Westwood, Joel  

Mr. Westwood is in love with himself, and it shows by his pompous attitude. He looks like howdy doody, and I find that deeply disturbing. I can't learn anything from a puppet, especially an old one.

I was dreading taking this class, but Westwood made it very interesting. He was always cracking jokes and doing crazy stuff like psychoanalyzing The Cat in the Hat or telling us the true meaning of Babar. Anyway, his grading was fair, he made our project bearable and I would definitely recommend him for Engl 148.

I learned a lot of valuable things in English 148. Westwood had good jokes and was very approachable during office hours. The coursework was understandable, even if he did bury us under a pile of handouts. The group project brought me down from an A to a B+ because we had so much trouble coordinating schedules. Regardless, I recommend Westwood's classes to anyone.

This guy is an awesome teacher. He is very laid back but he is very good at what he has to teach. Every class would fly by really fast, so you never get bored. He is kinda a hard grader on your writtings, but if you try hard i would say you can get an easy B, but it is difficult to get an A. If you have any questions, he is more than willing to answer them and help you out. If you have a choice between him or any other teachers, take him.

first of all, this guy is a crackhead. all he does is rant about dr suess and crazy stories that arent even in the curriculum. second of all, he was totally looking down my shirt all the time - and im a guy. he made me feel bad about being fat. personally, i believe that this guy isnt fit to teach kindergartners.

I recommend everyone to take Westwood for english 148, or 149. The homework is not that much, you don't have to write lots a papers. There's only one project that you need to work on thru out the course... And he's very friendly, very professional. He would still recognize you and remember your name a year after you took his class

Westwood is by far the coolest teacher I've had at Cal Poly. As mentioned in previous comments; Westwood is witty, down to earth, intelligent, and a likable guy. He is the kind of teacher that you would like to be your friend. He's an expert letter-writer, so if you need any recommendation papers written for you, go to him. He wrote an awesome recommendation paper for a friend of mine that undoubtedly helped him in transferring to a respectable school in the UK. I took Westwood for English 148 & Humanities 303 (GE C4) because I enjoy his teaching style so much. A word for the wise: He has a photographic memory, so be careful of what you say in class because he may call you on it later. As for English 148, make sure you get a partner you will be able to work with for your final project. You will be spending A LOT of time together. A last note, Westwood's tests are writing intensive, as expected, and they take a long time to finish. Study thoroughly, go to class and enjoy his lectures, and you will come out of his class with a decent grade and a worthwhile experience. Take the Westwoodian experience and you won't regret it :)

Westwood is an awesome teacher. The first day of class my impression of him was that he was just another boring english teacher. BOY was I wrong. Westwood is young and fun, he talks about everything having to do with bikes and tells tons of funny stories. He is very reasonable with his grading. He has pop quizzes once a week but as long as you just show up to class he gives full credit. We only had one midterm and the final was a project that takes most of the qtr but is really interesting.

Prof Westwood had the attention and respect of every student. A sense of humor, extremely organized, respectful, and sharp. From the ag students to the business majors to a gal from the english department--we all just wondered what he'd say next. He had a bad biking accident near the end of the quarter and I was amazed that he not only finished the evals of our final projects but actually came to campus to meet with us for feedback sessions. I appreciate his clean teaching style. Very straight forward. You always know where you stand.

this guy is so cool! He is really kickback but teaches you a lot. The material he teaches is very useful for anyone. You learn to do memos, cover letters, resume and you write this big proposal project. The project isnt too bad if you dont procrastinate. He has a couple in class essays and not much homework at all. He is a GREAT TEACHER and cares about his students! THIS GUY IS THE MAN!

Westwood is great. He cares about his students and wants them to do well. He has really interesting stories as well. Great guy, boring material. Although the material was really useful, it wasn't the most exciting stuff to learn. The research project was wayyy too long. It also didn't help that the class was at 6-8 at night. But overall, I would recomend Westwood.

Joel is a cool professor. For Eng 148 your grade is mainly based on a large quarter long group project and a few other assignments. He does not assign too much reading, but he is a thorough grader! It takes him a while to grade assignments because he looks over them carefullly! So make an effort and it will definitely pay off.

Everyone has given Joel great ratings on this site, but personally I really disliked his class. I do not believe I learned anything besides how to write a memo. I would have to admit that will be helpful later in life. No one recieves anything higher than a 90% on any paper, project or memo. He admitted that one paper published by our US government wouldn't even get an A in his class. We had a quiz everyday on Fast Food Nation only two were collected, so don't stress on most of them. The midterm is impossible. And there is a huge project due at the end of the quarter. Good luck and I would recommend to take another teacher.

My best piece of advice for this class is don't get stuck with the wrong group partner....or else it will be hell for the entire quarter! other than that just read Fast Food Nation and learn about memo's etc.

Don't take this teacher if you DON'T have to. Pointless going to class, all you do is a stupid Fast Food Nation quiz that is open book and then he rambles on about some irrevelant topic. He loves bragging and makes most of his students feel inferior. There is a huge group research paper due at the end of the quarter that is very stressful because you are unsure of what is actually required. All of our projects we never recieved above a C, and the indivigual work I never received above a B. Difficult teacher, boring class, learn some.

Great teacher!! Take him!!!!

Westwood is entertaining and intelligent. We read Fast Food Nation, which literally has completely changed my life. We spent most of the quarter working on an extended research project. At first I felt overwhelmed and bitter for having to do such an intense project during my Spring Quarter, but Westwood graded them very fairly. Just be prepared to invest a lot of time into them because he expects a thorough project. Don't procrastinate! Class was always interesting, and Westwood said some pretty crazy things. I was able to learn about resumes, cover letters, memos, etc, and never had had that opportunity previously. I say you should take him.

Mr. Westwood is one of those teachers who makes going to class a lot more pleasant to the students. I highly recommend him as a teacher and if you get to know him as a person you won't be disappointed either!! He's just a cool guy!

Westwood is dope. Everytime I do a Polyratings thing, I have to give the context of the situation so people can decide for themselves if they want to take the professor so here goes... I'm the type of student who does well in a class when the professor is really passionate about the subject, is an intelligent and interesting person even outside of the subject, and is on the same level as their students. (I feel bad doing bad in a class when I've become friends with a professor. It's like I've disappointed my parents or something.) Westwood is all of this. He was recommended to me by a friend, and I've recommended him to all of my friends. No one's been disappointed. As far as 149 (Tech Writing) goes, it was a pretty easy class as long as you do all the assignments according to how he says to do it. I took it at night, so I was one of two females in the class. (Just saying it for the people who care about demographics.) It's all stuff you're going to need to know in the real world, so you might as well learn how to do it properly.

If you are taking this class to learn anything then forget it, I don't think this guy knows his a*s from his face. He wastes your time with meaningless stories. The worst is when you do everything and make it to class, and then at the end you realize there was no point in you being there. I don

If you get a chance, take Westwood! He has the unique ability to make a potentially boring 100-level class entertaining and informative. The grading scheme is vague, so you need to remember that every assignment counts, and that "quizzes" are really tests. He's helpful in office hours, and a fun guy to talk with. Although he might be a hard grader, it's because he wants all of his students to be able to communicate like college students and professionals instead of fourth-graders.

I THINK EVERYONE SHOULD TAKE THIS GUY FOR ENGL 149!!!! He doesn't make this class boring ...like all other english classes..I actwally liked this class alot.... very entertaining. One tip(the reason why i recieved a "C") Read and KNOW the text...exact terminology is KEY!! Good LUck!

Westwood is a great teacher. The material is pretty boring, but I don't think that anyone ever missed a day of class because he kept things interesting. He is very personable and really cares for his students. If you get the opertunity to take Westwood for ANY class, it would behoove you to do so!!

this guy really has humor and won't bore you to death although its an english class. His workload seemed reasonable, but he only had like 3 assignments that ended up being like over 60% of your grade. So if you fuck up on one assignment, you are screwed. There are three midterms which are fairly hard. (the multiple choice questions have 6-7 choices and they are all tricky. It drives you crazy.) He has one of those perfectionist personalities. For ex, he will take off points for incorrect letter format, wrong margin alignment, spelling error etc... On top of that he grades way toooooooo hard. I spent like couple days writing papers that all ended up getting C+. In the end, I guess he's an avg teacher.

I was impressed with Westwood's lectures from the first day! He was funny and very engaging. He makes it obvious what's going to be covered on the test and he's helpful in office hours. I thought tech. writing was going to be a horribly boring class, but Westwood made it pretty interesting. I DEFINITELY suggest taking him if you need to take this class!!!

Westwood is funny and makes this class alittle more interesting then it would normally be. He incorperates stories and good examples, but my only complaint is that this class is alot of work. He says that he does not give out many A's and I believe it. His grading is not set fourth completely, but his quizzes are fair, just go to class. He will take your writing and tear it up. There will hardly be one sentence left without corection. So if you will take that personally I would not take him. Overall though I would say he is a good guy and the class if fun with him. If you take him one thing to listen for in class is his usage of the phrase "set-up" or sets up, I logged a record of 24 times in a one hour lecture.

Westwood is the best teacher I've had here at Cal Poly. I went to every single class because it was funny and entertaining, along with informative. His stories and rantings were great, along with this interaction with students. He claims to remember 95% of his students names, and that's from ALL the classes he's had, and I totally believe him. If you show any interest and sense of humor in his classes then he will like you, and if you are a dolt then he will try to bring you over and then make fun of you, but in witty way that you won't understand anyway. As for grading policies, you will have to know your stuff to get an A. I was borderline A- and he absolutely wouldn't change it. However, he gives out a lot of B's; you have to mess up pretty bad to get a C in there. Two people in our class got an A-, and no A's so if you want one, might want to try somewhere else. Be prepared to enjoy the class and laugh a lot.

