He's a nice guy and he's really funny. For the most part, he's easy to listen to and you can learn a lot from him, but be careful--his tests can be murder. Even if you think it's pointless, do the reading. You won't regret it.

Awesome guy. His lectures are always entertaining and he really gets you to think about what you are learning about in a more personal context. His tests really are not that hard, the key is to go over his power-points which he always posts online and do the reading as much as possible.

He is a great Professor. He keeps class interesting with the issues, and how we address them. The key to doing well is to read the material BEFORE CLASS. If you do that, his discussion makes alot of sense. His teaching style made the semester of Sociology much better than i expected.

Extremely fun to listen to. Uses his vast experiences and knowledge to help with uninteresting/confusing topics to help us understand them. Exams were "take home" papers and pretty easy as long as you did the reading. I will take any classes that he teaches.

Fun to listen to. Lots of experience and knowledge on the topics we cover. Exams were "take home" papers and pretty easy as long as you did the reading. I will take any classes that he teaches. Note: DO ALL READING BEFORE CLASS

I absolutely hated this class. Rudy had a lot of interesting things to bring about during class, but I felt that he wasn't very organized. I most likely would not take him again.

Alan knows a lot about SOC, finally a prof who loves his subject! He was unclear at times but if you do the reading and participate in class, you're golden. Swears a lot too. But overall a great prof. TAKE HIM!!

I thought that he was really good. he used a lot of big words , but he was really funny. and he swore a lot, which was great. even if you don't get the best grade in his class, you'll still learn a lot- he raises a lot of good questions that we should ask ourselves.

ALAN RUDY IS PRETTY MUCH THE MAN!!! ALTHOUGH HE RAMBLES && TALKS FAST HE'S REALLY ENTERTAINING && MAKES YOU WANNA LISTEN!! YOU REALLY DON'T HAVE TO GO TO CLASS ALL THE TIME TO GET GREAT GRADES!! HIS TESTS ARE PRETTY HARD..BUT IF YOU STUDY YOU SHOULD BE GREAT!! I WOULD DEFINENTLY TAKE HIS CLASS AGAIN!!

I loved Rudy! He is extremely intelligent and interesting. TAKE HIS CLASS!

Rudy is great...take him if u can!! BEST PROF IVE EVER HAD!! Keeps the boring things intresting..CURVES which helps out the students who are poor test takers!

Very cool professor. Not necessarily easy, but certainly passable. Cool lectures, interesting outlook, fun to listen to.

He posts all power points online, so when you get to class, he actually talks about things people want to know about rather then spending the entire time talking about what you have already read. And actually, if you read before class, his rants make more sense. The thing I liked the best was that he talks to like an actual person. Sweet professor.

Alan Rudy is an engaging professor who will divulge into current events as well as clearly explain popular elements of sociology. Attendance is not mandatory, but if one wishes to gain something more out of the course, it can be a neat experience to show up. Course readings can be challenging, however, exams and homework are straightforward. Easy.

I greatly enjoy having him as a teacher. I could sit in and listen to his classes all day. He poses questions that make me think and learn. He also relates his teachings to the real world and current events. I would suggest him anyone.

Every story has two sides, and this professor gives both. I really enjoy going to this class because I know I won't be drilled with a bunch of useless knowledge. I learn something new every time I'm in his class. He's also not afraid to tell us about his life, which I think is really cool. He's very laid back and understanding.

good teacher.. definatly come prepared and you will understand more... i like that he relates everything we learn about to something that actually happens in life... exams are tricky but what exams arent!

Really interesting class and his lectures keep you awake. He talks about things going on in current events and ties them into the lessons/chapters we are learning. He definitely doesn't leave you thinking "i am learning this because...?" Everything makes sense in the end. Highly recommend this class and Rudy.

Alan Rudy cracks me up! he's a great professor who will teach you a great deal about sociology, and yourself! I'd recomend him for any course

Great class! Its mildly hard cause he makes you think and look at the world from a third persons point of view. If you can take this class with him. It helps if you go to class too. the conversation a fun and he keeps them interesting. Take his class!

I think that he was a really good professor. Most of the time, we just had discussions that lasted the majority of the class, but that's what made it interesting and kept me coming back to class.

I absolutely loved this class! Do the reading before class! This class really changed my life and opened up my eyes to different perspectives. If you want a boring, easy, and straight forward professor then take it with someone else! You can really learn a lot from this class if you are open minded.

Do the reading as much as possible. Talk in class its more fun if you do...the more people interested the more you will love the class. Half the class is about current events but it shouldn't matter if you read the basic definitions of the book. great professor brilliant mind.

