Rodriguez, Aaron  

EasyA. Spend most of the quarter watching movies. I can only remeber having 4 or 5 lectures and they were not on any of the exams. The exams come straight from the book and they are essays. He is a very easy grader. As long as you can BS 5 or 6 blue book pages you are fine. A great person to take to get your multi-cultural pluralism requirement out of the way painlessly.

nothingis a surprise on tests. the way it should be. he prepares students well for midterms and finals. does not waste time in class. very intelligent man, very in to educational movies. class was very worthwile.

All in all, this was an interesting class. The lectures can be boring at times, but he attempts to present the material in the most interesting way possible. The readings are sometimes long, but are very much worth your time. You watch many films and are required to write a 2-3 page film review after each one. The midterm and final are very straight-forward, and he makes sure you are well-prepared in advance. The midterm involves about 20 multiple-choice questions and two 4-5 page essays. The final is one 4-5 page essay and one short answer question. He grades pretty fairly, but he has an English grad student to check all the essays, so make sure that you don't have any grammar errors. In order to get an A, you must have at least a 93%. If you do the readings, attend class, and make sure to write fairly good essays, you should be able to get a good grade in the class. I came out of the class with a new-found knowledge and interest in the cultures of society.

The greatest part of this class was Professor Rodriguez' enthusiasm. Not only did he have interesting personal stories to tell but was honest and clear with the class. There isn't too much of a work load involved, only some film reviews and reading but he's a fair and somewhat easy grader. Unlike most of my classes his was one of the few that I looked forward to attending.

This teacher made my first quarter here at Cal Poly so much better. I loved his enthusiasm and his lectures every class. I highly recommend this course and teacher to anyone wanting to get a support class out of the way...or even for fun

Rodgrigues is an awesome teacher. Although he does have his repetitive phrases, every lecture is really interesting and kept my attention for the whole class. You will have to write about 4 one to two page film reviews, which are easy. The movies aren't ones you would have seen before, but they really make you think and pretty good. He is always willing to explain the movie or the concepts you have to write about, so don't hesitate to ask. I definately would take Rodrigues every quarter if I could!

This class should be a required class for everyone at Cal Poly. It seriously changed my life. Read all the readings because they will really open your eyes. Aaron was a great professor and a super cool guy. He has the worst handwriting in the entire universe, and he circles everything and then underlines it, or underlines it and then circles it. You'll see.

The first thing to know is to contribute to discussions because that way he knows you read the readings, since the discussions are usually reviewing the readings. There are a couple very short essays on films or speakers that he grades easily. Midterm was multiple choice on his lectures and a couple of essays. The multiple choice was pretty much common sense. He gives a list of questions for the midterm/final essays at the beginning of the quarter and after the midterm.

The entire quarter I did not learn one single thing from this guy, and i still got an a without even trying. This guy has no idea what he\'s teaching. I know more about the subject than him, and he\'s a total asshole. You can tell he thinks he\'s the shit and knows everything about ethnic studies just because he\'s latino. Um, dude, I grew up as a minority and you have nooooooo idea wtf you are talking about. And he really needs to stop combining questions & comments into one word and repeating it 800 times a class. ghaaa i hated him so much. Class was a VERY easy A tho. Just write your essays about the cookie cutter shit he expects and you\'ll be good.

I loved Aaron! He was a really funny guy, and if you go into his office hours, he\'ll talk to you about anything! His tests were about 25 multiple choice, and then two essays. I thought the tests were pretty easy. He also makes you do reviews on films and a review on a cultural event. It was a really relaxed class two days a week, and honestly it was my favorite class all year. I always looked forward to going. But that doesn\'t mean errybody did... So be prepared to do a lot of reading, have a couple quizzes, and study for the essay portion of the exams. Yee.

Rodriguez is seriously the nicest teacher I have ever met. He is so enthusiastic about Ethnic studies and wants everyone to do well! Take him if you get the opportunity, he means well and will give you an easy A as long as you stay caught up. Quizzes arn\'t that bad and you know mostly what will be on the midterm and final! Favorite professor thus far and I would definately take him again!!!

I really enjoyed this class but be prepared to do A LOT of reading. The quizzes are based off the reading so you must read in order to do well. We watched a lot of movies and usually got out about an hour early. Rodrigues is a good guy and opened my eyes to a lot of the issue in the U.S that I was not aware of. The lectures were a little dry but ultimately I would recommend this class.