Westwood is great. Witty, informative, clear, helpful, and just a nice guy. I agree with what a previous post said, he is one of the few here in academia who realizes that there is a real world outside the university. He lectures based on the book, gives good examples, tells (mostly) relevant stories, and gives you plenty of prep for tests. He gives clear guidelines for all assignments, and almost always has a ready-made sample for you to follow. I would also agree with the post that says you probably won't get an A. I got a B+. But in the end, that's not what it's about. It's about learning and having fun, and in this class, you definitely do both.

Joel is an entertaining teacher, and makes the material retainable. I enjoyed going to class, and all the information he covered was relevant to the course objective(and what you need to know). Fair grader, and will even allow you to turn in somethings late to ensure that you wrote them with quality. Because of his teaching style, you'll come out of the class with more brains than you thought you had, and with a decent grade as long as you try. Great teacher, and I give him my respect.

Joel is a great teacher. He presents material clearly, is consistent, and is clear about requirements and grading. He's funny and engaging - you won't dread the class. Take him if you get the chance.

Westwood is a great teacher. He is extremely conceited, but that just means that you have to pay attention to what he says - which isn't hard. He presents the material in such a way that if you take notes and show up to class, you get an automatic A. The three tests come straight off his lectures, and he curves so that the top grade is one point below the top of the curve. He has a good sense of humor, isn't too old, and doesn't mind if the class chimes in and jokes around. He does assign projects, etc, but they are very straightforward. Plus, if you just don't have time to balance all your workload with other classes, he will give you an extension if you write him a memo asking for it. Take this professor if you can because he makes our engineering load feel a great deal lighter.

Westwood was awesome. He sounds arrogant at first, but then you see he's pretty cool and just speaks really well. He's a tough grader in that he actually reads your work, and gives you the grade you deserve. His tests were pretty easy if you study a little for them, and he outlines what they will be on in advance. Best thing, no final. I would highly recommend this teacher.

Westwood is the shit! I have no idea what grade I'm getting in his class this quarter, but it really doesn't matter. Joel is an excellent professor. His class is always very engaging. I took the class in 1 hour segments and I always wished it was longer. There are basically three assignments for the quarter. You will have to do a comprehensive product evaluation (individually), executive summaries of scholarly journals (individually or in small groups), and a resume and cover letter as well as a memo explaining your resume and cover letter design (individually). There are a couple of other small assignments that are not time consuming. The workload was definitely appropriate to the class. Grading system is a little sketchy. According to the syllabus, it is broken down as follows: Attendance/ Participation 10%, Product Evaluation 15%, Executive Summaries 20%, Resume Set 25%, Exams 20%, and In-Class Assignments 10%. There is no final exam. There are three scheduled tests. There was supposed to be a test on the last day of lecture but our class ran out of time and it was canceled. Attendance and in class assignments are basically the same thing, as I don

Prof. Westwood does, as many others on this page say, come off as arrogant at first impression. I highly considered dropping his class in the second week because of the way he acted. But now, I'm glad I didn't. Westwood really is one of the best lecturers I've had here at Cal Poly. He can make what would be a boring story into the most intriging discourses you've heard. As a teacher, however, Westwood is a little less solid. He's not exactly prompt in returning graded assignments, and when he does, hes a stickler for exactly what he wants on them. I found it hard to do really well, but also really hard to do poorly. Also, almost none of the in-class assignments are graded; if you were in class that day, you get full credit. It feels kind of hokey to have to take a test, and then have your effort not matter. But it is an effective way of making sure you go to class. I wouldn't hesitate to reccomend Westwood for ENGL 149, as he makes it into a very interesting class, not just sterile document preparation. You probably will feel offended by his attitude the first few days of class; hang in there, its more than worth it.

One of the best professor I had so far!

Westwood knows his stuff. The only two hour lecture i have had a poly where i actually could stay awake every night for the two hours thanks to his humor.

Westwood is probably one of the best teachers I will have at poly. He rrally makes the stuff interesting to learn and is just a funny guy. He fills in the class with funny stories and comments. The workload is not that bad and the things you do are things that need to be known such as memos, resumes, etc. If you want class to fly by with a nice teacher, and easy coarseload take westwood.

Westwood is a great instructor. Funny and clear with his lectures. This was the best 2 hour class I have had. He actually made me want to listen and participate in the class. The material is not too hard as long as you go to class and read. Plus, you get to read an interesting book in his class, Fast Food Nation, and he makes half of the lecture talking about it. A+

Westwood's class is so relaxed and kick back, its awesome. We didn't really do anything it seemed like the first half of the quarter. In all, there were two pretty easy midterms, three papers, and no final. For the papers, it seems like everyone pretty much gets B's. You also read Fast Food Nation and discuss it a lot, but not a problem because it is a really good book. Take Westwood!

Professor Westwood was a very interesting and fun teacher. At times his lecture could get a little boring, but I really enjoyed the class. We read Fast Food Nation, one of the highlight's of the class. Westwood was very nice in class and kept our attention most of the time. He is pretty funny most of the time also. I really enjoyed reading Fast Food Nation. It is a great read, and I'm really glad we read it and were able to discuss it and the important social topics it brings up. His class has a ton of reading. About 1 chapter or so a week from FFN, which is probably around 20 pgs and around 60 pgs from the textbook. He has one midterm and a final. There are little quizes on FFN weekly, but you are allowed to use the book, so it is very managable. The class was pretty managable if you could do the reading and study your notes from class before the tests. Pay close attention to the reading and the lecture and you will do fine.

Mr. Westwood was a great teacher although I didn't get an A in the class. Westwood is funny, smart, and makes you learn which is something that many teachers cannot do these days. Although he does use his time to lecture he let us out early every so often. He is also cool about renting out his lecture books to students so you don't really have to worry about buying the book, i.e. fastfood nation.

Great prof. He knows that we're just engineers its just an course we don't really care about it, so he really tries to teach everything slowly. Half of classtime is usually spent on Fast Food Nation and half of lecture looking over examples of technical writing (memo, email, etc) . There's basically three big writing assignment and two midterms (no final) for the class. Excellent teacher and would recommend him to everyone taking tech writing!!

Westwood was Awesome! I really enjoyed his class more than I expected. As an engineer, I hate reading, but Westwood got me excited to read the Newspaper! I wish my memory was better because he really taught us a lot of useful information on all different subjects- he's a very smart guy. Definitely fill out the Fast Food Nation Work Sheets and write down stuff he says verbally and doesnt put on the bord, because he lets you use the worksheets on exams. Attendence is also key, because he will ask you things on tests you could only know from being in class. Pretty chill class, much better than i expected. Its not a terribly hard class, but its not a cake walk either. You have to put in some effort. I would definately reccommend him for ENGL 149!

Westwood is an awesome teacher. You start every class by just reading the newspaper and then get into the lecture material for the day. There are three or four \"papers\" but they are technical writing papers so not essays. The midterm and final were based on Fast Food Nation and lecture material so make sure to fill out the worksheets since you can use them on the exams. Go to class since he will cover some random topics that you wouldn\'t otherwise know. You also don\'t need the textbook at all as I never opened it. He knows his material and he knows that his students are engineers in an English class. He is a great guy and you should take him if you get the chance.

Professor Westwood is an awesome speaker; I definitely upped my vocabulary because of him. Fill out the worksheets he gives you; those will help during the class. Basically, if you come to class everyday (usually late afternoon 4-6pm) wanting to learn something then it won\'t be a problem to excel in this class. I never needed the book; I\'m glad I purchased an older version. It was awesome reading Fast Food Nation - it definitely made me watch what I eat more. Prof. Westwood is also helpful during office hours, and he definitely made me a better writer. I surely would take him again.

Westwood is an interesting professor. On the one hand, designated newspaper reading time is a godsend when you\'re incredibly busy and open class discussion is perhaps the most engaging format possible. But the drawbacks more than cover the positives. His tests cover the most minute details that do not evaluate how effectively you have processed the material of the course. In technical writing, you will spend most your time not learning what the course is designed to teach you (that is, technical writing) but rather what I think he would describes as \"critical thinking exercises\" (Fast Food Nation, Watts Riots, etc.). Sure, the material may be applicable as a model of a certain type of technical writing but that doesn\'t mean we need to spend half of every class discussing the ideas they contain. The most bothersome of his habits is his tendency to just talk out of his a** the entire time. If anyone would bother to take notes on the random anecdotes he provides in class as I did, they will learn he is full of bull. The stuff he says has roots in some reality somewhere, but he provides specifics that are just untrue. Westwood subverts the ideals of higher education through his rambling pretend \"truths\".

I really, really liked Professor Westwood, and Tech Writing is definitely one of the most useful classes I've had at Poly. It's not super easy, but I thought it was completely worth taking. Rather than just having us write for the sake of writing, Westwood showed us how to tackle extremely practical applications in the working world, and gave us tools for any scenario where you may need to convey your point of view. In the class you read Fast Food Nation (which is about the country's fast food industry and its problems), not so much for the content itself, but as a way to evaluate the author's research and writing methods. You won't always want to put in the time to read or talk about it, but I thought the book was a nice way to learn using a specific example. Homework assignments may be a bit involved, but they're totally pertinent to the class, and if you put in a good effort, you'll get the grade you deserve. There are two exams. No trick questions or long essays; they confirm that you were paying attention in class. Westwood is a funny guy and he's helpful. If you have any questions about the homework, or writing, or English, he'll give you a really helpful explanation.

