3.1
Quality3.3
Difficulty49%
Would Retake90
Reviews49%
Would Retake
90
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
38
4
6
3
4
2
13
1
29
What Students Say
“I really enjoyed Gender 100 with her”
GNDR100 - 4.0 rating“Supportive and great lecture content”
GNDR100 - 5.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
94%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.60 avg changeRatings by Course
GENDER100
4.5
(31)GNDR100
2.6
(49)SOCI205
1.7
(3)GNDER100
1.6
(5)Sociology235
1.5
(2)Difficulty by Course
Sociology235
4.5
SOCI205
4.3
GNDER100
3.8
GNDR100
3.4
GENDER100
2.9
Reviews (90)
I took this class as a GPA booster but that was a mistake. She gets extremely defensive if she feels even a little bit threatened, aka do not ask her pretty much anything about upcoming assignments. Her grading criteria is unclear and she did not seem very passionate about the topics discussed either. She has a nice smile though!
I took Gender 100 to expand my very limited knowledge on the subject. Prof. Dorrbercker stated at the beginning of the year that she was always going to be open to discussion but whenever I tried to voice a different opinion than hers she completely shut me down. She has single-handedly made me never want to take a Gender Studies course again. BAD!
Do NOT Recommend! At the beginning of the semester, individual presentations were assigned, but the dates continued to change. Don't voice your opinion, she'll get upset if it doesn't line up with her's. NOTHING is posted on CourseSpaces. BEWARE!!
Avoid at all costs. That's all I have to say!!
I really enjoyed Gender 100 with her. Her quizzes were easy, but she was a very hard marker on the final. I did every single reading and did poorly on the final. I did learn a lot and enjoyed the content assigned. However, not necessarily an easy A class.
Doesn't reply to emails. Ignores student questions. Many mistakes with grading. Puts as little effort in as possible. Extremely frustrating to work with.
I was excited to take my first Gender Studies class but she makes it incredibly difficult to be motivated to learn. She is unclear in her instructions, does not post any recorded lectures, doesn't reply to emails but won't let us email the TA's, provides little feedback. Overall disappointing. Should have taken it with Dr. Sitara when I could've.
While acknowledging the fact that everyone had difficulties with online schooling this year, the quizzes where terribly formatted. Confusing fill in the blank questions that made very little sense, basically were one word answers without specifying that, and asking to fill in a quote that was not specific to the class readings or the lectures.
Avoid if you can. She is unaccessible, unclear, and an extremely picky marker without proper context. What a waste of a class.
Avoid if possible. Unprofessional, inaccessible, inconsistent. Terribly designed course for asynchronous learning. Uninterested in nor open to conversation or differing opinions. Love the department overall but yikes.
Loved the class. Difficult marker, but not surprising given her credentials and class material. Very knowledgeable and wants students to learn and grasp the material. Communicates the material very well. Met my expectations on what I want my profs to be like.
Unclear grading criteria, though grader, unclear feedback. Worst professor.
Great prof! Always offered help when needed and genuinely cares for student success. Supportive and great lecture content. The course was worth taking and I actually learned lots. I would take this prof again.
I enjoyed this class very much and the instructor was great. The lectures were interesting and engaging. I am very happy with my grade.
Fantastic instructor! Very helpful and understanding. She made the course enjoyable and not stressful. I wish she could be my instructor for the rest of my courses. I will take any other course that I can with her. Thank you for being so kind!
Text heavy & online "lectures" are riddled with typos, and the tests are largely the same to the point of being incoherent, but Prof is hard on students in that area (mostly incorrectly) . Final also largely incoherent & focused on irrelevant memorization. Super interesting content, but you're not tested on conceptual understanding. AVOID.
Asynchronous. "Lectures" were posted twice a week as text on Brightspace explaining concepts and related readings. Her posts were ill organized and included lots of typos. Exams were all multiple choice and occasionally FITB where there were also typos and unclear wording. Super tough grader for a 1st year intro course. Interesting material though.
Amazing class and excellent prof! I enjoyed the material and content of the class. It definitely changed my perspective on many things and it is a class that is worth taking. Thank you Dr. Dorrbercker for being a great prof! I hope to have you as my prof again.
It is extremely difficult to know exactly what we will be tested on. I appreciate that she encourages comments however I don't feel that conversation is super encouraged. She is very friendly and open to take questions and give help but the course was fundamentally very poorly organized.