Rudy is a good teacher. he expects a lot from you and to be up to date on current events. he shows you different view points of people around the world so be open to new ideas. Go to class and get involved in discussions, he ll respect your opinion. Notes are power point and exams are off these notes. he posts them on blackboard.

This guy is basically a nut job...at first. You will think he is crazy and that nothing he says is relevent in any way. Once you get used to his teaching style, you'll realize he is actually a pretty cool guy. I have no interest in SOC so I didn't do too hot in the class, but if you do the readings and participate, you'll do fine.

Wow Central, another professor who actually teaches material that will benefit students in the future. Yes, Rudy does expect his students to do work, but at the end of the year he makes it so anyone with a brain gets an A. Great teacher if you want to learn something for your cost and future. Great job at being a TEACHER and not another faculty.

mr. rudy was confusing at first because he didnt just talk about sociology like I thought he would. but when I did the readings i got that pretty much all the stuff he talks about that seems like it doesnt make sense actually does! Its way better than just boring notes and stuff. hes also a really nice guy and helped me out at the end of the year!

Being an advanced sociology student I was worried that I would grow bored in a 100 level soc class. This was far from the case; Dr. Rudy's methods, interaction with students, and (often unusual) class material were all more than enough to maintain the interest of an advanced student. Furthermore, he treats his students with the utmost respect.

Prof. Rudy is an awesome guy overall, it seems frustrating at times that the lectures are not necessarily what is tested on, but the class is set up extremely well in that you have a lot of easy points available to you if you will do the work to improve your grade, including extra credit papers throughout the semester. He curves all exams too...

most of these people are extremely ignorant.rudy is an amazing teacher although i would say his class is hard. im used to getting material handed to me on a silver platter but if you do the readings before class LIKE HE TELLS YOU TO you should be able to follow. he gives extra credit papers throughout the sem. which helps alot. i defrecommend rudy.

if you go to his class and actually pay attention the class is a lot easier than everyone else says. hes a great professor once you realize his line of thinking. READ THE MATERIAL before going to class it makes it so much easier. read ch 1 from his book then apply it to every other reading.

He is good to listen to and well you have to do the readings. I missed class a couple times so I just made sure I read up on things. Also do the response things..that's what killed my grade was not doing them.

By far one of the most intresting teachers I have ever had. He is funny and keeps it intresting. He is passionate and he really gets you thinking. Read the chapters, thats really all he asks. He is down to earth and treats you like a real person. I would take a class just becuase he was teaching it.

Screw all these idiots who rated him badly, they were just lazy class is easy if u do the work. This is my second time taking him, I switched my whole schedule to take him again. He's not like any prof I've had he's a breath of fresh air, it's refreshing. I WANT to go to class. Any teacher that can get me out of bed is definitely amazing

If you don't do the reading before class you will not understand his lectures. You should attend his lectures for clarity. Despite the negative comments people have made, he is a good professor! Those of you that didn't do will most likely never did the reading or bothered to go to class. I like him a lot as a professor and person. I recommend him!

Teacher is VERY smart, but kind of goes all over the place when in discussion sometimes.He knows his stuff,and I'm not sure if it is the complexity of the material or the way he presents it, but the tests are rather hard. A few of the readings are interesting and applicable to life, but overall I consider this class only mediocre.

This is a high level theory class so of course the material and essays are going to be complex. He is an entertaining prof who can almost always clarify a concept if needed. His class does consist of him lecturing basically the whole time though so make sure you can sit still and listen for the whole period. I highly recommend him.

Best teacher I have ever had! I absolutely loved attending his class, just to listen to his amazing insight on the world. He expects students to engage the material and will not accept superficial responses. If you really want to learn something take this class. He provokes so much thought in a students head!

Easily the best professor at CMU. He has an aggressive teaching style that is not for everyone, but this is because he expects his students to think critically and to be prepared. SOC classes are generally regarded as fluff at CMU, but Dr. Rudy will have none of that in class. If you're into NCLB style classes, don't bother registering.

Really loves the topic and has lots of insightful ways to connect the readings to real life but there were SOOO many readings and a lot of vague information. I felt like I was reading 40 pages of an article to get one main idea that he would extrapolate and take a whole different direction. Very discussion based class.

Didn't grade anything until the last week of class and there's a TON of reading. We would read 40 pages and from one general idea, he would lecture for an hour and go a whole different direction. Sometimes hard to follow his sports references if you know nothing about sports. If you get any emails from him about your grades, keep them till the end.

This class would have been extremely boring if he wasn't the teacher. He actually made learning about different theories interesting. You can tell he knows a lot about what he's talking about. I learned a lot of things that I could apply to the real world from his lectures. His "tests" are kind of hard, but they make you think outside of the box.

super smart. Made the topic interesting

You can tell he's really smart and knows what he's talking about. Go to class and pay attention and you'll learn a lot.... not just about soc theories, but life advice too.

