Dr. Blazak is an amazing intellectual mind who is enthusiastic while teaching and will never be called "boring." His opinions may come out strong, but he will admit when someone has a good point. Projects are difficult but interesting and rele

Blazack is truly a charasmatic teacher. I had him for an intro class, which I absolutely loved. He also came into a few of my other classes and spoke as well.

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Randy is an AMAZING teacher... he has not only inspired me but challanged me to become a better sociologest.

Best professor yet. Incredibly intelligent and exciting to listen to.

Very Funny! Best Prof so far!!! Wish I was a Soc major so I could take more classes with him!!!

Blazak is awesome! best professor EVER!!!!!

****ing dope. randy blazak is the****. if you're in portland and don't take a class from him you're selling yourself short. and he's fine.

Like going to a stand-up comedy session 3x per week. He's pretty interesting and irreverent, although a bit full of himself. He talks the whole class; students almost never get to say anything. Worth taking if you're looking for a non-challenging/fun class.

I think i'm in love with this man. He is an awesome professor with tons of life experience that he relates to teh class material. Everything from the time he got in a fist fight with Klansmen to his latest run in with the FBI. Research Paper was huge, but still doable. TAKE THIS CLASS!

He was wonderful. I genuinely enjoyed his classes, and he really furthered my interest in the subjects.

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Best professor I ever had during my tenure in college. Very funny, very informative, uses pop culture to relate to material, and no subject is taboo in his lectures. He is always in the news analysing the many crimes Portland takes place.

I had him during the 2004 presidential elections. He's a hard core Democrat. He's great, but very one-sided. I wish he taught every subject, though. Makes class very enjoyable. You'll never skip this one!

By far one of my top 3 professors at PSU.

An enjoyable teacher! Rarely boring if ever. Knows his material very well, especially on hate crimes and racism.

I loved taking his class. He was so funny, I recommended him to all my friends. Loves to talk about politics which I enjoyed especially during election time. He was full of energy and seemed to really enjoy teaching.

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One of the best teachers that keeps student thinking about social problems, always a blast to be taught by a teacher who thinks outside the box

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Total riot. He loves teaching, loves sociology, and has great background experience. Very involved in community. Class work is relatively easy. If your a sucker for intelligent humor than this is your guy.

I truly believe Blazak was the best teacher I ever had. I learned more from his classes than any other class. Plus, his creativity in terms of teaching the class is genius. Sociology of deviance: The films of Sean Penn" equals brilliant.

Good teacher, funny comments, quick witted, smart, and damn funny

Best prof ever!!!!

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very cool and pleasent. you can tell he really gives a**** and doesnt dislike his job. makes you interested in sociology. funny.

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This is my first class with Randy. He's 100% amazing and his lectures are captivating. He's not the easiest professor I've had but he makes learning heaps of fun...and he's not bad to look at. He really is a brillant guy with loads of experience and knowledge.

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He's a good teacher but told the same stories almost every class.

Awesome teacher! Not hard to get a good grade if you apply yourself... which won't be hard because he makes it intersting. :)

He looks a lot like Dax Shepherd from Idiocracy and Lets Go To Prison!! LOL. He seems to use class time for self promotion.

by far the best professor i had in college. it didn't hurt that wore hot water music t-shirts and had a profane but witty sense of humor. he made his subject fun, and put a lot of effort into getting students interested. i'm guessing most people complaining about him are close-minded right wing jerk offs, but what do i know? :)

He was so awesome I loved going to class and miss him!

Awesome teacher. I learned so much and it was my favorite class. Going to his class was like just go and relax, learn and laugh. Sometimes it was overwhelming because it's so much information, but it's sociology. That's what it's supposed to be and people need to be informed about what's going on in world.

Awesome teacher. Hilarious.

Awesome teacher, best intro to sociology class, made me want to major in sociology.

Blazak is very interesting! Im bored in every class I ever take, since jr high, and yet this class kept me interested. You will "want" to do well because you will want to do the reading and come to class (if you're liberal, that is, republicans will feel like theyre being reprimanded for being so, which is too bad). Past that, he's great.