Ms. Dorrbercker is an amazing teacher. She is very knowledgeable and clear in her expectations of students. It took me a little while to get used to her style of teaching but it is definitely worth taking this course. It should be a must for students to take this class.
Horrible marker who doesn't offer support or any help after grades are given if approached on how to fix it.
just don't. Doesn't teach good material and basses her tests off of an insane amount of irrelevant out-of-class readings. Nice lady but tests don't cover appropriate material.
Her attitude was not the best and was not very understanding when it came to other things such as illness when it came to attendance. Attendance was ridiculously mandatory and so was participation. If you are shy don't take classes with her.
She was regularly late to class yet still spends time taking attendance, which means every class would start about 10 minutes late. Her lectures are disorganized and she speeds through material, she also relies heavily on class participation; this disrupts class discussion. She gives little guidelines and then marks harshly.
She was so bad, do not take this class. Material was good but she made it terrible. I hated her
Great prof! Loved the lectures and the feedback. Always helpful and dedicated to help students wich I truly appreciate. I would love to have her again.
I love Mercedes Dorrbercker. It was an engaging class and I learned a ton. Mercedes is an excellent professor, she is kind and helpful, she is very encouraging and makes herself available to her students. She structures the class discussions very well. I would recommend Mercedes to other students.
I enjoyed this course very much. The instructor was clear and organized which made it easy to understand the material and to stay engaged. I would love to have her again.
Fantastic lectures and awesome prof!!
Very nice person, but assigns at least 3 reading and documentaries to watch every class. Tests on the most specific information in them, most of it irrelevant. Goes through lectures way too fast. Gets mad at people for differences in opinion, even asking questions. Participation matters have to speak for marks, she praises some, and not others.
Mercedes was my favourite prof. She is a good lecturer and the work load was spread out and she was not too tough of a grader. She is awesome.
I didn't fid her to be a "harsh marker" if you made an honest attempt and put effort, your reflected it. Most helpful professor I ever had, especially if you are having difficulty with papers or comprehension, or if you were absent due to illness. Very knowledgeable, knows her stuff and passionate about the subject.
Great class content and you actually learn lots. Very happy with my grade.
Great prof! Recommend.
Easy to understand. I enjoyed her class!
I found the lectures to be relevant to the course and the course load was average and doable. Overall it was a good class and she was very helpful.
Fantastic lectures! Thank you professor Dorrbercker.
Very nice and very helpful.
I liked her teaching style. It was clear and not confusing. Very good prof.
The content was good but the teaching was hard to follow. A ton of readings and a horrible study plan. I did all the readings and struggled with this as an elective. Lovely person, but paragraphs on each slide while narrating a different thread; making notes a mess. She was nice but very unclear in her explanations. Would take, but frustrating.
Mercedes is the worst prof I had in my first year. She is always late to class, very unprepared and has no idea what she is talking about. She was never able to answer a question about the material. Avoid her at all costs. Must attend every class and speak every class. Nice person but horrible prof. Lots of work and got lucky with my grade. boo.
Fantastic prof! Very supportive and explained things well. Lectures were interesting too.
Amazing!
This class isn't for everyone. She takes attendance every day, and you must participate a certain amount of times (or your grade drops). Also, you HAVE to take notes on what she's saying, not the presentation. She moves through the slides quickly. Many people hated this class and stopped coming because they did not like her teaching style.
This was my first time taking this subject and I wasn't too sure about it at first. Thank you professor Dorbercker, I had a wonderful experience. You have enlightened my academic path.
Very helpful professor. Understands when a student is facing difficulties and is always willing to help. Much appreciated.
The course is very interesting, but if you want a good grade you have to participate and do your work as I did. It was an interesting course and a great prof. Very organized and very easy to understand which made everything easier. I am very happy with my grade and with everything that I learned.
She is a great prof! Glad I had her. Made my life so much easier. I recommend her.
Professor Dorrbercker is highly knowledgable, organizes interesting lectures and readings, creates a welcoming environment for class discussions, and very encouraging and supportive. Listen to exactly what she says she wants to be written in your research essay, and you can expect a good grade. Highly recommended!
rude. once I asked her to reexplain a concept quoted from the reading in her own words and she got offended and said I must not have done the reading, was quite rude and asked if "anyone who had done the reading" could answer my question. didn't explain it in her own words to help me understand. super unprofessional
Amazing class Mercedes is an Awesome prof! very helpful and knowledgeable and she is always accessible outside class.
