Mori, Barbara  

Prof cried today.... What a weirdo hahahah get a grip of your life.

Dr. Mori is incredibly full of herself. I took sociology because it sounded really interesting, and it probably would have been if it had not been taught by Mori. During one class, she made a comment to a student about his sexual practices and experience being limited, which was way out of line, and completely inappropriate. It's true about the test scores. I got C's on all my midterms and a C and a B on my papers and got a B+ in the class.

The first thing about Mori is that she can't be wrong. You could argue with her forever, and she would never see your point of view. There are only 100 points possible in the class: 3 tests and 2 projects. The tests are short and the projects are unclear as to what she expects. The two hour class seems to last forever because it is so boring and she doesn't give you a break. There is a TON of reading for the class--and it puts you to sleep faster than anything. The one thing I have to give her is that she is helpful outside of class. I know she isn't the worst for this class, but you could take better.

Dr. Mori is a HORRIBLE teacher. The two hours seem like torture since all she does is brag about her trips to China and how great she is because of it. One time she gave the same exact lecture twice and didn't even know about it. She won't listen to you if you have a complaint especially regarding the tests. I studied a lot for her tests and I got a C and B- on the two midterms. Everyone must have done poor if I ended up getting an A- in the class with a curve. I also read the WHOLE book which put me to sleep almost faster than her lectures. Bottom line: Just don't bother.

Mori's class is pretty easy. Her tests and final are all scantron, not to difficult. But she's not the best teacher. Her lectures can get kinda boring and all of her examples and stories are about Japan. The class should be called Intro to Japanese Culture.

Avoid this professor if you arent a book learner. She rants about her teachings in Japan and Korea and China when they thought sliced bread was a neat idea. Its all kind of interesting until the test comes along and you get a sharp stick in the eye when you realize that what she talks about has nothing to do with the test at all. If you read the book, and LEARN THE VOCABULARY, you'll do fine. Once i leared that after failing the first midterm was all that saved my grade in this class. If you can avoid her, if not, study the vocab, thats all i can say.

this class felt like a person just telling stories of their vacation with no context. mori told the same stories over and over again in the most mind numbingly boring way. i have never had a class that was as pointless as this one. her tests are not based on the lecture what so ever they are definition tests which should make the class easy, but the text she chose she admits has vague definitions. overall she was daft and boring and i pity anyone who has her as a teacher

THIS WOMAN IS HEINOUS!!!!! I hate her so much it is painful to attend class. She rambles for the full two hours about China, Japan and Korea, where she did her studies and lived for years. Her outlines are vaugue and totally useless and the tests are far too hard for what we learn. It is week seven of this quarter and i am not sure i can make it through the next four weeks of class. I went to every lecture, took notes, etc and read my book and i still got a low C on the first midterm and i was so lost during the test! I cannot say enough how much i hate this class because of Barbara Mori. She is completely biased and digresses from the curriculum to tell us how much better it is in China. Student comments and questions are brushed aside and the rant continues. I am sure she is very educated and was probably a great professor once, but really, she needs to retire and go back to China (note: this is not racist because she is very white). Do not take this professor!

A word of advice: don't bother. Seriously, get your requirements filled with another course or another teacher because Barbara Mori is not worth your time. The class has a lot of potential for being interesting and engaging which is completely lost on her, so save yourself the hassle of dealing with a crappy prof. for a quarter and avoid this heinous headache of a class.

It's sufficient to say that everything that happens in lecture, does not appear on the test. Thus, lecture is pointless. Tests consist of minute details from the book that are irrevelant, unless you memorize the book, you will not do great on the tests. There must have been a curve at the end, as I ended up with a B after getting c's on everythng in the class. Bottom line, do not take her!!!! It's way boring, pointless to go to lecture, and it's a comparative societies class. NOT AN ASIAN CULTURE COURSE!!! I didn't learn anything. It was a terrible class.

I'd say the .67 rating she has speaks for herself...She is the undisputed worst teacher I have had at Cal Poly...Going to class was borderline painful...The entire time she rambled on about her expiriences in China, Japan, all of Asia, etc. but especially the Tea Ceremony in which: NO ONE CARES NOR DOES IT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH SOC 110. I struggled to stay awake every day in that class and if you glanced around the room you would only see about a 1/3 of the class there and those that were there were usually sleeping or in shock of how bad she was. She would also go off on tirades about her ideas and belittle anyone who even slightly disagreed or commented. I myself am liberal and was appalled by how biased and over the top she is. Oh and her tests were exactly as written below, extremely obscure facts from the text so make sure you read and remember little random and irrelevant tidbits. She also gives you no direction on what to write the paper on whatsoever and then burns you bad on the grade. If you can avoid her, do. Do not take this woman she ruins a potentially very interesting class. I repeat: DO NOT TAKE THIS WOMAN PLAIN AND SIMPLE SHE IS ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE.