Westwood is a really funny guy and teaches the class incredibly well. At times it's a little tedious having to read Fast Food Nation and the newspaper and the 2-hour lecture sometimes was a bit too much, but he was always cracking jokes and the required readings were interesting! The work isn't hard, but it definitely pays to proofread your work since that's one of the main things he stresses on assignments. He might be the hardest tech writing professor according to some people, but most definitely the best one if you want to learn about being professional.

Guy is an asshole. Tries to be funny and tries to sound about 100 times smarter than he actually is. Got a B in the class with an above average workload for a 4 unit class but not completely the worst so if it's your last resort take him. Definitely would recommend someone else for 149, and from the looks of it, I wouldn't take him for anything else either.

Westwood is definitely one of the coolest professors on campus. His 149 class was really, really dull though. Every day we discussed a chapter of Fast Food Nation and went over a couple handouts. We never took any notes, so by the end of the quarter I had a fat binder overflowing with a bunch of handouts. It was actually pretty fucking irritating, always put me in a bad mood having to flip through 50 pages of identical looking handouts, searching for a specific one from a previous class. Anyways, there are two tests (the final is the same size as the midterm) and the questions are pretty bullshit. He makes you buy a Technical Communications textbook which he references from time to time but never assigns any homework from. So of course nobody is going to read it. If you want an A you'll have to take the readings seriously. I put in a moderate effort and got a B. Also if you're dreading the public speaking part of ENGL 149, fear not. We didn't even do any group project presentations to the class. Just sat around and listened.

Westwood is a pretty easy going guy. He loves to hear himself talk (almost as much as he loves bikes), and when the class doesn't answer the questions during a discussion he'll answer them for you. And be sure to write down what he says cuz on tests he is very picky about your answers. You generally get to use worksheets on your midterms which is nice, so try and cram as much as possible on them. You read Fast Food Nation instead of doing an iFixit project like most other tech writing classes. I would say that his class is pretty easy if you just show up, do the work, and read. He isn't good about getting graded assignments back to you in a timely manner though, which was a bummer cuz you have no idea what grade you have in the class like ever. But overall, a good professor.

Class was fine. Felt like I learned a lot. The exams were hard though. He definitely knows what he is talking about and is always very prepared for class. The class is very easy to attend and participate in. Do the worksheets well because they help a lot with the tests.

This class is boring as fuck. I have no idea how I was able to stay up the whole two hours of lecture. You read Fast Food Nation throughout the course. You also get tested on the most bullshit questions from the book. I don't recommend this guy for 149.

Reading other reviews I felt an urge to step in and write about my own experience. Most of 149 was based on the book Fast Food Nation, with additional little assignments such as resume and cover letter, technical evaluation, and a few memos. Overall, the course load is not bad if you just pay attention in class, he provides little note sheets and handouts. I took this class in concurrence with physics 133, statics, and genetics, and ended up with a B+ without tons of effort. Westwood definitely knows what he's talking about, and in my opinion is one of the few English professors I've experienced that can really teach you a thing or two to improve your writing style and become more professional. My abilities to create a professional looking resume/cover letter have skyrocketed (no preset formats, looks bad), as well as write a professional memo, due to the way he makes you critically analyze what the reader will see. Definitely was the biggest takeaway of the class, and without a doubt has helped my grades in other classes that require professional looking memos. Definitely would ask this guy for a recommendation to Grad school if it happens.

You can tell that he's really passionate about the material and he wants you to succeed... The problem is that the material is really boring but that's not really his fault and any Tech Writing class is gonna be like that. The only real problem I had with his class is he's a little bit of a hard grader and he grades really slowly so you have no idea what your grade is till the end of the quarter when he tries to hand everything back.

He is a decent guy but the class is a waste of time. He lectures the full two hours every time and his delivery is very dry. The midterms are highly specific and are totally irrelevant. His major flaw is he never gets assignments back so there is no way to improve from his feedback. He does not present any useful material, and I don'f feel I improved as a writer at all. He's a bright guy but this class is a waste of time and money.

This class is pretty easy. He doesn't assign very much work at all but he grades pretty hard. It's a really easy class to pass but kinda hard to get a good grade. You don't even need to go to class most of the time. The final research paper takes forever but isn't that bad. You can take this class with hard engineering courses and you'll be fine. Oh and westwood loves to blabble about nothing forever but you does have very interesting knowledge and he's a good guy.

Professor Westwood assigns a lot of small projects through out the course. He likes to talk about himself and will go off into hour long tangents. Make sure to do all the assignments HIS WAY. Literally copy his format. He is a strict grader and is very picky about grammar. I told him I am an English-learner but he didn't take that as an excuse. You won't know your grade in the class until the end when he hands everything back to you. As for his midterm, it has super specific questions about his handouts and very little about Fast Food Nation (btw you don't have to read it since he will give you the answers during the next class period). Don't get the Tech Writing Textbook, you won't need it.

I liked Westwood as a person, not as a professor. He has a good sense of communication and the needs of his students, but his curriculum is horrible. I went into his this quarter very interested and excited about tech writing just because I like technical communication, but his class wasn't like other tech writing classes I've heard about. Westwood's classes were spent with him going on long tangents that you'd think weren't important but then they'd end up on an exam. The class revolves around Westwood's obsession with the food industry. Half of the exam questions come from the book Fast Food Nation. We only had maybe 5 or 6 large writing projects throughout the quarter with half of them being memos. I didn't like Westwood's class because it wasn't a tech writing class. I didn't learn how to WRITE formal reports, I learned how to FORMAT them. Very disappointed in the material covered in this class. Would not recommend this prof.

This class was not what I was expecting at all. It was like a class built around Fast Food Nation with some handouts on memos and reports thrown in so the connection to technical writing was not always clear. Westwood loves to hear himself talk and will go on massive tangents about miscellanea, which is not necessarily bad unless you're asking a question and have to sift through a five-minute response for your answer. We did a few major writing assignments including a product evaluation, resume/CV set, and group "10-page" report, none of which took too much time or effort but should be carefully formatted to adhere to Westwood's directions. He also never returned anything except for a midterm and maybe two in-class worksheets, so it's impossible to know how you're doing in the class until a final grade is posted at the end. I don't know if I improved my writing this quarter, although I do now have some experience writing/formatting memos so I guess that counts for something. Overall you can't really complain about this class because it's not that hard / doesn't require that much effort, but at the same time it's impossible to measure your progress (or lack thereof).

Good teacher and good guy; he's a little monotonous but the material wasn't bad and was kind of enjoyable. His tests are pretty specific but it's not hard to do well in the class. It doesn't seem like he gives out A's though, and is bad at responding to emails. His final report was a group project so each person wrote around 4 pages instead of like 25 like in other tech writing classes. He is super nice overall.

Westwood is a good guy. Sure, he gets pretty political (left), and can ramble like no other, but I never felt it was a waste of my time. He makes great points, and though we may diverge from the curricular material, I felt they were still socially important topics. The class is rather minimal work, but talking so much about Fast Food Nation can have you start dreaming about potato processing. Nice guy, great talker. Oh and bikes, he loves bikes.

Westwood is the man! The class is centered around a book Fast Food Nation, and if you seriously show up to class and do the worksheets for each chapter of the book (which are gone over in class) the class is relatively easy compared to other tech writing classes. No ifixit project. Just a research paper at the end of the quarter. I will say his midterm and final were extremely weird, but not difficult by any means. He's understanding of the rigor of engineering so he's pretty chill about getting an extension on assignments. You watch videos in class that have nothing to do with tech writing, and he rambles about some funny/interesting stuff every day. Overall, dope professor who really makes this class entertaining where it could be the most boring class ever. Take Westwood!

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. Joel Westwood is an idiot. Don't get me wrong he's a very nice guy, but you will learn nothing and receive a low grade. All you do is have a book read to you and then you're asked about obscure things on midterms that are unreasonably hard. We were given assignments that were worth 30% of our grade and not taught how to do them. Take any other professor. Seriously. You will thank me.

Honestly, Joel is THE guy. His lectures are great and even though every now and then they get a little bit boring, but that happens to every professor. Joel is a very reasonable professor, he interacts with his students and makes the class actually way more interesting than it should be (considering it's an engineering writing class). He gives only one midterm and asks questions based on handouts he gives you in class and goes over with you, and also asks some questions on the videos he shows in class (Last Night with John Oliver, some TedTalks, and other pretty cool videos). He has you write a resume as well and goes through an editing process with you and at the end you have to write a group research paper, which is honestly not that much work at all if you organize it well with your group. His final wasn't bad at all either and he's quite a character. I see him around campus all the time and we always catch up and he's just a great guy.

Westwood is a nice guy, however a TERRIBLE instructor for tech writing. The class is pointless and you don't learn anything about drafting memos, writing reports, technical writing, etc. You have some assignments and a midterm and final. He doesn't hand anything back so you have no idea what your grade is (even if you ask about your grade outside of class he doesn't have an answer for you because he doesn't have a transparent or effective grading scheme). There's a massive report at the end (which should be expected in tech writing) but I doubt he reads it after you turn it in. He doesn't grade anything and pretty much just assigns a "grade that he sees fit" to you at the end of the quarter. The class is ridiculous and massively flawed. The only pro about this class is a low work load. However, I DO NOT recommend Westwood.