The professor went out of her way to help the students. There was one paper worth 25%. She let us have one extra month to work on it from the due date. She is fair in her grading and gives you a lot of information on what to read.
Mercedes is a wonderful person and professor. Very engaged, supportive and helpful during class as well as during office hours. The tests seemed to be less large concept based and more specific dates, quotes and definitions from the readings. If you attend class, participate and do the readings it's a great time!
Mercedes was an amazing prof. She was funny, intelligent, helpful, and caring. This course has many readings, but it was completed worth it as the material you examine is extremely thought provoking. Mercedes is a great professor if you respect her and participate.
Such a sweet prof! She is passionate about the material and creates a welcoming learning environment. Would definitely take a class with her again.
You will probably pass this course, but for a 100 level course there is an insane amount of reading. You are only graded on two midterms and a final, but you are tested on names and dates instead of concepts. The information for the tests are 1/3 reading, 1/3 class slides, and 1/3 the things she says, that you have no access to after the class.
Assigns wayyyy too much reading and documentaries for an online 1st year summer course. Easy stuff if you put in the time but like cmon.
Talks too fast to comprehend and then doesn't have all of the points she talked about on the slides but rarely repeats. Tests are focused very heavily on specific quotes from readings (of which she assigns too many), and very focused on names and dates or quotes rather than concepts. Makes class feel awkward when no one wants to answer questions.
She was super nice as a person but her tests were heavily based off of the readings assigned, and she assigned between 2-3 readings per class, with two classes a week so the test would have questions based on 1/40 readings with ridiculously specific questions from a random reading.
Don't take this class unless you have a photographic memory and a high tolerance for bs
Mercedes is a wonderful person but she doesn't seem to really understand what she's teaching in soci205 or just not understanding questions students ask in regards to her lectures. There is a ton of reading and you gotta memorize a lot. The content is not difficult but her tests made me cry. Goodluck y'all.
Very kind, caring, and passionate BUT very test-heavy and does not take criticism well. Tests are very detailed questions about readings which are hard to remember due to the mass of readings making the tests difficult.
This class was sadly a waste of time, money, and energy. Prof. D is sweet and wants you to succeed, but I don't think I learned anything of substance and the tests were unnecessarily difficult, focused on irrelevant and specific details. Everything learned was surface level, and slides were pretty bad - super frustrating. Would avoid at all costs
This was the hardest course I took as a 3rd year. Marks deducted for every small thing in the paper. Study guide for quizzes was not helpful at all, as all it said was "all material covered" which was hundreds of pages, documentaries, professor lecture written weekly. She was not great with online learning. Course material was life changing though.
Mercedes is not great on trans issues as a gender studies professor — her continued use of the term “biological sex” over “sex assigned at birth” despite students asking her to update the language would be one example. I also found her testing arbitrarily restrictive, prioritizing exact parroting of the readings over understanding the material.
Dr. Mercedes Dorrbercker is an amazing professor who cares about her students success. She's lovely to talk to, super approachable and welcoming and willingly offered extra support during office hours which really helped with my participation marks. I learned lots of super cool things with her insightful presentations and the readings. I recommend!
The only things our marks were based on were the three "quizzes" and participation. Difficult and did not really cover the material we covered in class. Too focused on the readings and videos we watched. I wish there were more assignments. Do not take if you don't do readings, be ready to struggle a lot more on the tests than you expect.
She was honestly a great teacher and the discussions were fun, but almost all of your mark is based on three tests. The tests are not easy and require very specific wording or else the answer is wrong. Good class if you are willing to analyze each reading forever.
I really enjoyed her lectures, they were interesting and the class discussions have proved valuable. Tests were extremely frustrating; they make up majority of your grade and are fact based rather than concepts, and your answers need to be incredibly specific or they are marked wrong. Very kind one on one though!
Very test heavy, and within the tests you are expected to remember very specific quotes from a reading weeks ago, with the nearly 40 pages and hours of documentaries you are supposed to read and watch per week! This prof is sweet, but is very unpractical with her teaching and has students do the most even as a 100 course. Don't recommend this one.