for me, I had to take SOC 110 with Mori because it was the only class that was still available after the first week of school when I was desperately searching to get more than 11 units. Here's the honest truth about this teacher: the previous evaluation is true, but take it with a grain of salt. I agree 100% with what is said below. BUT, here's the key if you get stuck with Mori, follow my instructions and get an A like me-- Dont really listen to her lectures. THE BIG THING IS READ THE BOOK and STUDY OFF OF THE STUDY GUIDE. There is also a pretty large curve in the class. I got a D+ on the first test, a B on the second, and then probably a B on the final. Study the VOCAB in the book and you'll be legit. Yeah, she is a shitty teacher or whatever else, but if you talk to her after class she really is a nice lady and tries to meet your needs and understandings. oh, by the by, dont miss the discussions, because having only 100 points total in the class, missing a 2 point discussion a few times can fuck you over. They are easy attendance points. Sack up, Bitches.

3 Midterms, one of which is your final. Very unclear in presenting, hates men, blames you for her incompetence, tests are ambiguous mostly, she will tell you to study vocab but really her tests are just random shit from the book. Overall, don't do it if you can help it. Oh yeah don't bother going to lecture, won't help on the tests. She just talks about Asia and when she lived there.....makes me wonder why she just doesn't move back and do all of us a favor. Where the fuck does Cal Poly get these shitty teachers?....not mention they all get paid $100,000 a year.

Don't take Dr. Mori if you can help it (is there an echo in here?)! She just rants about crap that usually has to do with Japan or China, occasionally Korea, and sometimes just random subjects. If you're not a liberal you will hate her, she's openly biased (I'm pretty liberal so it didn't bug me really, but some of the Aggies and conservative Christians must have been shitting themselves in the back). Her tests aren't actually that hard if you do all of the reading and remember it well (notes, especially on bold stuff). The value of actually going to class is debatable, since she WILL WASTE MOST OF YOUR TIME IN CLASS but she will also ask a couple questions about stuff she said in class on the test. I'm not actually sure I got a B in the class, right now I am running a B and unless I do really well on the final exam and she curves (which she says she will, so you bastards with 100% better knock it off) I will probably keep the B. She's just too out of it be teaching I think. Her health is poor, her eyesight worse, and she's just generally clueless about her surroundings. If Poly would just give her enough money to do research without making her teach bull shit GEs like SOC 110 I think she and the students would be very thankful. Avoid this class if you can!!! And if you can't, well, it's not that bad, just read and prepare for a boring quarter, but I doubt she will be teaching 110 again anytime soon anyways, since she said she hasn't taught it for years before this (Spring '09).

I really don't understand what everyone is complaining about. For a SOC elective course this class is pretty easy and Dr. Mori is really not an awful teacher. She talks a lot about Asian culture which sometimes does seem off point, but in truth is much more interesting and worthwhile to hear about than paragraphs straight out of the text book. On top of that, she tells you to study all the vocab words from the text book for the tests, and if you do so you will be well-prepared. Other than the 3 multiple-choice midterms (no final), there are 5 discussion paragraphs that take about 2 min to type up and one 3-page paper on a film she shows (use vocab from the book!!!).

I can agree the lectures for this course weren't that helpful. But considering that Dr. Mori gives study guides for the tests and everything is covered in the book, it's easy to get an A in this class. She also makes up for her teaching execution by being helpful and understanding in office hours. Having lived in other countries, she gives interesting perspectives on the world. As for the material in the class, sociology is an interesting subject to because it does a good job in explaining human behavior.

Mori is a knowledgable professor, as she persistantly reminds the class of her resume, but the class structure is disorganized, tests are irrepresentative of the reading(s), and the papers are not graded per se on what you write, rather how much you participate and well she knows you (theory). First, I took the section on Japanese Culture (she also does a Chinese culture). Mori has studied Japanese culture for thirty-plus years, so she knows her stuff. Unfortunately, she would go off on tangents mid-lecture about how hard it is in Japan being the foreigner she is and they way they treat foreigners, but not for her anymore because of what and who she knows, yada-yada. At times this worked to explain some of the customs better, but mostly it distracted from topic and focused the lecture on herself. There are two TESTS, midterm and a final. Not bad if you take the class CR/NC, but if youre looking for a grade, watch out. the class is only a HUNDRED POINTS, meaning that each point is a percent. Also, the amount of reading she assigns is ABSURD! three books, and about 20 E-reserve articles averaging 25-30 pgs in lengh. you do the math. taking it cr/nc allows you to skip some of the reading and focus on the lecture material. the tests incorporates both reading and lecture pretty evenly, so you'll need to do both. there is also a PAPER in which you analyze two films shown in class. Overall: knowledgable, poor class structure, uninspiring lecturer, take it cr/nc.