Don't take him, class is a waste of time. He doesn't even grade any of your work and gives you whatever grade he feels like giving you. Only pro to this class was the man was kind of funny but not funny enough to make up for how unstructured the class was. He will literally test you on the most insignificant things ever. You will never know what your grade is, and he has you do insignificant busy work the whole class period. This one time he made us do a fucking crossword in class like if us engineers have time for that shit. I had the class from 8-10 and he would literally take up all the time talking like man let us out early for once. BEST OF LUCK (P.S. KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN M AND N DASH CAUSE HE WILL TEST YOU ON STUFF LIKE THIS)

Pretty easy class in terms of work load and Westwood is a pretty funny guy. However the class felt random and not about tech writing. We watched a lot of random stuff and read a book about the fastfood industry. I ended up with a B but I'm not entirely sure why. It kind of feels like he just assigns a grade based on how he feels about you since we got nothing back. Overall, I think it's fairly easy to get a B and definitely easy to pass, but if you want an A or to actually learn about tech writing don't take this professor.

This man loves to hear himself talk. I have never listened to so many sentences with such flowery unnecessary language. He says in 50 words what you could say in 5. When showing a video in class he spends 5 minutes previewing what we are going to watch as if you won't understand what you are about to see. If you took a shot every time he said, "as it were" you would die of alcohol poisoning by week 2. He sends emails telling you what topics you will cover on a specific day and only makes it though one of them because he just can't stop talking. You have to go to class because he quizzes you on videos he shows. If you can deal with walking out of class 80% of the time not knowing if you actually just learned you will do great. You just have to be there to do well. Theres a few major assignments but nothing you shouldn't be able to handle. He often gets a bit political which is annoying even if I do share a lot of the same views. He takes advantage of his captive audience to talk about the things he likes. He does teach some valuable lessons, especially about resumes, but its hard to tell sometimes why what he is saying has anything to with tech writing. Once spent 40 minutes giving a very detailed historical account of the Watts riots just to introduce the idea of a letter of transmittal. Definitely prepares you for your professional life by teaching you to withstand pointless meetings. Would recommend if you are looking for a very attainable A. Just a decent amount of busy work you have to get through first.

Things That Give Joel Westwood a Hard On: 1. The sound of his own voice 2. Bikes 3. The font Garamond 4. Eric Schlosser Goddamn, they should rename his section because the class I paid over 1K to take sure as hell wasn’t Tech Writing. It’s literally just this stuttering, pompous little man ranting on and on about his irrelevant opinions on bikes, Donald Trump, and farms, and showing us completely arbitrary Ted Talks that take up half the class period. One day we did word puzzles. The entire course is designed around this random book called Fast Food Nation, since Westwood has a weird obsession with the food industry. The tests are also based off this book, as well as your memory of minute, specific details from the Ted Talks and his lengthy in-class rants. Westwood himself is completely intolerable. His head is so bloated that I’m constantly surprised he’s able to stand up straight for the whole lecture, and he seems to think that maybe if he drops enough F bombs and makes enough Fortnight references we’ll think he’s cool or something. He’s also one of those professors who has a strange compulsion to disseminate his political views every two sentences lest we forget his opinions on government legislation and Donald Trump. If you don’t have any other options, resign yourself to learning nothing, BS your way through high school English reminiscent assignments by copy-pasting his format and quoting him as much as possible (turns out he also gets a hard on from reading his own words), and spend those four hours in the back of the class fucking around on your computer. I passed.

He is the best teacher I have had. He is so interesting, and so knowledgeable about so much. We watch tons of TED talks, and he just tells stories and makes it fun to come to class every day. His tests are very fair, they are mostly on the videos we watch in class. I would recommend him to anyone and everyone. I have learned tons.

If you don't mind learning nothing about tech writing, reading a huge novel on a completely irrelevant topic, and getting a political agenda pushed on you for 10 weeks, Westwood is your guy. He talks very little about the subject matter, doesn't hand any graded work back to you, and you have no idea what your grades are or when pop quizzes are (and he won't let you make them up). But if you like boring lectures and easy work, I'm sure you could do fine. You just need to kiss up to him real hard, he definitely plays favorites.

Professor Westwood is pretty chill and probably the best option for tech writing. His class is definitely much easier than other professors. The homework load isn't too bad: there are only five or six writing assignments throughout the year. Unfortunately, there is a 15-20 page research paper at the end that is a group report. The midterm and final are relatively easy but the questions don't really test you on tech writing ideas. Rather, they mostly pertain to this book about climate change that you're supposed to read throughout the quarter. Also, there are questions about these random (but interesting) videos that he shows almost every class. Also, I think he tracks how many times you skip class even though he never takes attendance aloud. Basically, go to class, pay attention to his videos, and do the worksheets/assignments.

I have nothing personal against Westwood, but I found his class very frustrating. Whenever we actually focused on tech writing subjects, I would learn a lot about how to make documents appear and sound more professional. However the other 85% of the class was a jumble of random videos from TED Talks, Trevor Noah, Stephen Colbert, and reading a book about climate change. This was the stuff Westwood was obviously more passionate about, which led to 25 minute rants about things that had nothing to do with tech writing and were often political. However the work load is very reasonable, and if you go to class everyday you'll know the answer to pretty much every question on the midterms / final (he asks a lot of questions about little details in the videos he makes us watch). There weren't too many writing assignments, and you could get by without reading the climate change book that has nothing to do with the class (we have "discussions" but Westwood never stops talking so you couldn't contribute much even if you wanted to). As long as you're fine not learning about tech writing, sitting through pointless lectures 4hrs/week, and having questions on your final be about dick jokes from late night tv, Westwood's class is right for you.

Westwood only handed back 2 assignments the entire quarter and does not post grades on PolyLearn, so you will never have any clue what grade you have in the class. However, he does not assign very much and the instructions are very straight forward, so if you follow them clearly you will do just fine (I put minimum effort into the class and still got an A-). You don't learn much about tech writing, but if you're taking a lot of units and need an easier class he is a good choice.

This was an easy class, but I have never ever had a teacher so boring. He somehow managed to ramble without stopping for an hour every day and yet convey nothing. The class has nothing whatsoever to do with technical writing or English OR engineering. It is just Westwood rambling about climate change (an important topic but...) for an hour every day. Stupid homework, stupid tests and quizes.

I honestly feel like Westwood made an active and honestly impressive effort to make his class, lectures, and assignments as boring as possible. The class consists of reading a book and copying down citations it used onto worksheets. I don't think I learned anything about technical writing. I wasted so many hours listening to this man ramble, in love with the sound of his own voice, and for that I am salty.

All Westwood knows how to do is play Ted talks, drink corona beer and then chase with whiteclaw, charge his Macbook, be bikesexual, give EZ pop quizzes, cap on business majors, talk about climate change and Klein. This class is an easy B.

Joel Westwood is a very easy professor if you pay attention to his class. BUT YOU WON'T LEARN ANY TECHNICAL WRITING. He spends 40 minutes each class showing us videos about climate change, or talking about bikes/beer/etc. It is a waste of your time, but if you don't go, you will absolutely fail his tests, which quiz you about little facts in those videos. The final project isn't terrible, especially because you can research something interesting to you, but the 4 hours each week spent wasted in his class not learning anything is worthless. The guy is also full of himself and thinks he's a genius among plebians. He's not.

Dr. Westwood is the man. He makes a valiant, witty attempt to make this class interesting, and almost succeeds. Of course, that's an impossible task, considering how incredibly dull 218 is. Be prepared to bring a dictionary, as he loves to challenge you with obscure vocabulary. Westwood probably writes analogies for the SAT's verbal section in his spare time. At any rate, there is no doubt that this is a guy who really is here to teach. He could definitely make a lot more than he is now with the skills he will make you learn.

Very real one of the few who live in the academia world who actually realizes that there is a world outside of the university

Great class! Very interesting! Westwood is cool he is very perverted and everything has a sexual connotation. It is so funny!!!! The class isn't too hard. Go to class and listen to the notes and watch the films in class.

Westwood is all that is "good". He is quality. This was a great class taught by a dude with a master's degree, and soon to have his doctorate degree. He is amazingly witty, eloquent, dynamic, and humorous. We read five books (Civilizing the Machine, Silent Spring, The Big Sleep, Blade Runner, and Zen and the Art of Motorycle Maintenance). These were all fun to read except maybe the first books listed... Be careful, after the first week he claims that he stops taking attendance but i've seen a few days where he's still taking notes on who's showing up and who's ditching out. He expects you to know how to write a well-written essay with fully developed thoughts (that's not asking to much for an upper-division course). His exams were a combo of both multiple choice, short answer, and essay. I bombed the 2 or 3 exams that he gave, but i did ok on the quizzes and showed up to class, and i got a C.

Mr. Westwood is a good shit. He seems to go against the grain of most teachers and challenges you to think. His lectures involve the class and are entertaining. He is a great man with good values and although I have no idea why I didn't get a better grade, I feel I should let it slide because of all that I got from the class. You have to read 5 or 6 long ass novels. Some suck and are long and tedious, some are really good. He jokes around and is interested in knowing you as a person but isn't going to give you a good grade because you got on his good side, cause everyone is on his good side. He doesn't like you skipping class or leaving early, and he often will call you on it. If you read the books, you will do well. If you don't, you'll suck ass and be bored in class and be one of the squares blaming him on Polyratings for your own laziness.