My least favourite class this semester. BS readings that take at least 1 hour per class. Attendance is mandatory and graded, but none of the information from her lectures is on the exams. It is purely facts, names, and dates from the readings. I will probably never be taking a class with her again. Nice lady though.
you have 3 quizzes worth majority of your marks, she is nice but the quizzes she gives makes it so that most students struggle/fail with questions on specific quotes, names, and dates taken out of the MANY readings she gives weekly, the content was interesting but wouldnt recommend
This class was very poorly organized. We were assigned an incredible amount of readings for each class and every test focused on irrelevant facts like dates and exact names, rather than concepts or understanding of themes. Discussions were awkward and stitled because she would take down your name after every comment for a participation mark.
Don't take her class. She gets too personal about her life drama and is not transparent about what she will or will not include in the tests (dates, names, etc.).
Do not take this class as a "chill" elective. Talks way too fast in her lectures and goes through the slides so quickly it's hard to keep up. Participation is a huge part of her class, writing your name down everytime you say something. Assigns pages and pages of readings each week. Quizzes are too focused on specific names and dates.
Assigns far too many readings and then does not provide a helpful study guide for tests. She is not a good lecturer or engaging speaker, but it does not really matter what she says in lectures because she tests predominately based off minute details in the readings not concepts. Found her to be dismissive and condescending when asked questions.
She is a super sweet person and is genuinely kind, but it's almost like she purposefully made this course as hard as she possibly could. Our final grade was pretty much based off of three tests, that were so difficult. The tests are mostly on the readings that she assigns, or on the most random thing she said in a lecture. Would not take again.
Dr. Dorrbercker was quite impressive. Really takes the time to support students which I personally appreciate. I enjoyed her class and learned a lot. I recommend her!
Prof. Dorrbercker is a great professor she was my favorite prof. She is a good lecturer, very passionate and knowledgeable about everything she teaches. she is incredible helpful with the students and L would take any class with her.
Pretty good prof. Accessible and always gave lots of helpful feedback. Attendance is important. I think the material was good and clear. I learned lots. I would take her again.
STAY AWAY FROM THIS PROF! 8-10 articles and PowerPoint presentations, 30-45 minutes each, three times a week on different topics! This is excessive. She has no study guide for her test; she teaches to fail. Talks too fast with too much information in too short a time. I wonder why her class didn't have a waitlist. Her test makes no sense.
One example of how she views teaching: After an exam she gloated to the class about how she can continue to use one of the questions for yet another year, because no one has gotten the answer right. Also come prepared to the exams knowing minuscule details (ie. Exact dates), which were only skimmed over once.
Said all multiple choice exams but when I tell you they are the most specific questions ever I mean it. As an elective it was very difficult. Changed to online halfway through the semester and was not engaging at all.
A great professor. She outlines her requirements very early and wants her students to succeed. She teaches very well and encourages participation and collaboration.
Truly cares about her students succeeding and clearly explains what materials will be on exams. Her lectures and slides are clear and accessible after class.
Super great prof and truly wants her students to succeed. DO THE WORK AND YOU'LL GET A GOOD GRADE!!!!
It was refreshing to be in a class where the prof is truly passionate and well-versed in what she teaches. She is understanding and warm, while intelligent and firm in what she teaches and believes. While the quizzes can be difficult because of very specific details, the class is worth taking.
Professor Dorrbercker is caring, knowledgeable and a great instructor. She very clearly cares about how her students do and does what she can to help those who ask for it. She is very passionate about the subject she teaches and is very approachable. Highly recommended for folk interested in gender studies and those who want an interesting elective
Dr. Dorrbercker is very caring and sweet. She cares a lot about her students and their success. She is understanding and urges students to prioritize their mental health. She is always willing to help if you are struggling and answers all your questions. A very genuine professor!
Super nice and helpful, would tell us what was going the be on the exams. There is a bit of reading but I like never did it and have done just fine in the class.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
94%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.60 avg changeRatings by Course
GENDER100
4.5
(31)GNDR100
2.6
(49)SOCI205
1.7
(3)GNDER100
1.6
(5)Sociology235
1.5
(2)Difficulty by Course
Sociology235
4.5
SOCI205
4.3
GNDER100
3.8
GNDR100
3.4
GENDER100
2.9