DO NOT TAKE HER!!!!! im serious! you need to find another class or teacher. you will be stressed beyond belief! you read sooo much and you go into her tests feeling like you know it all and feel good about taking the test until you get it back and you did bad! DONT TAKE HER!!!!

Ridiculous. First of all, you will be forced to read three (3) books for this class. NONE of the material in the books is addressed in lecture. NONE. Second, you will be forced to learn all about Mori's in-laws, and her ex-husband, and the times she made spaghetti even though she knew her spouse hates it BLA BLA BLA. Trust me, I'm sure everyone who's had her has heard about the spaghetti issues. The lectures will not help you. Nothing will help you. The only saving grace is that she curves BIG TIME. However, it is truly excruciating to sit through this class. Mori is OUT OF IT more than half the time. She shows up late, spills drinks often, and sometimes does not seem to know where she is. Fact: she taught 25 minutes of a completely different class before suddenly blinking and switching projector slides to the right lecture. She then accused the students of causing this. Mori also believes that the events of the Nanking Massacre have been "greatly exaggerated" echoing the sentiments of people who deny the occurence of the Holocaust. A direct quote from this teacher is, "Jet Li does not choose frivolous roles." Apparently the rest of the world failed to recognize "The Mummy 3: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" as a significant film in our time. But in Mori's private world, it is cinematic genius. Perhaps this is why she shows "Sazae-san" in class, WITHOUT THE SUBTITLES and then asks detailed questions about it on her exams. She will be your personal Kim Jong-il if you take this class. Be prepared.

Prof. Mori means well. She really enjoys what she does and she's pretty much done it all. She has a degree in everything and her Asian language skills are really cool for an older caucasian woman. However, she is difficult. There seems to be a disconnect between her and the students. The material is interesting and she tries to show a lot of movies and stuff, but she never really explains the significance of it all. Her voice is very monotonous and her notes aren't very good. However, most information from her class can be found on the internet. I learned a good amount, but I think the execution could've been better. However, I also needed to make up a lot of stuff and hand in things a little tardy and she was very sweet and accommodating about this.

Very interesting class accompanied by great discussion topics. Dr. Mori may come off as too opinionated but its just that she loves to be the devil's advocate in her presentation. Don't be too worried by your test and quiz scores if you get D's and C's, the curve will pleasantly surprise you. Good luck

She is awful. First off, the lectures have nothing to do with the text, but she only tests on the text. Oh wait, did I say text? I meant 2 textbooks, readings on the website, and several readings on reserve in the library. THere is an insane amount of reading for this class. Her grading system is unclear and her test questions are really difficult...to me there were always two answers that meant the same thing. The essay due at the end of the quarter is weird and she doesn't tell you what she was looking for in the paper until AFTER it's due. Same way with the tests...she lets you know afterward what she was loooking for. It would be useful to know before so the highest score on the midterm is not 18/30. She is also bitchy and gives indirect answers to questions. And you will hear tons of stories about her failed marriage that you will get sick of. Don't take her.

I took this class to take care of my diversity GE, or something like that. Usually people take some 100 level sociology class, but this class fit in my schedule better...big mistake. Two hours of lecture where she speaks on and on in a monotone voice that really puts you to sleep. You really don't need to bother going to class except when she shows a video. Even then you can check the videos out and view them in the resource room. She only tests on the text and videos as well as other things on reserve. One of those things is an entire legal document of a trial from 30 years ago. This isn't pre-law, cut that crap out of the class. Some of the videos are interesting, but then she talks about them and ruins them. She also uses the class as a political forum to say how awful ALL Republicans are. So if your a bleeding heart liberal, by all means take the class as you will love it. The tests are hard as hell as are the quizes you have to take. I got an F on all the quizes and a D on the mid term. I didn't check my final, but I can't think it was that good...but I somehow managed to get a B in the class. There are a few essays you have to write and I got perfect scores on those so I can't tell you if she is an easy grader or if they were really good.

Mori's class is completely irrelevant, save your self a headache. Her class is a huge waste of time because all of your "learning" (if it can be called that) takes place outside of class. She lectures on her own accomplishments then has you read these huge stacks of articles in the library in order to do these tedious papers for which she gives NO direction on until AFTER you've messed up on a couple, but it still effects your grade. ALL SHE DOES is talk about her study on Japanese culture and how great she is for doing so. You'll hear lots about her life and nothing on gender issues. Oh, and forget about expressing your own opinion, she'll knock it down in a second. She refuses to be wrong and if you question her she'll feed her ego for the next hour. Seriously, don't take her.