Westwood is the man. This guy challenges you to think day after day. This is the only class at Poly I have shown up to everyday, and it was 4 days a week. I actually looked forward to going. Westwood is hysterical, I laughed my ass off a few times during lectures. Don't be intimidated by all the reading, I hate reading but I did it anyway. If I didn't have so many units I know I would have done better in the class because I enjoyed it so much. I left class everyday with a new view on something and I'd actually change because of it. I've never shaken a professor's hand before but after the final I had to shake his hand and tell him how much I enjoyed his class, it was the least I could do.

If you are a good writer and love to read, this is the class for you. He assigns a book to read and then evaluates it with the class and critical thinking takes place. It's a basic approach (there are no huge projects or anything) but it's effective because Westwood cares that you are thinking and following along in class. If you have the time to read 5 classics (some long, some short) and you can formulate opinions on whatever he throws at you on the tests, then you will do well. Joel Westwood is a practical teacher, he relates information given in classics discussed in class to applicable information in life and he's got a cunning sense of humor, and that's why I liked him so much. Great teacher, take him, don't be afraid, you will like him.

Westwood teaches quality. Take his HUM 303 class and you will understand why. This guy is hilarious. He deconstructed Babar for us in Tech Writing, and then explained The Lorax in Humanities. Despite what the minority says, Westwood does not waste your time. The books are challenging, but you will, without a doubt, get something out of them. Some have said that Westwood totally blew them off in office hours. The only time Joel won't give you the time of day is if you complain too much. But if you can think for yourself, he'll give you all the time in the world. I have to say I'm better for taking his courses. He has a no-nonsense approach to teaching, encourages you to have your own ideas, and grades you according. If I could narrow this review down to a few words, they would be: TAKE WHATEVER CLASSES HE TEACHES. You will not regret it.

Joel is one of the top professors that I have had so far in my college career. His lectures were perfectly structured with no down time. The material was fascinating and got alot of students thinking about the future and our place in securing it. The class is titled Values and Technology. There were 5 books to read and many essays and journals but the subject matter is such that the flow of the reading and writing was effortless. We even watched Blade Runner during the quarter. If you need a C4 elective think about Hum 303 it will give you a new perspective into yourself and the world in which you live.

On tests/exams, he puts easy questions on the research/factual books that students have trouble on, and emphasizes more questions on the easier fiction books. Overall, a good teacher that recognized which books were difficult and which were easy. Also makes really good handouts that help summarize the harder to understand books.

I took Westwood because of his relatively high polyrating......HUGE mistake. This guy is horrible at teaching, and gets off on hearing his own voice. He talks in the descriptive babble which never ends. He can make his point in 2 minutes, but takes an extra 15 minutes so he can hear himself talk. The material covered in this class is absolutely pointless. (Bladerunner, Food INC., An Inconvenient Truth) NOTHING in this class is even closely associated with education. I would look elsewhere for a GE.

This class has no educational importance whatsoever. You just read a few novels and watch movies. During class, he lectures on the books somewhat as well as other topics. His tests are very specific with the "none of the above" and "all of the above" answers. He even asked what a billboard said in the background of a movie....way too specific. I would not recommend this class, even though it is little work. Hard to get a good grade in, because of the specificity of his questions. Only two tests and a writing assignment which you do in class.

When i registered the description of the class sounded interesting. This class has no educational value. It is the most biased class I've ever taken. I would not recommend this class to anyone. I Cant believe this class is even taught on campus and everyone who ever taken it should get a refund.

Westwood is a good guy and his class can help open your mind. His take on values and technolgy can really make you think about the society we are living in today. The class was pretty straight forward with test and quizzes. I would recommend taking Westwood because he makes an interesting class.

Westwood is a charismatic teacher who tries to make sure the class is engaging with relatively boring material. From my experience, their is a broad spectrum on how people feel towards this class. I personally didnt find it mentally stimulating, but Westwood himself does try to do his best and you can see that through the time he spends putting material together for his classes. I would recommend taking him, but he is still far from perfect.

He starts out the quarter by telling everyone that men in the class are not allowed to wear hats, but women are because "it might be part of their outfit." He also seems very biased and says some borderline inappropriate things. I decided to drop the class, so I can't comment on the entire quarter, but I did not enjoy the one class that I attended.

What a waste of time and money this class is. All he does is show yotuube videos and movies in class, assign some reading, and read off his own powerpoint slides without giving anything additional to write down or care about. He's extremely sexist, as someone else mentioned about his absurd hat policy, but he also shows overly sexist propaganda material in class. Do not take this class if you want a real education.

I enjoy watching the videos/movies/TedTalk in class, but the novel and books he has the class read is the utmost boring materials I have ever read. The quizzes and tests consist of 47-49 multiples and 2 free responses. The multiple choices test you on the most detailed of the details, and most of the time you overlook such details. Therefore, Westwood's tests are just frustrating.

Lecture: extremely boring, starts off each class prompts that students must respond with about a page of writing and has students turn them in at the end of quarter (kind of cool seeing what you have said over the course and how your values have changed over the quarter), plays a lot of movies and short videos. Reading: assigns 4 books that are actually interesting, but way too time consuming for one class and fails to recognize that it is just a GE course/not our top priority. Quizzes: surprise, only like 3 over the quarter, detailed questions. Exams: insanely hard, asks very specific questions on readings and movies that don't even pertain to the class, has you respond to 2 passages from everything presented in the class as well as the 4 books he assigns and grades the responses extremely harsh since he is an english professor. Don't recommend taking this class if you already have a heavy workload. Westwood is a good guy, but this class is just very time consuming and not the most interesting. If you do take the class, make sure to keep up on readings and pay attention in class, he will quiz you on material that he went over during lecture more than at home assignments.

I took Mr. Westwood for ISLA 303. Let me save you your time and say DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. In fact do not take any classes with Joel. He expects way to much from his students and makes it nearly impossible to get a passing grade in his class. He is an awful lecturer and loves to talk about himself. Furthermore, he assigns a ridiculous amount of homework and expects you to know the smallest pieces of information about the 1000 short clips we watch in class. Don't waste your time, look for another elective.

This is one of my favorite classes I've taken at cal poly. We watched some south park, sex and the city, pride and prejudice, Bridget Jones' diary, Rambo, and read some awesome books like pride and prejudice, day of the locust, and white noise. If you are intelligent and like literature and aren't a complete idiot like most college students then you will enjoy this class and it will be easy. If you hate reading and only like to watch TV and drink Coors lite then go do something else. Westwood is an awesome teacher, I saw him in the art store downtown and he knew my full name even though I had never talked to him before and there were 200 people in his class. He even knew the score of my midterm when I couldn't remember what it was. He's a little obscene sometimes, but it's usually funny.

What a waste of a class. Even if you do all the readings and study, your just going to get screwed over on pointless multiple choice questions that have nothing to do with learning. Excuse me if I'm actually studying the material and not paying attention to what the actors in Clueless are wearing. And seriously, Westwood can stop with all his nonsense talk. He tries to use big words to make himself look all smart, but you'll never understand him because your too busy copying powerpoint notes all class.

This class is now called ISLA 320. While this was a 6-8pm which I normally avoid, I always enjoyed going to this course. He showed lots of movies and clips from tv shows or TED talks. He is an extremely knowledgable man and always kept things interesting. It does involve a lot of reading. We went through Pride and Prejudice, The Symposium, Utopia, White Noise, and The Hunger Games. It is important to do the reading. A lot of his multiple choice questions involve differences between the movie versions and the novel. He requires two essays for both the midterm and the final. I wish he would have given us more feedback on our writing before the tests. He is really picky with the way you write and grades harshly. His tests were difficult and specific. While I don't think I did amazing on either test, I ended up with a good grade in the class. He is very vague with his grading and never posted our final scores so I am assuming they were curved significantly. He is a really nice guy and I highly recommend going to office hours because he gives you super helpful tips for the tests and I think he grades you nicer if he likes you.

Joel Westwood is the best teacher at cal poly!, he is so hilarious I really enjoyed his class. Two midterms and a final.. thats it! no essays or homework which was really nice. You also get to watch a lot of cool movies and you actually learn a lot from this class. He really knows how to make this class enjoyable and worth taking. Take this class, I promise you wont regret it!

This class was interesting, and Westwood is a really funny, cool guy. I only fell asleep in class one time, and I was really tired, so it doesn't really count. The tests kind of brutalize your hand, because they consist of so many essays, but as long as you have kind of been awake through class and write down what he has said, you get good grades. The class does have lots of reading, however......like 6 novels, give or take a novel. Overall, though, it was a great class.

Westwood was overall a good teacher, often bringing jokes or random funny bits in to break up lecture. I had trouble, especially at the beginning of the quarter, following his lecture and picking out what was important and what wasn't. He would seem to ramble for a while and then change subject, leaving me wondering if there was anything that I was supposed to write down and learn in all that talk. By the end of the quarter I could follow much better, but there was definitely a learning curve for me in that respect. Going to class will prepare you for about half of each test, because he lectures from powerpoint slides or even shows movies and then discusses them, which will come up in each test. The biggest part of the class is reading though, and there is a lot. It was tough to keep up with a busy schedule, though online cliffnotes sites helped a good deal when I couldn't finish in time. He graded pretty fairly, and was willing to help out. The whole class is only 3 tests, so study hard for each one.

Westwood clearly presents the material in class, highlighting the central characters and themes for each novel. Though I tried to keep up with the reading I was never able to finish it all, however I aced the tests just by going to class and taking notes, he goes over every important aspect that he expects you to know. His humor and easy going nature keeps the class interesting. I would definitely reccomend taking Westwood.