A Hispanic teacher with a disability teaching this course is just too ironic. Whatever you do don't let him hear you talk about his speech impediment or he'll take it out on you personally. Waiting for opportune moments to make fun of and insult his students. Also don't question his methods of teaching, even though if you combine a bunch of flash cards together you might as well have a page of notes, this guy really thinks his way is the best

aaron was a pretty good teacher. a very easy A since he lets you use notes for midterms. there are very few quizzes which are based on the readings which are also an easy read. its a 2 hour class but he occasionally lets you out early. few movies here and there (actual movies or documentaries). as a hispanic-american professor teaching an ethnic studies class, he does push a bit more on hispanic struggles/rights than other minorities like asians when talking about minorities vs the majority. overall, great teacher, easy class, i'd recommend it.

This class is interesting! The professor takes his time to instruct the class with overhead notes and asks many questions. It consists of quizzes, writing assignments, tests, and participation, which makes it easy for students to get enough points during the quarter. There is some reading and writing, but it is not bad at all. A lot of it is common sense (especially if you'd taken a Sociology class before hand). Overall, I enjoy it.

Fairly awkward and lacked social skills but clearly knew the information thoroughly. The class was sometimes a little dry but he did a good job of keeping sensitive topics from becoming too controversial or uncomfortable. There were a few short (1-3 page) papers (movie analysis, personal experience, etc..) throughout the quarter but he seemed to be a pretty easy grader. Make sure you do the reading!!! There are weekly quizzes on the articles. Make notecards like the syllabus recommends as well because you need them for essays on the midterm and final. Overall not a bad class. If you show up and do the reading, it is relatively easy to get an A.

Rodrigues is one of the professors you end up remembering a couple of yrs down the line after you get out of college, he tells it how it is even if you dont like it. He is the best professor I've had the whole time that I've been at Cal Poly and i learned just as much as i would in any other Liberal Arts class without busting my brain.

Rodriguez is an awesome teacher, take him if you want to learn something. I took away so much from his class, things that i never knew about. it can a bit sad at times to learn about race relations in america, but he teaches the material well. tests are fair and he really prepares you for them. he's a fair grader, and the reading is interesting. one the best classes if taken here in my 3 years.

This is a great class. At first, if you are white, it is a huge slap in the face and it will make you very angry. Once you get over the in ititial shock you will love the class. It is absolutely pricless information. The class isn't very hard, if i hadn't done so bad on his quizzes i would have had an A. His quizzes are hard but the essays and midterm and final are easy. I would highly recommend this class.

This is an awesome course that has the potential to be easy if you care enough to listen and read the books and watch the movies. He always wants more class discussion and will gladly interupt himself to answer a question. It was a refreshing course after being exposed to the 'same' sort of people at poly for three years. It's nice to be in an environment where you can see that your peers are realizing that there are not only one kind of people out in the world.

He's a wonderful professor that I enjoyed coming to class everyday. Make sure to read the books he assigns because he likes class discussions. If nobody reads, he might give pop quizzes but it's only to your benefit and they're only worth like 9 points. The discussions in class will help you on the midterm/final. He also gives you a list of the questions you should study for, and he'll pick around 5 questionsof the 9, which you write 2 for the midterm (plus a 25 mc), and for the final you answer 2 as well. So you're well prepared for the exams - no surprises. The videos and books are awesome. He'll have you write reviews for the videos (2-3 pages) which you get full credit if you take good notes. The class isn't hard as long as you read and participate. And it will make you want to participate, even a shy student like me, I found myself raising my hand every now and then. Take the class, even if it's an elective, it's worth the experience.

Overall,I liked his classes, nearly every class we would watch a movie. Watch a movie Monday, Wednesday, 2 page paper due next Monday. Doesnt get too much better than that folks. Know how to BS bluebooks and reports on the videos watched in class. Try not to get irritated at his overuse of certian key phrases. He has about three that he manages to fit in every sentance that comes out of his mouth.

If your interested in this topic and are willing to work hard, take this professor. He's an excellent lecturer who really enjoys teaching. However, he has a big workload to force you to learn. 4-5 essays(2-3 pages each), 7-10 reading quizzes (1 chapter a week), 1 mid term (4-5 pg essay and 17 m/c) 1 final (4-5 pg essay). He's fairly easy on grading, but you have to keep up on the material. Good Luck

He teaches alright. Lotsa movies and essays. Not a class for the technical minded... random reading quizzes. You always get out early though. About 2.5 hours of class a week for a 4-unit course.