Mori is a terrible professor! I took this class because I thought it would be fun and interesting. Well, it was, and this could have been a great class. But no, Mori spent every lecture talking about her life in Japan. You will learn about her ex-in-laws, her husband and their marriage difficulties, and nothing that will ever be on an exam. It is a lot of reading (but it's a 300 level course, no surprise) but almost nothing from the book is on the tests. She doesn't tell you what she wants on an essay until AFTER it's turned in, and her grading is erratic. Avoid her.

What is really the problem here. Like most students at Cal Poly, I read the Polyratings on Mori before I took her and was extremely hesitant to take her. BUT...after sitting in her class for a quarter, I didnt understand what all the uproar was about. The point of college is to be EDUCATED and on a variety of topics and ideas. Give the woman a break, maybe it is you who the problem is with and not the teacher. Give Mori a chance, stay awake in class, participate and LEARN something!

I could go on about this professor at length. Sadly, the past two reviews of her I have found to be incorrect, blaringly so. She does not recognize student's problems at all, and in fact goes so far as to ridicule them with her assumptions about their intelligence and 'ability to manage [their] own lives', which she uses as the reason they are failing her course, or unable to keep up with the workload, or do poorly on exam...pretty much on everything. She does tend to use her overseas examples a bit much, preferring to spend lecture time more on talking about her personal life and the discrimination found within it rather than providing outside examples or forming a class discussion on it. She tends to have far more readings than are necessary (I'm not saying this as a 'way too much reading!' thing but more in that her readings overlap in almost all areas, so one or two would be sufficent). She has three textbooks of questionable validity (can we say biased? And no, I'm not a guy. The readings just have a tendency to be more opinionated than, oh, I dunno, based on fact?), in addition to online readings, poems, etc. There are three issue papers, during which she wants you to distinguish between 'fact' and 'opinion' rather than providing actual useful material, making the assignments an English grammar lecture instead of a sociology class, as that is all the she will grade on. There is also an essay, but we have not gotten to it yet. Her exams (midterm and final) consist of multiple choice, t/f, definitions, and essay. She only offers the eight possible essay questions and does not supply a study guide. Keep in mind how difficult this can be when you have four online articles, 4 films, and 15 chapters (across three books) to review. Again, she spends most of the lecture talking about personal experiences, so essentially you can leave as soon as you copy down the one or two overheads she presents, and as far as recognizing student difficulty? She couldn't care less. In her own words, "It's your problem, not mine." I strongly suggest NOT taking her. Just go to her website and check out 'course evaluations' if you still doubt me: http://cla.calpoly.edu:16080/~bmori/syll/311syll/311Gendersyl.html

The class will be interesting if everyone participates and gives their general feedback. Otherwise, it will be incredibly boring. Nobody seems to realize that Dr. Mori doesn't want to just stand up in front of the class and lecture; she'd rather answer questions and discuss the GENERAL THEMES of the class, readings, movies, etc. Take this class if you want to participate, otherwise, you're in for a boring 10-12 weeks.

As a sociology class, this is often people's first time taking a class where feminism is discussed. Honestly, it is because of people like Dr. Mori that feminism has become such a dirty word. She comes from the generation of second wave feminists, many of whom were terribly angry at men and she has no qualms about displaying this anger. I felt horrible for any guys in the class becuase basically, all they heard throughout the course of this class, is how terrible men are. There were a FEW classes that I enjoyed, like when she showed a film on gender portrayal in music videos, but those were few and far between. Also, her tests are terrible, with many ambiguous questions. We went over midterms the day after she handed them back and many times, she would say an answer that she had counted as wrong. When students would try to contest their grades because of that, she would not relent and give them the extra point, even though she herself had said another answer.

Everything everyone else has said about her is true. I had to take an incomplete in this class beacuse of a serious health issue and she has made it almost impossible for me to make up the work. She seems to think she can make up her own rules and ignore the university's policy. Her lectures have nothing to do with her tests. She never answers your questions in a clear way and if you ask for reclarification she makes you feel stupid. Don't take her classes!

DO NOT TAKE HER!!!! DR. Mori is by far the worst teacher I have EVER had! Hands down terrible....she will ruin Sociology for you. I have taken many Soc classes for my major and I love the subject, but Mori is really really bad and will give a new Soc student a bad perception of the discipline. Take one of the other good teachers in the Soc department like McKinsrty or Coleman.