Some people say that Professor Westwood is a good teacher, but I didn't see anything that would partially resemble good teaching abilities. His lectures seemed funny and pointless, which is an interesting combination because he was able to keep me entertained, yet completely unprepared for the tests. Lectures are all PowerPoint, which are not posted on a website, and last the full two hours without a break. His tests take between two and three hours (yes, this is a two hour class). You have to read ALL the material very carefully because he takes small quotes that are scattered throughout the novels and expects you to be able to identify them. I did not enjoy this class at all...

Really interesting class but challenging. Granted, I didn't meet a lot of pre-recs but as long as you go to class you will manage. Even if you don't read all of the material you should be ok. Westwood is really funny to. There was only a couple classes where I was dying of boredom.

The biggest thing about this class is the reading load. There are 7 books for the quarter. The tests aren't too bad, but they're no cake walk. And since he's an english prof, he really looks at the essays. There are no outside writing assignments for the course because the exams are somewhat writing intensive, although there are about 30 mutiple choice questions on each. It was an interesting class and you get to take a different perspective on different forms of media away from the class. And Westwood definitely makes the class interesting. I would say that the recipe for success in this class is attending lecture and completing the reading.

Great class and great teacher. Westwood is a funny guy and seems to really enjoy what he's teaching. The class is entertaining, you watch movies and tv shows, discuss cosmo and playboy, and read some pretty interesting books. If you do the reading and go to class you'll do great. The tests are pretty straightforward, but he does ask specific questions about things that happened during class and little details from the books that they don't mention in sparknotes.

probably the best professor i have ever had for a large lecture class. hes very intelligent and knows the material inside and out. lots of funny side comments if you can catch them.

At first this class seems really interesting... but it's one of those classes where you sit and watch a PowerPoint presentation for a full 2 hours. You spend most of the time writing down notes for every slide, so it's really hard to absorb what he's saying. While it IS interesting analyzing Playboy and Cosmo, a lot of the class analyzes boring novels, too. It's almost like taking a regular english class that happens to tie in current magazines from time to time. He shows lots of different clips from movies and TV shows, so it's important to go to class. You also have to read 5 full novels (in depth), so if you're taking a heavy load don't expect this to be just another class!

Great teacher, tries his best to make every class fun and enjoyable. Watched some interesting movies, read a couple of interesting books. But overall, I can't give him an A because of some of the BORING lectures that you had to sit through and then only having 1 or 2 questions about them on the midterm, with most of the questions on the books you had to read. No idea how he graded his ESSAY midterm questions too, worked my butt off on a few and got horrible grades, and the only one I didn't work hard on, I get a 23/25.

westwood was an okay teacher..i am not an english fan so that's probably the only real reason i hated going to class..it really had nothing to do with his teaching style. be prepared to do ALLLLOTT of reading..and i'm not talking about 100 page books. i'm talking about 350-400 page books. his tests suck..it takes a while..it consists of 35-40 multiple choice, 2-3 short essay responses, and 1 5 paragraph essay. the final is a little longer than that. as long as you do the reading though, it's not that bad i just hate writing. it is important to go to his class..he goes over allll important parts of the books in class and it does help on the tests. and his notes aren't on blackboard. joel states during the first class meeting that he is a pervert..it's kinda funny. there is quite a bit of sex talk in the class but it's a class about today's culture..that's all that our culture and values consist of..i couldn't help but think westwood is a little sexy..there's something about sex talk and a teacher talking sex talk that's kind of a turn on =)

This teacher is pretty cool, but he is a douche if you don't give him exactly what he wants. On my first midterm I read the books required and felt prepared for the test, I got a C-. The next midterm I didn't read any of the material except for the spark notes, I went to class, and I got a B+ on the test. All you have to do is BS to get a good grade! If you can do that, you can do well in his class!

This guys wants glory given to him so he can get some laughs and feel like he's a hip teacher. He knows his stuff and actually provides some interesting discussions through his power point lectures but don't be a smart ass - he told us himself that's his job, not ours. Be prepared to read 7-8 books, half of them being pretty hard to read or at least 300+ pages. There's no way to get around reading intensively and super carefully if you want to get an A in his class. If you can only read when you have some free time and plan to read spark notes, pink monkey, etc... then work your ass off to get a B. If you're into cheesy prof's and entertaining lectures then Westwood is your man. Nothing against the class... maybe a tad annoyed by the man. By the way, his idol is Richard Simon.

The class itself has a lot of potential, although I found the best way to pass was regurgitate everything he said. Westwood cares about the topics and presents a lot of concepts that we could glean from the readings, but never seems to rebutt himself and tends to jump on a soapbox from time to time. It's not so much that he is angry or vehement, but I felt he was trying to drag his point farther than it would logically go. Nevertheless the class was both interesting and entertaining, and we spent a lot of time watching (relevant!) movie clips. It's been mentioned before, but DO THE READINGS. It's a pain, but his fake quotes can really screw you over if you don't recognize them. If you're not an avid fan of Jane Austen, get on top of the book "Emma" as soon as you can; otherwise it's really difficult to glean anything significant from the readings and you're wasting your time. The class is large but interactive, and even though my final grade was less than satisfactory I enjoyed every class meeting.

Professor Westwood make the class a little tough considering it was a general ed, were not all english majors. You have to read the books and be able to write prett well. However, Westwood is the man and he really opens your eyes to a lot of things going on in the world that you wouldn't realize/think of. If your interested in actually learning something in college as oppose to just studying and gettin the A take Westwood.

Joel is a great teacher! He is funny and teaches valuable material, plus he shows movies in class. Yes, there is a lot of reading but you're in college, so that shouldn

Westwood is one of those teachers who thinks that he is cool because he throws in a swear word here and there in class, but really he's just a stuck-up prick. The reading list for this class is way too long. There were 7 books, 5 of which were extensive novels. There were three exams, which included 25-30 multiple choice questions, two short essays, and one full-length essay. The essays were based on passages from the book, and there was always a fake passage, which can be a little tricky. I read the two class readers, and sparksnotes for all of the novels and still got a C in the class. As far as the material learned goes, I'll leave it up to you to decide, but I think the whole class is based on B.S. If you are looking for an easy G.E. that doesn't require a lot of time, this may not be the class for you.

I always think it's funny when people say they didn't do the reading and follow that by saying the whole class is BS and they didn't learn anything (see below). Professor Westwood is an excellent lecturer and in this class he picks material which is generally both relevant and intersting to study. Some difficulties: 1)the book "Ways of Seeing" may be the most boring thing I've ever read, 2) by week 8 or 9 the overall message of the lectures starts to get repetitive, 3) the tests are very difficult. But, most of the material is intersting, you don't have to go to all the lectures to get an A (I missed about one out of every three), he puts a big curve on all the tests, and if you come to class most of the time, take notes, and read the books, you'll get a good grade and probably enjoy yourself too.

Except for a couple of classes, this class is almost unbearable to go to. Westwood lectures in a monatone voice that put me to sleep instantly. He also tries to be funny with his non stop sex jokes. He tries to relate older subject material with contemporary forms of mdedia, but honestly I really didn't care after he tried to cram the in our heads a million times. He doesn't post his notes online, and there is an insane amount of reading to do. Also his classes never end early. Add to this HIS TESTS TAKE MORE THAN 2 HOURS LONG!!!!!!! what a joke! 40 questions, 2 short essays, and a 5 paragraph essay.

Professor Westwood thinks all of his students should be literary geniuses. He also thinks he is the most intelligent person on the planet. His tests are a complete joke...they are really long and have several unfair questions. (Don't worry, he has to curve because everyone except for the English majors would get below a C) There is a lot of reading, but the books are not that bad. Make sure you go to every class. Overall, it is an interesting class (granted there are some days you will want to hurt yourself from being so bored), but he expects way too much of his students...especially for a GE. It's a great class to take CR/NC. Do not bother taking this class if you are not a good writer. If you do take Westwood, make sure you go into his office hours...he definitely favors students he knows.

Sometimes, I read polyratings and I feel sad that I go to school with such a bunch of idiotic whiners. Here's the deal- is this class a lot of reading? Yeah, but considering he basically spoon feeds you everything you need to know, it's not really that difficult. Secondly, does class go the whole 2 hours? Yes- don't sign up for a 2 hour class if you're gonna complain about it. Also, don't leave early, cause it's rude and I think he gets kinda pissed. I read PR and decided to take it CR/NC because of all the reviews- now I'm kicking myself. It's one of the easier classes I've taken here. Basically, if you can use a tiny portion of your brain, regurgitate what he tells you during lecture on the exams, and, horrors of all horrors, actually READ some novels, you'll probably do well... welcome to college, kiddos.

First of all, Westwood is probably one of the most intelligent and articulate professors I have had at poly. I only wish his intelligence didn't come with a sort of ego that transfers to this course. The class itself is extremely interesting and eye-opening. You will never turn on the tv or open up a cosmo again without a different appreciation for them. However, the amount of reading is RIDICULOUS. I am a good student and was a former English major, and I could not keep up with this course. If you take it, make sure you are taking it with some easier classes that don't require a lot of reading or you will fall behind. Also, the final is somewhat cumulative, which after about 6 or 7 books is kind of insane and unfair. I would recommend the course if you are a good student and have a schedule that will work with such a heavy load.

a ton of reading in this class. A TON!!! i was willing to do it, i went to class everyday, so i got an a- in the class. hardest a- i have ever got. the midters and final are mostly essay and like 40 scantron. if you dont do the readings and pay attention in class to his theories you could easily get an f on these tests. he likes himself a lot. tricked us by watching a movie the first day and saying we would watch more. thats a lie. if you have the time not a bad class. take it if you have bad registration. oh, on a positive, he curves the class to a b- grade bc he says hes a good teacher

There is a lot of reading, but he goes over the readings and helps lead you through them. He tells you a lot of what you need to know for the tests; the tests aren't that bad. The essays are kind of long, but if you came to class and did the readings, it isn't that bad. Just know details, and be able to restate what he said in class. He expects a lot, but it is a cool class and you really do apply what you learned in class to the magazines you read and the movies you watch. I am not really an English person, but read the books and wrote a lot of information on the tests and studied and got an A, just be prepared to work for the A in this class!