Blazak is funny, entertaining, and has a cohesive teaching method. I got a lot out of this class and felt it was worthwhile. There's not a lot of discussion and he loves to talk about his publications and accomplishments, but he is still one of PSU's gems!

Liked this professor. I learned a lot from his class. I would recommend him to anyone.

meh. strong political opinions that no one cares to hear, except for his fellow freshmen groupies. but you can't deny the fact that he's extremely knowledgeable. it's not too difficult of a class, but you HAVE to do the reading. we had three different texts, and I spent hours in the library trying to catch up. managed to get an A though.

This class opened my eyes to feminist perspectives and how everything is a "social construction of reality." The readings were good but I never missed a lecture!

Randy's teaching style is not for people who want lectures straight out of the book. His stories make the lecture point come alive. This theory seminar caught the spirit of Marx, who wrote in BARS. I was happy to have a grad seminar that broke the boring mold. I learned tons. Thanks, Randy!

my favorite professor at PSU.

Amazing professor! Great personality that helps to make the class much more entertaining and engaging. Blazak is always very encouraging and is great at teaching the material and making everything very clear. I would recommend him to anyone. The negative review below this is hilarious; Randy is very genuine and a great person!

I took his prisons class at U of O and it was one of my most enjoyable classes!

His humor made theory really interesting. VERY liberal, but since I am too I didn't mind.

Now some people on here might be skeptical -- even have negative things to say, but his youth subcultures class was exciting, informative, and you got what you put in. He was clear, inspiring and fun to listen to. Maybe a little pretentious, but he deserves it based on the amount of work he does. Anyways -- who doesn't want a teacher like that?

Professor Blazak is hilarious and very passionate about his work. He's very knowledgeable and good at explaining concepts. I really enjoyed his class and learned a lot. Word of cation: DO NOT SHOW UP LATE. He will tease you/make sarcastic comments :)

Blazak is a great professor who clearly cares about his field. His courses will not be particularly easy but if you stay on top of things a passing grade is absolutely attainable. Word of warning though, he is very opinionated and will not hesitate to express his views even if they do not coincide with the majority. Oh, and DON'T show up late.

If you have a sense of humor and an interest in lectures that are both informative and entertaining, this is your guy. If you think vulgarity is funny and that republicans are pretty lame, you should take a class from him. Randy is awesome!

Randy is a phenomenal professor. He clearly has a wide knowledge base and is very intelligent. He is absolutely hilarious in class and he has a lot of first hand experience in his field. I would take pretty much any class from him. There is a lot of reading for this class. DO NOT BE LATE or have your cell phone ring in class.

Randy is a fast paced entertaining guy that will always keep class interesting because of his first hand experience and sense of humor. His exams are demanding, but if you follow the study guides closely you will do fine. He can be very opinionated at times, but besides that he is a great professor and I have no reservations about recommending him.

An absolutely amazing course! I learned so much, and it was a thoroughly intriguing subject (prison cultures)! I'd recommend it to anybody.

Best professor you could ever ask for and then some!!!

I've taken criminology and youth subcultures with Randy. Criminology is not too hard just go to class. You have to go to his classes. But youth subcultures is a lot of work, be ready

An interesting class with an interesting professor. Really knows his stuff and makes class entertaining. Must keep up on readings and does roll for class.

HERE IS THE TRUTH ABOUT BLAZAK: 1. He is fair (grading is consistent with study guide and lecture) 2. He is passionate 3. He is blunt (calls it like he sees it). If you are some pencil neck jerk off, you may not enjoy him, therefore grow a pair! 4. He makes obscene and rude jokes (see remark above).

Randy is definately a character. He will speak his mind! Keep up with the readings & you'll be fine. The lectures are fairly OK, not boring but not too in depth. He issomewhat narcissitic, much self-promotion of his new book but didn't have a problem with it. He's passionate,and definately off the beaten path. Having a sense of humor really helps.

Randy is an exceptional professor who offers a wealth of knowledge about his field. Criminology is pretty easy for the most part if you show up for class. As for hate crimes, the research paper is a little intense but also EXACTLY the kind of thing you want to prepare you for graduate school. Don't be late and show up! He is quite funny anyway!

