Ferguson is a tough marker. For this class, he made us read 50+ pages every week, while having to annotate it. Then you have to write a discussion post that is as long as an essay. People were constantly getting 50s as grades. Honestly, it's the biggest hassle. Time-consuming. He is very judgy and will call you out in class if he does not agree.

Don't take this class with Ferguson! He gets made if you don't participate in class, but you are expected to do discussions every week and read over 70-80 pages a week! You get marked on if you read the content or not (using perusall). In class it is not mandatory to attend nor it is it mandatory to participate but he gets mad if you don't..

He is the worst Prof I have ever had. I though it would be easier to take this course in class, I mistaken. He has weekly discussions that require you to read 50+ pages each week. His wording for his exams is the most confusing thing ever, and all of his exams have to be done on courselink in class. His exams are so specific and stupid.

Worst prof i've had. No point in going to class what so ever, he does not explain concepts clearly, easily gets off topic and his lectures literally are taken directly from the textbook. By doing the readings for the discussion posts, you will learn more then he will ever teach in class. Exams are insanely specific on super nitty gritty things.

BY FAR the WORST professor I have ever had! He does not care about students what so ever, lectures are an actual waste of time and even if you read the entire textbook good luck on midterms and finals because the content tested on is so specific there is not a chance you will know the facts.

Barely responds to any questions posted on CourseLink despite being an online course. 4 lazy assignments that don't change year to year (read a book, do a report on what you think it's message is), along with all the slides and examples. Several mistakes in links/dates/rubrics etc.

This professor is uncompassionate, refuses to provide clear assessment criteria, and actually lowered my grade upon asking for clarification on requirements. In fact, multiple students reached out for help and all of them had their grades lowered without asking. Gaslit me on multiple occasions. Just, NO. Took this class for fun, big mistake.

Wow I am not surprised to see all the negative reviews on Prof. Ferguson. He is rude and very unclear with assessment criteria. Don't bother reaching out to him unless you want to be treated with disrespect and arrogance. Took this course because I thought the content would be interesting but the Prof has ruined any potential it had to be enjoyable

This prof is arrogant and doesn't care about his students. Listen to the other reviews and avoid taking a course w him if possible. He clearly doesn't care about the course either as he never communicates or posts any updates/announcements on CourseLink. He doesn't even have an "Ask your Instructor" discussion thread and responds to emails rudely

Was really looking forward to taking this class but the unclear grading criteria and the sheer amount of discussion posts has made this my least favourite class yet. The content has potential to be very interesting but the delivery and lack of clarity is horrendous. Would only recommend taking this course if taught by another professor.

This topic would have been very engaging if this prof didn't teach this class. He gives way too much work to do as well readings were very long. Grading criteria was the horrible and was very rude to replying to students emails. Overall, don't take this class with him or any other class unless you want to suffer.

AVOID TAKING THIS CLASS! The prof has no interest in the course- no announcements, or discussion boards, and all the notes are written by another prof. I have never been given such nitpicky feedback on a paper before. Quizzes are lazily written- no actual testing of your knowledge, just memorization of tiny details in 30+ page papers. Run far away.

I was looking forward to this class but ended up hating it. This professor is quite rude and does not provide you with much help when it comes to any questions or concerns you have. The material had the potential to be interesting however, the prof ruins it. I wish I dropped the class when I had the chance, it was horrible.

first of all, none of the course notes are his. Also, having 3 discussions in one week with 4 posts per is not only unreasonable but in combination with a test weekly as well, it's just outright useless. Also, the class was told a day before the exam that it's 120 questions in 2 hours, the worst prof ever and the TAs sucked too, terrible feedback!

Was actually UNIV*1200 but I dropped. Gives so much reading materials. I'm talking BOOKS upon BOOKS and movie reviews, alongside presentations. Expects long comments every couple pages. Talks about himself for hours. Hard marker, thinks he's the best ever. Has 'philosophy' but is really just things he makes up or heard once and thinks is 'deep'.

Probably the worst teacher I've ever had. Gives you a due date, but will take marks off if it's not submitted three days before the due date. Emailing him asking for his reasons for his terrible marking skills and explanation for why he takes mark off does nothing; tells you "it's my rule suck it up". you will regret taking his class, guaranteed.

very rude and disrespectful towards students who are just trying to learn. none of the content is written by him. due dates and deadlines are almost impossible to find. I took this class because it seemed interesting, but this prof alone ruined it. way too much work, and ur not tested on actual knowledge, just random facts that mean nothing. worst.

UofG needs to fire this bozo. Doesn't know how to teach or interact with students. Lowers your mark just for asking for help or clarification. Even if his class looks interesting, promise you he will ruin it. DO NOT TAKE HIS CLASS YOU WILL WANT TO DROP OUT.

This prof is the worst. I've seen so many good reviews pop up and I have no clue why and how. It's kinda insane. The workload was the worst, the content was so dull which is crazy when you have a diverse and interesting topic, he was unhelpful and showed no interest. The textbook is monitored. I can't emphasize how awful the class was.