Mori seems to be very unprepared and her lectures seem irrelevant to the topic on the syllabus. The hardest part for me in her class was finding a correlation between the anecdotes and the issues. There are issues papers that she grades very hard on and it is difficult to figure out what she wants. Also, the last papers were rushed at the end of the quarter. The tests required only quick cramming (of a lot of reading) and a lot of people felt the tests were too hard-- i thought they were pretty easy. She also offered extra credit which was easy to complete-- that and the test curve saved my grade because the papers were ridiculous. The class itself was okay-- just make sure you go and don't miss discussion days or videos. She's not the best at getting things into the reserves. Suck it up and take the class if you can read the textbook and take a decent amount of time figuring out what is fact and opinion on the papers. I don't know how I got an "A."

She's cool, don't sweat it. I took her once and got an A and got a B in her other class. I think she is a regular to good professor. These people are way too critical. She cares about students and teaches clearly. Her tests are nitpicky but she curves them big time so who cares? Take her, you will learn about sociology.

Don't take this professor. You will screw up the first midterm no matter how hard you study(just choose the politically correct answer). How do I know this, because she told us to "never believe what you read in books." But she expects you to take her "opinion" at face value and the final word, because only her views are right. Her political views will definitely make their way into the class and she will make sure you know it- once again only her view of the world is correct. She is very self-righteous and a hypocrite of everything she preaches. A day in her life must be much self-inflicted torture. She is probably such a big proponent of affirmative action because she was a recipient. That would be the only thing to explain how this lady got tenure, let alone a degree and PH.D. No matter what you write in your essays you will lose points. The midterm answers that you get from the book will be wrong, so write good essays- she gives you the questions. After failing the first midterm, I stopped studying and just choose the politically correct answers and it worked. Do the extra credits and remember the films. Huge curve at the end will save your grade. Final word- don't take this instructor, wait a quarter and get someone qualified.

terrible teacher. unclear in presenting class material. text books and information discussed in class are unrelated. this teacher views her opinions as law and does not allow her students to express their opinions. if students are to express their opinions in papers or in the classroom, she shoots them down immediately. mrs. mori talks down to her students and shows a general disinterest in their well being. the class never knows what is going on, whether it be instructions for a paper or what to study for on a test, and this teacher blames her students (rather than herself) for being incompetent and confused. don't take this teacher unless you must. oh, and if you email her, she never answers the questions you ask! so frustrating. i am just hoping she curves my grade...

I took SOC 350 thinking learning about Japanese Organizations would be an interesting topic, and I think it would be had Dr. Mori not taught it. Its obvious that she knows a ton about the topic, yet her teaching style will quench any desire to learn more. She has you read THREE books and about 20 articles (each of which is about 20 PAGES LONG in 10 pt font). I can only be glad that I am not a sociology major and thus will not have to take her again. Seriously, she will kill your enthusiasm for your class. Don't take her if you can help it.

The class in REALLY boring and i just couldn't stand to go like 80% of the time. She didn't take attendance which was good. Her lectures are not at all organized and so there is no point in listening to the lecture or going to the stupid class. She does give a study guide which helps. Don't sweat her or the class though cause she curves BIG TIME. I mean seriously she does! I got a d on the first test and then i got A's on the stupid little charts she makes you do (but they are easy) then i got like another D on the final and i ended up with a B in the class at the end. BOttom line; You'll think that you are doing really really bad but in reality....you aren't cause everyone is doing prolly the same as you and then you end up with a good grade in the class cause of her curve. Try to take someone else but if you can't......its really not bad at all

Ok, Everyone is hard on Dr. Mori... and with good reason. As a person, she is VERY smart. But as a teacher, she can't teach at all. She talks about things that have NO relation what so ever to the class. Her reading load is nuts! But, you only need to read one book. The one that covers theories (not the book on individuals theorists). The other is a waste of time becuase it ever shows up on tests. Your saving grace will be showing up. IF she KNOWS YOUR NAME, she gives you points at the end. She also grades on a curve that probably looks like MT. Whitney (that will save you too). Good Luck!

Ok here is the dael with Mori....she sucks as a teacher but the class was so easy that i would FOR SURE take it again. She curves BIG TIME. Everyone i know in the class failed the midterm and got like a C on the final but then somehow ended up with a B or A in the class! She is a really boring lecturer and so i barely went to class. She posts her lecture notes on blackboard and then just talks about them in class so there is no point in going. She doesn't take attendance so that's why i never went and since me and all my friends got B's and A's I know what i'm tlaking about. Take her if you want a good grade otherwise some other class might actually make you do work!