This is a great class and a perfect reflection as to why online classes are not good always and that you need the professor interaction. He is an amazing teacher and I highly recommend him to anyone. Would definitely take another one of his classes!!

Prof Blazak is fantastic at provoking well rounded thought processes. Everyone should have get to take a class from Blazak. He is very helpful and sincere in his passion to bring knowledge to so many of us. The guys in the back row loved Blazak this term!!!

Dr. Blazak has a solid command of sociological theory and, despite a relatively informal demeanor as a lecturer, has relatively difficult requirements for a top grade. I assume some of the other students putting up questionable reviews might have performed poorly in this regard. For anyone truly interested in theory, he is among the best.

He is a very fun professor! He's engaging, funny and overall very helpful if you speak up. This class is A LOT of work, with new assignments almost every class. However, I'm so glad that I took the class because I feel better prepared for grad school. Show up, take good notes, and don't procrastinate on your project and you'll do well.

I liked Randy's style of teaching and although it is a challenging class, if you do the work you will do fine.

Prof Blazak has a different method to his teaching than most professors do. He does swear quite a bit in class while giving his lecture. He does beat to his own drum so be prepared. There's a lot of work to do. If you do the work, you should be fine. If you need help, he does provide it for you. I'm not sure I would take him again. Not my fav prof.

Where do I start?! The guy is awesome! Took 2 classes and would take more if my schedule allowed. Only issue I found was that he does grade a little tough. Other than that, he is very funny and very knowledgeable. I loved his classes!

I love this class so much! I wish he would teach all of my teachers!

I took SOC Hate Crimes with Randy, and I actually looked forward to going to class in the morning. The class was really tough, though. But, he was very energetic and funny, and constantly kept everyone's attention. He's an expert in the field and gives his students a lot of important information. I wish more professors were as knowledgable as him!

One of the best professors at PSU. You will have to work hard but you will want to and you will walk away actually absorbing a lot of quality information and sociological understanding. This was my favorite class of all time even with a 30 page paper.

I have taken 3 SAPP classes with Randy at the University of Oregon, and he has got to be one of my favorite professors to take a class with. He made five hour lectures fly by. He is so knowledgeable and inspired me to learn about criminology. Seriously changed my perspective on a lot of things in the world. Great teacher, definitely recommend.

I only took a two-week P/NP course with Randy which was one weekend lecture, some reading, and an exam, so I don't know what a graded full-term class would look like with him, but I fully enjoyed his lectures. I appreciated his passion, candor, and how he was able to be real while at the same time maintaining objectivity and "giving the facts".

Professor Blazak is very inspirational, very knowledgeable on the subject., and very involved in sociological issues outside the classroom. I really enjoyed his lectures, definitely learned to see things with a new perceptive. Offers opportunity for extra credit, and also emails sample questions that you might see on quiz's or tests.

Randy is a great guy. He's really professional but feels like you are cracking a cold one with the boys in a Friday morning. Truly adds great value to your life and changes your ways of thinking about issues.

I loved Randy! He made the lectures interesting, funny, and easy to understand. We had to do quite a bit of reading because he said we would discuss it in class, but he tends to get sidetracked with some of his stories and we didn't really end up discussing the readings. All in all, he has a great teaching style and I would 100% take him again.

Mr. blazak is the man talk about so much knowledge a mountain full and its difficult to get to the top but that's a good thing. the man has done alot for this world he will open your eyes even more.

He is an amazing teacher and comes highly recommended.

Randy is phenomenal! His lectures are posted online for you to listen/refer back to. He responds fast in emails and grading, he won't leave you waiting to know about grades. He makes the class even in COVID feel like it's in-person. He gave 4 short assignments and 1 major paper, he spaces them out well! 2 great books to read. He's a rare gem :)

Amazing instructor. Randy is so funny and so passionate about what he does. If you need to take a sociology course make sure you take it with him, you wont regret it.

Rand is a tough yet very informative instructor. He keeps his lectures informative and interesting. He us one of my all time favorite instructors.