The sudden influx in good reviews is clearly an attempt by John to improve his rating after his ego was so badly bruised. Quite frankly, it's pathetic. John is the rudest person I've ever had the displeasure of meeting. Instead of trying to help his students, he makes them feel inferior. Students deserve respect; something which John fails to give.

Beware: He fakes his reviews, and it's obvious. I am currently enrolled in this class, and this is by far the worst professor I have ever had. He's disorganized, constantly changes the rubric, and assignments are not graded fairly. I'm usually a 90%+ student and get 60s in this class. He's extremely disrespectful, with 0 feedback on poor grades.

The notes on Courselink for this online class were not even written by him, they were from the original creator of the course. He is very condescending to students who seek help and is very unorganized. Why a professor would have 5 of their 6 assignments for the term due between March 1st-April 3rd is beyond me. Avoid this professor at all costs!

DO NOT TAKE SOC2760 IF HE IS THE PROFESSOR! AVOID HIM AT ALL COSTS!! By far, the most unorganized and lazy prof I've had. There is no lecture. He does not have anything to teach you. You will get 50-200 pages of material from other scholars weekly to teach yourself. The quizzes are the most specific details of your long, dense, boring readings.

I am a student in my final year who had the misfortune of taking SOC 2760 as my final elective at Guelph. In my communication with John, he was patronizing, misleading, and short with his words. He decieved me into thinking he granted me an extension for a paper only to penalize me 20% afterwords. Avoid John at all cost.

DO NOT TAKE! SAVE URSELF! LOOK AT OTHER REVIEWS!

Professor Ferguson was a nightmare: stubborn, unfair, unclear, rude, unapologetic for mistakes, set unrealistic expectations, and graded harshly. They felt more like a machine than a human educator. Could never admit they're wrong. Would fight students no matter how many agreed against him. NEVER TAKE THIS COURSE WITH THIS PROFESSOR

Not great as others have mentioned

Just awful, goes on tangents that are unrelated to the course, had twice the amount of readings and papers than any other 3rd or 4th year class I took, seemed very lazy overall.

He uses an AI grader for 30 percent of our grade.

Terrible. Seriously, the worst, and I didn't even see his face. Do not take this class with this Prof. I had to actually bleed for my mark. He uses AI to mark, which sounds good, but the more you go into the class, the more it marks stricter, and you could have 10 comments (perusal) and not get full marks. The guy is an absolute toolbox.

Never take this class. i'm currently taking his online course, the workload is extremely heavy, his annotation assignments are uninteresting and ineffective, and he and the ta's are all rude. don't let the course title or description trick you, he doesn't even have a degree in the subject. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!!!!

Doesn't explain why they give you a 28% on a reading

for the sake of humanity do not take this class

Possibly the worst class I've ever taken, not because of the course, but due to John Ferguson being the worst overall professor in existence. He marks using an AI grader that is extremely tough and provides no explanation why you receive a 0%. The amount of reading is called insanity, with an AI tracking “time spent per page” and “engagement”...

This prof hates his job, his students, his subject, literally everything and it shows. Over 10 people have contacted him on a discussion forum and no answer at all from him NOR the TA's. He is disrespectful, rude, unprofessional and a disgrace to this university. NEVER TAKE THIS COURSE!!!!!!

Disorganized, can't spell, rude, know it all, uses AI for literally everything, doesn't answer emails, is straight up evil, can't teach, horrible. Get ready for quizzes with 60+ questions, 150+ pages of mandatory reading, 6 discussion posts with

Have you ever wished for a prof who uses AI to grade every single thing? who is unreachable all the time? Who assigns over 60+ questions on a quiz weekly? Have you ever wished to be graded on how fast you read?? Well look no further cause Ferguson will make u wish you were a victim in one of his readings.

Hands out poor marks with no feedback. Wildly unclear expectations for assignments. Dozens of readings that have no relevance to what the course is supposed to cover. Doesn't seem to have any interest in what he "teaches". This class was a constant pain, and I don't feel like I gained anything from it. Waste of time and electricity.

final exam, worth 30% of our entire grade consisted of 180 multiple choice questions spanning over 13 units, literally hundreds of readings AND only 120 minutes to complete. no class has made me so close to dropping out. and no class has made me so acutely aware easy it is to be a prof. also gave us no review material or study guides

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS! Dr. Ferguson was awful! He was unreachable and would ignore students' questions. This course was horrible, too! It was very reading-heavy. We had weekly 75-minute quizzes. The word count of our weekly annotations was the equivalent of a 5-page paper. The final exam consisted of 180 multiple-choice questions in two hours.

dont be fooled by good reviews this man is as incompetent as he seems, and this class brought down my average so much. not worth it. at all. made me question my will to live on multiple occasions and it was supposed to be my easiest class since it was my only 2000 level class and on sociology. bffr.