TAKE RODRIGUES IF YOU CAN!!He is a little crazy, I am not going to lie, but I learned alot. He really wants the class to suceed, and if you participate, you will get on his good side right away and then the class is cake. The class is straight forward- Movie reviews (which you take the majority/minority view point on usually) a mid term and a final. There are also quizes almost weekly, but they follow the reading. DO NOT READ AHEAD!!! he will not test you on information that he has not told you to read even if it says to read it on the sylabus. If his quizes seem unreasonable talk to him and he will change it. The first two quizes that our class took were impossible, but we talked to him about it as a class in lecture and they became much easier after. If you have not read the material, just take a guess on the quizes...he gives points for effort. The book is interesting and i recommend reading it. It was the only book i read the entire year. I am thinking about changing my major mainly because of this class.

Easygoing professor. Very interested and enthusiastic about teaching a GE course. I didn't really keep up with the reading and ended up with a B+. I liked watching the films. He also invited a guest who presents on controversial racial topics, very interesting. I'd take him again.

Aaron is a very easy teacher to get an A with. He lets you know half of what will be on your midterm, and everything that will be on the final. While he is very easy however, he likes to spew liberal view points with little or no backing. If you ask a question in class, expect an answer that doesn't answer the question you asked.

This class is an interesting class and Dr. Rodriguez makes the class easy and interesting. There is a couple of reading in controversial material which really opens your eyes. Overall great professor that is passionate about Ethnic Studies. There is 1 midterm but its simple and the final is a midterm too. Also he let us go out of class like half an hour earlier several times and we watch 3 movies. In this class you will write a lot but it is simple writing. I would definitely take him again. Take Dr. Rodriguez he is an excellent professor that makes everything easy as long as you go to class

The class was extremely easy to get an A in, but that doesn't necessarily mean you'll learn anything. The tests and essays were extremely easy if you can repeat exactly what he wants to hear. I would recommend this class and Dr. Rodriguez to someone who wants an easy A in a GE without actually learning anything about Latin America.

Professor Rodrigues provided enlightening informarion on Latin American culture that helps students to understand the complexities of diversity, discrimination, racism, minority/majority conflict and individual identity crises that still exist in society. The lectures include relevent material, and he really gets to the heart of how different cultures (with an emphasis on L. America) have developed throughout the Americas (with an emphasis on the US) and how art, music, film, and sport have played a role in changing the course of history. Great books are required, the Gonzales text is about Latin American History (read with an objective lense) since colonization, and the other two are more about film and images in art, sport, etc, which makes it really fun and easy to understand the lecture concepts! Aaron makes a complex subject easy to learn (the best quality a professor could have), and Cal Poly is lucky to have him at the school!

Professor Rodrigues is an enthusiastic professor. You can tell straight away on the first day that he genuinely cares about teaching, and genuinely wants you to learn. With that said... Prof. Rodrigues is only an O.K teacher at best (for this particular course, at least). It seems that his knowledge of Sociology is only as much the textbook, and when it comes to questions, he oftentimes struggles to answer. First and foremost, Prof. Rodrigues is an ethnic studies professor, and as such, he teaches from an ethnic studies perspective, rather than a sociological one. But still, this was a class worth taking with some interesting discussions. His tests aren't too challenging (based off of lecture), though his essay questions require you to do a decent amount of reading (doable unless you wait until the last day to read hundreds of pages).

The class wasn't that difficult( Movie essays(2pgs),1 mid & Final), but you have to write it his way.

Nice guy. This class had a lot of writing in it. Essays, movie reviews, final. I liked the class. It was pretty chill and I learned.

All professors should be like Dr. Rodriguez. He is enthusiastic about what he teaches, stimulates great, class discussion, and is just overall a good guy. ES 323 was a pretty straightforward class. You read 3 books and have an essay exam after each one (he gives you the possible prompts beforehand too), watch a couple movies and write short reviews of them, and have to attend one "ethnic event". Easy and fairly interesting class to get your D5 done with.

The class is very well balanced not hard or easy. He really is passionate about what he teaches. Tests are not hard and he is easy going on the essay grading. Overall he is really good. Would take again.