all she recommended for me to do was to read the textbook again and participate more in class.. both things I was already doing. I can't help but feel like Linsenbard plays favorites. If you agree with her beliefs, she loves you. If you disagree, she allows the class to attack you. There was one man in our class that had very controversial beliefs and was very vocal about them. As much as I disagreed with him, I more so disagreed with Linsenbard's way of handling it. Almost everyday if he contributed to discussion, we would completely digress and focus on proving him wrong. I hated how she allowed the class to chime in on attacking him.. literally think of a classroom in a movie where all of the students turn them bodies and heads around to face that one student. As a future teacher, I would never allow my students to single one of their peers out like that. I understand her purpose was for academic discussion, but it was too controversial and too fueled with emotion to be appropriate for the classroom in my opinion. With that being said, I took the chance on my paper to disagree with some of her beliefs (it's a reflective paper, so you're supposed to talk about your own opinions). I got a C (unheard of for me since I am an English major, never gotten a C on a paper in my life), she, in red ink, disagreed and crossed things out and made all sorts of marks that were completely unnecessary. My favorites: crossed out a word, suggested a new word but proceeded to spell it wrong. And at the end she wrote me this long message about how I desperately need to visit the Writing Center to work on my writing technique (I loled at this since I was offered a job at the Writing Center as an essay tutor). I took the grade with a grain of salt and just figured she was totally being biased. For the final, again studied my ass off. I reread every chapter, participated in class everyday and came out with a C. With a C and an F coming into it, I could've easily failed the class. On the last day of class she did a "facial recognition" exercise where she looked at you and marked down your participation for the quarter. Basically if she knew you, you were golden. If she had no idea who you were, you were fucked. She made this long speech about how if you participated in class everyday you could go up an entire letter grade, if not then down an entire letter grade. I either was one of those students who she bumped up, or I aced the final because I was completely surprised with a C. Overall, this class was a bummer because I loved the material, worked my ass off, and didn't perform well. It was a great educational experience, so if you're interested in learning more about Feminism then take the class, but just be ready for a classroom full of opinions and be ready to put in some hard work. Unfortunately, Linsenbard is a professor that is biased so if you're looking for a good grade, I would recommend just agreeing with her.

I do not know why anyone would write such a negative evaluation about professor Linsenbard. She is easily the most caring individual I have ever met. She wants students to learn not only about the world and philosophy, but about themselves. If anyone can teach empathy, it would be Professor Linsenbard. I truly feel that I am a better person after taking this class. If you actively participate in her class you will get so much out of it. I learned so much and wish that I could take more classes with her. My only advice is to participate, listen and getting your essay revised before turning it in.

Take her. This class is very interesting, and I am not usually interested in this stuff. Super manageable class load.

I am currently taking this course and PLEASE take my advice when I say DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS!!!!!!! Her ability to relay information to the class is horrible. She is extremely scatter-brained so you have no idea what is going on the entire class time...for the midterm I had to teach EVERYTHING to myself (and I went to every class and tried to pay attention) and I did not do well. We have an essay due that has to do with 21st century feminism and her grading is SO biased!! I spent a week writing this 3 page paper making sure it was perfect because I needed to raise my grade...I had multiple people read it and confirm that it was well-written. However, we just got the papers back and I got a B, which normally would not be an issue. However, she marked me down because I did not use the word she wanted instead. She changed my writing style to hers, using words that had the exact same definition, and then marked me down a whole letter grade. She is ridiculous with her expectations. Even if you are an A student, its impossible to ace this class. PLEASE PLEASE AVOID GAIL!!! Even if you feel like you can do it, dont. I urge you to avoid this class...

Gail is extremely knowledgable and passionate about the subject, which makes class super engaging and interesting; she's met/worked with many of the feminists we discuss in class which is super cool. Your grade is made up of a midterm, a paper, participation, and a final. Midterms are about 12 multiple choice questions and an essay; she gives you the three questions in advance so you can choose which essay to do, which makes it much easier. As long as you pay attention and participate at least once per class, your participation grade should be fine. She takes attendance everyday but gives I think 2 class skips. Overall, highly recommend this class as well as this professor for any other class she teaches!

Fuck this guy. Id like to stick my tounge up his ass.