I would not recommend that anyone take this class because there is a TON of reading. You have to read 7 novels and most of them are hard to get through. He asks questions on the exam that aren't covered in class. For example, he will ask current event questions that aren't obvious if you don't read the paper and watch the news everyday. His reasoning behind this is that we are University level college students and he expects us to read the paper everyday...you know on top of HIS seven novels. Also, you HAVE to come to class everyday and memorize every slide and lecture because it will be on the exam. There are no study guides. Just memorize everything you come across and you will pass. FUN. I know. Again, DO NOT take the class there is wayyyy too much reading and you are expected to rememeber everything he talks about and you are expected to write like an English professor or novelist.

He is really into the class, which makes some of it more interesting that what it really is. Yeah, there are a lot of readings, but it is an upper division class from C-4. It's to be expected. Read all the books, come to class. Study. He even gives you a "sample" essay, written by him - write something similar in structure and style and content. As for the current events - the answer was the snow storm that stranded thousands over a weekend and was plastered all over the news, papers, and I believe it was even in the Mustang Daily....somewhere a college student should be reading that. And another current event, he asked which one did not happen, the answer was a meeting between Bush and Syria. Again, pay attention to current events just the tiniest bit - and you can answer the question. And the current event question is just ONE multiple choice question. Not a grade breaker.

Westwood tries to intimidate his class with his extensive temerinology however it was merely a big sham to cloak his unintelligence. He honestly believes that diesel trucks only get 6 miles per gallon and there is a thing as 4% milk. Honestly! His tests are not simple. Westwood askes other irrelevant questions that do not even pertain to the class. Questions such as asking how many people died in the war in Iraq. It is questions such as these, that show how he attempts to foce his liberal biasness upon you. Westwood sucks not only at teaching but at life in general!

James westwood's class was pretty interesting. I enjoyed going to it each day even though at times it was a tad boring. For the material he presents he does a good job of grabbing you. He'll curve final grades so don't really worry about that. The read load is heavy, there were 7 required texts, including the 2 worst of all time "ways of seeing" and "trash culture." Jane austen is pretty hard to read too. Just do the required readings and study your notes and you'll be ok on the tests. you may want to review the current events as well...He's a tad arrogant but hes really funny and makes a lot of sex jokes which may offend some people, but most find them funny. Take him!

Mr. Westwood teaches a class that has good points and material. He presents the material clearly and teaches in a perspective that gives us application to our lives. I do feel that he could have eased up on the vulgarity, a lot of it was unnecessary and immature. The workload is heavy in a sense that you always have to be reading, but there is relatively no homework persay, just reading the 7 novels/books. The tests give the student justice on whether they read or not. There are specific questions that you just wouldn't know if you didn't read. However, going to class every session will allow you to not be lost and cruise through the material relatively easily. It isn't above our intelligence, but you have to be there to know where the material is headed and what points are being made. I like that we watched some videos and he gave us a chance to participate. I would recommend the class, but give a fair warning to be prepared to read the books and keep up. I liked the class, was a bit disappointed in my final grade, but probably deserved it since I didn't truly read ALL of the books ALL the way through. The ones I did...I enjoyed.

I liked this course. I am not very good at english type courses, so it was really hard for me. I went to his office hours for help before the final and I really wish I had gone earlier. It is a fun class and I feel like I learned a lot. Definitely do not get behind in the reading and go to his office hours before you think you need help. I would take another course from him if i needed one.

I hate this guy. literally. way too much work for an elective class. and i'm an A student. he's arrogant, curses in class, insults his wife, makes crude jokes, and actually thinks the bbq smoke from farmer's market is comparable to the pollution that would be emitted if SLO had drive thrus. um okay jackass. i learned NOTHING. i can sum up this entire course in one sentence "the values present in today's literature are the same as literature in the past, just presented in new ways." THATS ALL YOU HAVE TO KNOW.

I loved this course. Very interesting concepts presented. Westwood knows his material well, although at times the way he talks can make it seem like he is flaunting his vocabulary at you just because he can. The course consists of 2 midterms and a final, each with the structure of 40 multiple choice (50 for the final), 2 paragraph length essays, and a "more developed" essay. The seven books you have to read may at first seem a bit much, but it's nothing anyone can't get through if they manage their time well and make sure to read 20 pages a day in order to finish them on time, especially since a lot of the content is intriguing. You MUST go to every lecture for this class if you expect to do well. Many of the concepts for the exams come straight out of lecture and help to zero you in on what you should be picking up on in the reading. Overall, if you are willing to put the time in and are fairly proficient at writing essays in exam situations, there is no reason why you can't get an A or B in this class. To me, it was worth it to take a little bit more challenging class (even though it is just a GE) and be presented to some ideas and concepts I never would have been exposed to than to just take the easy way out and go for the easiest class I could find.

This class is based off of 3 tests and a lot, and I mean a lot, of reading. There are two midterms, and one cumulative final. The tests are pretty hard and involve both questions from the lecture, to make sure that you actually came to class, and a lot of questions from the readings. There were a ton of books that we read. This class is very reading intensive and you need to fully read every novel in order to write well on the tests. The tests consist of 40 multiple choice questions and 2 short answer, explication of a passage from a novel, and one longer essay. The final had 50 multiple choice questions. In the questions about the passages of the book, a passage will be given and you have to explain what is happening in the scene and how it pertains to the rest of the story. What the teacher is looking for is that you take excerpts from the passage and explain them more fully. The level of writing required in this class is quite high and you are challenged to write better. The tests are very long and usually took 3 hours, so be prepared to stay after class to finish them. Most of the reading for the first test is out of the class "textbook", Richard Simon's Trash Culture. There are another few books that are shorter that you read by the first test also. My complaint is that most of the reading comes on in the last part of the class. We had one 300 page novel that needed to be read for the second test and then one 300 page novel, and one 350 page novel to read before the final. The class moves so fast that you have to cover about 100 pages between classes to be caught up, and to do this with all your other class work is nearly impossible. There was way too much reading at the end and I felt very rushed by the course structure. The books were also spoiled in class and they became very dull to read when Westwood tells you important details in class that ruin the drama of the story. Way too much reading in way too little time. As for Westwood, he seems to be a bit arrogant in teaching the class, but never makes people feel dumb for asking questions. He does try to keep the class entertained with some jokes, but most of the class is him lecturing, for the full two hours always, and going into great detail of the stories and how they relate to modern culture. Some topics were pretty interesting but others weren't. The class is all powerpoint lectures and it is hard to pay attention and take full notes from the detailed slides. Westwood is at times unprofessional, as he was before our final, joking about the current events of recent school shootings. This is in disgustingly bad taste and is very unprofessional. It took away time from our final and made everyone even more nervous. Overall, the class was somewhat interesting with way too much reading and work, I'd suggest taking a different class.

Where did this man come from??? I took this class CR/NC because I'm about to graduate and wanted to take a fun course for once, but it turned out to be anything but. If you can't handle intensive reading, don't bother. If you don't have an excellent grasp of the English language and the ability to write above a high-school level, don't bother. All of this was expected and encountered in the essay portions of the two midterms and final, but it was the multiple choice that destroyed the class. Westwood doesn't question you on the books that much -- what he DOES want to know is how fast you can write notes in class. In all seriousness, I suggest bringing a tape recorder, because every inane comment made by the dumbest student in the back of the room is fair game for the test, and when you watch Sex and the City, pay attention to what the characters are wearing. Yeah, it's bogus. Thank goodness I didn't take this class for a grade and ruin my high GPA.

Worst class I have taken at Cal Poly. He is crude and makes repulsive sexual jokes. He thinks he is funny while doing it but he forgets he is 30 years older then most of the people in the class. The main book for the course is Trash Culture by Simon. If you google it there is a article by the New York Times that rips into the book citing Simon's "stupefying failures" and "absurd arguments" . That pretty much sums up this class. Tests are ridiculous and don't test your real knowledge. He reads these posts as well to the class and hopefully he will read this one out loud. He teaches a one sided, sexualized view of our culture, giving you no insight into how to actually promote a healthier culture or even the possibility that not everyone is screwed up like the people we read and write about as well as him. Wish I would have taken a different class. It was painful. But did like the youtube video he showed on bike tricks. That was cool!

AT ALL MEANS AVOID THIS CLASS. WORST CLASS I\'ve taken so far at Cal poly. The test are ridiculous, for a 2 hour lecture the tests took half of a class of 200 students 3 hours to finish. They consist of 2 short passages and one long essay plus 40 multiple choice. You must read the 7 books carefully in order to do well on the test. Also YOU MUST attend every lecture because he tests you on random stuff from his lecture. I really regret taking this class because not only was it very difficult but he doesn\'t teach anything valuable that you can really apply to life.