Before taking this class I was very skeptical. I read many reviews about how this professor's class was pointless. However, I took him this spring and this has be far been the best class I have ever taken in my whole college career. Long lectures and reading but you take out what you put in. I learned so much I will use in my career.

Rudy is one of my favorite professors I've had in all my five years. I've taken two classes with him and he's incredibly knowledgable about what he teaches. You have to work hard, read and listen carefully. If you think outside the box and work, you'll earn a solid grade and learn amazing stuff.

Very kind and understanding towards students. Extremely knowledgeable and passionate. Provided interesting articles and podcasts instead of textbook reading. Some were over our heads, but I learned a lot! The course was challenging in a positive way. It was a slow process to get grades back, but was a generous grader.

Rudy is a solid choice. He's kind of a tough grader but he's a great teacher.

Rudy cares a lot about what he teaches and it shows. He also knows a lot abot what he teaches and is great at presenting it. Take this class if you want to have your mind vastly opened about the world around you. The reading is sometimes tedious but Rudy breaks it down in class in a very nice way. And he's got great taste in music.

Rudy is one of the best teachers I've had at CMU. As the other commenters have said, he's all over the place but if you're able to pay attention to him you realize everything he says makes sense. Taking Rudy for this class has helped me learn more about the world than any other class I've ever taken. If you put in the time you'll get a good grade.

So much reading, and his lectures seem to be very off the wall sometimes and can be hard to follow. But if you read the readings he assigns, it all makes sense. Be sure to be active and actively consider what he says, and it can be a great, thought provoking class. However, if you just want a class to blow off, he might not be the best option.

Professor Rudy is an interesting character. His lectures were very inspiring and interesting, they absolutely destroyed my perception of the world. However, his class is too disorganized for my taste. He often goes off topic and expects you to know everything he does from his lectures, and write about.

There is a reading everyday for this class, and they are usually thought provoking and helpful. If you come into lecture not having done the reading it will be difficult to follow along. The class was amazing and I learned a lot, but if you're looking for an easy A I would not recommend him. Great guy and professor if you put in the work!

Great professor. Despite the negativity surrounding this class Rudy teaches it very well. You DO need to show up to understand the material but if youre not understanding Rudy will be there to help. He grades you more on if you show that you read the material and attempted to understand it rather than getting it perfect.

This class was very difficult but worth it. Many people don't like him but if you really listen to what he says you'll learn a lot. The exams were take home papers, and he had blogs for the other homework. The readings for his class were difficult but he does explain them well in class. If you don't go you will not understand them.

Love him! He is very passionate about teaching this specific subject. Is a jokester and is very engaging with students. Classes were easy, you show up and those are your points for the day. No homework besides readings he assigns and there were only about 4 quizzes (papers) and the final was a paper as well which was not very difficult or long.

Professor Rudy is amazing! He is a little non-traditional in his lectures and teaching, but as long as you go to class, participate a little, and do the readings you'll be good! He is funny (also non-traditional humor) and brings the real world into sociology concepts and lectures. Overall, wonderful guy and would recommend him and his classes.

One of the better professors that I have had. Great if you respond well to lecture/group discussion. There is a fair amount of reading, but it is not overwhelming. No exams, grades are determined by self-reflections. You would have to try to fail or get a bad grade in this class.

If you go to class and do the work you should get an A. Give a shit about the class and you'll do well. I would think anyone would rates him bad was not an active participant. Readings can be a lot but they're good to read. He's passionate too. Be ready to structure your own calendar because he won't remind you about stuff.

Honestly, I think anyone giving a bad review either did not participate or did not understand the meaning of his process. He used "un-grading" for this course meaning you get no grades as feedback, but he gives great feedback on your work. He is very understanding if you reach out to him about anything and always offers his support.

I feel like all the bad reviews were from students who did not put in effort in this class. Rudy was awesome and made his lectures funny and interesting even when talking about terrible issues. Was somewhat hard to take notes but once you understand you will fly through the course. Interesting reading choices and love the un-grading. Very good prof

Lecture heavy class, and Rudy can say things in a confusing way sometimes, but overall great professor. Felt like he was willing to work with us and took our feedback seriously. Have him again for another class soon and I'm looking forward to it.

He is definitely confusing at first. His lectures are very in depth and do follow a structure you just have to take good notes. He always asks for feedback on his teaching and is willing to adjust. The workload is average and you have plenty of time to do it. If you stay on top of your work it is easy and he gives good feedback on your assignments.

Rudy's teaching style takes some getting used to, but if you put in the effort, you'll do well. The workload is average, and his un-grading policy provides valuable feedback. I found unstuck study really helpful for study prep and staying on top of the material.