His lectures are very entertaining and informative. Although he had an occasional bad joke or two I actually enjoyed going to class for the most part. He does put test questions on things you would only get if A. you were in class or B. someone was taking notes for you. This is a more difficult than average GE due to the amount of books you have to read. The class had to read 4 full length novels and 2 smaller novels. This is also on top of some light reading from the course text book. His test are fair in content (if you read) but excessively long often taking most people the full 2 hour limit (even extending past the class meeting time into a full 3 hours for a midterm). I did decent on the first 2 midterms since I read but due to final projects and programs from my core classes I was not able to read the final 2 books before the final which without reading or sparknotes I got smashed on lol. Tests consist of 40-50 multiple choice, 1-2 short answer, and 1 long answer. Sparknotes help with understanding the content of the books (esp Jane Austen) but he asks for specific passages (random quotations from characters) and even inserts fake passages to throw you off. If you have a heavy load (such as taking an CPE, CSC, and Technical Elective) you should probably save this class for later but is worth it if you can put in some time.

Definitely do not take this class if you want an easy GE. You have to read several texts for this class and be in lecture to watch clips from several movies. His tests are very difficult with intricate multiple choice questions, two short answers of at least two paragraphs and one full essay, which you have two hours to complete. Multiple choice questions are often on things that you had to be in lecture for and paying very close attention. You do get to decide which passages you write on for short answer, but you get no credit if you write on a 'fake passage' that is written similarly to the book but is not in the actual book. Ridiculously hard for a GE, take something else.

Professor Westwood was pretty funny and tried to make the lectures interesting. Was a lot of material and a ridiculous amount of reading! Just be forewarned!

Class starts out like it's going to be cool. He's entertaining and class moves along ok, without really discussing anything of substance. Then...BAM! Westwood becomes the most unbearable arrogant asshole you've ever seen. It's funny how the change happens, all of my friends that have had him feel the same way. Maybe it's due him asking questions about retarded details of books/movies that have nothing to do with anything of substance (what was on the counter behind the killer etc.). Avoid this jerk and his attempts to belittle you constantly, trust me you'll be better off for it.

Not sure why so many people on here don't appreciate his sense of humor. The guy is hilarious! Yes some jokes are a tad inappropriate but this is college not the second grade! Have to read 6 novels which is a bit tedious, so I wouldn't suggest this class for people with a large course load. I was only taking 12 units, so it was definitely manageable. Tests are hard, with multiple choice and essay portions. However, I never have had a more interesting 2 hour lecture class. By the end of most long lectures I am asleep, but not Westwood's! He kept it interesting, having us take notes, have relevant class discussions, watch movies, etc. Topic material was all pretty interesting (talked about jane austen's emma, watched clueless, discussed cosmo magazine, playboy, rambo first blood, chinatown, murder mysteries, etc.) A class you must put some time into but SO interesting. Highly recommend Westwood!!

Every single one of the positive reviews written about this hack are written by him. He is a terrible teacher who is so pompous that it makes class miserable. He would like students to think that he is incredibly smarter than the average Joe, which is just not true. I read 4 out of 5 of the books and went to most of the classes. Since this guy writes the most irrelevant questions on his tests, I did not pass the class. Spare yourself. It's not impossible, but don't take the class credit no credit, because you have to get a 75% which is actually hard with him as a teacher.

Second time taking a Westwood class, and I was not disappointed. I originally took him for ENGL 149, and this is definitely a huge step up. Lectures are interesting from the first day, and I actually wanted to go to about 85% of the lectures, even for an 8-10 class following class straight from 1-8. People say it's not an easy GE, and I have to disagree. As long as you attend lecture and have at least a basic understanding of what's going on, you'll do just fine, even without reading. There are 2 midterms and a final. The first midterm covers 3 or 4 works of literature, and it's probably the easiest one. 40-50 MC questions, 1 paragraph response, 1 essay response. Nailed it without reading the books. Second midterm is a lot harder. It's on just ONE book (Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility), so the MC questions require a VERY in-depth knowledge of what happens in the book. I should have read it. Didn't do so hot, this is why I got a B in the class. Same exact format as the first test. The final is NOT cumulative. It's based on two books, but they're fairly easy reads (1950s and onwards books, the others are 1800s and earlier). It's much easier than the second midterm, but harder than the first. You need a pretty good knowledge of what goes on in each book to do well, like the second midterm. This test is more about understanding the thematic elements of the books, more so than the other two tests. Same format, but there are 2 paragraph responses rather than just 1. He's more than willing to stay after lecture if you need more time to finish your test, and he's pretty good about explaining what he's looking for. Lots of handouts are provided with example responses and info that you will be tested on, and there aren't that many surprises during the test if you've attended lecture and have at least a basic understanding of what's going on in each of the texts. Great class, great professor. Highly recommended.

Don't know what the rest of these people that gave him a good rating are thinking. This class sucks. Reading the books is not really necessary to pass if you are a good bullshiter, but is in order to do well. Exams are 50 multiple choice and full length essay combo. Have to stay at least an extra hour past each class in order to finish (sometimes until midnight, since the class does normally go till 10pm.) Asks questions that are from one single line somewhere in one of the books where if you don't happen to remember it you're out of luck. Also, this guy has his mind in the gutter the whole time. You'll find out what I mean by that if you take him, which I advise against. This class is a waste of time.

A lot of people complained that this course is hard, and that he graded harshly, but the big secret about this course is READ THE MATERIAL. I read everything, went to every class, and got an A. There is A LOT of read (five books and a handful of chapters from another), but if you sit down and do it, you'll be fine. You don't have to be a fantastic writer to get a good grade in this course (I know I'm not), you just have to do the reading. Also, for reading Sense and Sensibility, I recommend buying the novel and an audible version, and listening to it as you read, so if your mind wanders off a little, you're still hearing the book.

This is an easy class, easy A, terrible waste of time and money. His vulgar humor is inappropriate for class, his powerpoints are full of playboy bunnies and naked women, he tries to compare great litetature with trash like cosmo and Bridget Jones Diary, and he does not mind commenting on 'eski-hos' in the class. His tests are random factoids from lecture that do not require any reasoning or intellect. There is no substantial point to this class. In all honesty, I wish this class was reported or re-evaluated. Enjoy.

I believe the material was poorly taught. I especially disliked the way "Symposium" was taught, and felt that it gave students a complete misread of this important work by comparing it to "Playboy" magazine. I did not appreciate the frequency of what can best be described as "soft porn" images shown in class -- it got to the point that I, and many of my classmates, felt uncomfortable. The professor's explanation of materials adhered to an overarching argument forwarded by the course-- that art and culture are influenced by their predecessors and that threads of influence can be traced back to antiquity -- however, the materials presented to make this argument were poorly selected and felt very forced at times (especially "Symposium" vs. "Playboy"). I did not feel that the class provided any useful knowledge that I will remember and connect to other learning I have done throughout college. Westwood's grading methods were very obscure, not at all well explained by the syllabus, and seemed to change over the course of the quarter without explanation. I felt that the test questions were unfair-- based on MINOR points of lecture that you had to be fully present for, with little focus on the books or concepts the course was meant to teach us. All evaluations (except the essay portion of the exam) felt more like attendance quizzes than actual material/knowledge based questions. For example, questions look something like: "Which was NOT one of the things John Doe said about pickles in that one movie? (that we saw three weeks ago at 7am that isn't available on Poly Learn) a) pickles are salty b) pickles are green c) people misunderstand pickles d) John likes pickles Are you for real? The essays on the exam were graded overly critically, with the professor deducting points over bit of personal writing style he did not agree with. I shared my essay responses, which (earning a B+) did extremely well compared to the rest of the class, to peers and they were shocked at what seemed to be arbitrary deductions of points. Overall, I would not recommend this course or this instructor. It felt like walking through the quarter in a trance, just scrambling to keep up with surprises as they flew out of left field.

Joel Westwood is a character to say the least. Everything you learn in this class is based solely on his opinion, which usually is overly sexual and perverted. Why he knows the top "Pornhub" searches is beyond me and i do not understand how that relates to "Topics in Pop Culture." He is an awful teacher who has a terrible way of presenting material. Thats probably why i learned nothing and actually feel more dumb than before i began taking this class. Also he expects you to read tons of books and then makes you analyze the passages during the midterms. Oh forgot to mention that he expects you to memorize these books because he throws in fake passages that you will without a doubt fall for because they could be real. The only semi redeemable thing about this class is the writing prompts you do at the beginning of class because they are introspective and there is no way he can turn them into some creepy recreation of what it obviously is not.

I took Westwood for ISLA 320 which was a rotating topics class. The quarter I had him the topic was Pop Culture, which sounded really interesting and fairly easy. The class was very easy to pass, but I have no idea what my grade would have been since I took it pass/fail. However, this was by far one of the dumbest and most boring classes I have taken at Cal Poly. The grading structure was non existent and he was very vague about how students would be evaluated. The books we read were mostly several hundred years old, which hardly screams Pop Culture to me. His lectures were extremely dry and put most of the class to sleep every day. He mostly focused on the plot of each book/movie we looked at, which is rather disappointing in an upper division college class, and he failed in almost every attempt to make this class more interesting. The good news is there is essentially no homework except reading books that you really don't need to read thoroughly since he spends so much time lecturing on the plot. Most of his exam questions are very easy, except that instead of focusing on the important topics from the class, he hones in on the most absurd details like character clothing, posters on the wall in the background of movies, and subtle details that have zero relevance to the overall importance of the class. Overall, hes a very poor teacher and the class was very boring, but if you need a credit/ no credit GE this class could easily be passed with no effort whatsoever.

Westwood is awesome. He is a funny guy and teaches well. HUM 320 is an interesting class and Westwood makes it fun. However, be warned he expects you to work *gasp* , lots of reading, and go to class, it makes things easier, he goes over the books and material very well.