Very arrogant, and loves the sound of his own voice. His lectures are convoluted and useless. Tough marker too. Learn how to brown nose, it will get you everywhere with this prof (especially if you comment on how young he is to be in his position)

"Lookit me, I'm a doctor!"

all good

Seems very conceited and "above" everybody; HOWEVER, extremely articulate and well-spoken. He knows what he's talking about.

Bright and Cute!

Very good prof, but he does weird things with his voice that can be quite distracting.

Has a totally bombastic vocabulary and he definatly is proud of himself but nonetheless is very clear (although almost never consice!). He uses a lot of class time to talk about contemporary issues rather than course material though.

A bit self-possessed ("Hey, I'm from Queen's!"). But the lectures are interesting, though. He gives example of cases, and you can have a good conversation with him. Make sure you read the textbook with good grasp to score good on his tests.

Humourous as the term went on... hehehe. You'll find out for yourself.

Hier is not easy and lectures are challenging but unlike anything i have had at the university. its good for serious students not a textbook teacherand more of a researcsher

hard but really interesting. He seems to like the roman empire

His lectures are interesting and entertaining and he is able to relate the topic to everyday life. I found this class to be a pleasure to take. Highly recommended.

If u want to be friends with the prof or get an easy ride, then avoid! If u want new ideas, then DEFINITELY get in one of his classes! Hier made me think about racism in different ways. Sure he's a bit prickly, but who cares?! This is university people. He's really smart and knows his stuff. That's good enough for me.

only serious students interested in sociology should take this

dont blame the prof cause you cant study, he did a good job

If you're not into reading the text, going to the lectures, engaging with the material then why the hell are you in this course? Dr. Hier's depth of understanding and intimate familiarity with the material come across in the lectures. Pay attention and you'll do well; slack off/skip the lectures and you'll fail. Surprise, surprise.

You guys are being unfair! Hier is not arrogant, he's informed. His lectures are interesting, never feels like he's just reading off his notes, always seems personally interested in his subject (nothing worse than a prof not enjoying his work) which makes it way easier to get into the topics of focus. True, he's no easy prof, but very very fair.

Dr. Hier is great. I have him for another class and am going to try go get into a 3rd year class with him too. He makes theory relevant and interesting, and that's tough to do. He totally sets you up for the test, all you need to do is show up to class. He's also hilarious and his diagrams are classic.

amazing prof, made theory interesting! i don't know how you could not do well in this class, he went over things and gave examples for clarity. i hope i get the chance to have him teach me again!

Awesome Prof!!! he is hilarious, makes it extremely clear whats going to be on the exams

Just as the past few students are saying, Hier will give you back what you put into this course. If you ask him for help, then he's excellent. His humour in class is very witty, and if you don't get it that probably means you aren't following most of what's going on in the lecture. Really excited to have him next semester!

Great class, very interesting and meaningful lectures, and helpful study guides... the only problem is the bonus questions on the test, they're impossible! But overall, this class was very worthwhile and I learned so much.

I think in a former life Hier and I were a power couple, sorta like the Trudeaus. Hier is awesome. Wish more profs were like this guy. Not easy, but makes the material interesting. You definetly get out what you put in. Take his class!

awesome prof and really good class, changes the way you look at a lot of things, and yes he has his opinion, but its a sociology class what do you expect. you have to attend and doo al the readings/understand them to do well, but that seems faifr!

Really great prof. Must go to class and take notes to help make sense of material. Has done some amazing work in his field and is clearly an expert. He actually jokes about some of his poorer ratings on this site. Go to class, read articles/textbook and you will do fine. A+ prof for sure.

Very smart, knows his stuff, you have to attend class to do well though and to understand the assigned reading material but if you do that you should be fine. Wasn't exactly sure what he wanted for the essays and the marking was tough but not unfair.

knows what he's doing, taught what he said, rarly used notes. Essays asked what units were about "wjat is a moral panic". i think he knows essays didnt work best

His teaching style is all over the place, half the time I'm not sure what concept he's describing he's so confusing. Not unfair in marking but marks extremely hard. Offers lots of resources and puts in time to help if you need it, but his help doesn't really help much.

AMAZING GUY. Spent many lectures staying behind just to ask questions. Compared to science courses, the work entailed in this course was a joke. Hard to believe it's considered second year. One 8 page paper, one midterm and one exam. Grading was completely fair, and concepts are easty if you're engaged and go to class.

Excellent prof. One of the best in the Sociology department. If you have a chance, I highly recommend Socio 202. It was compelling, informative, and very well structured. Grading was tough, and exams difficult. The hard work pays off though. Very enjoyable class and very good prof.

This guy is a top prof. knows his stuff inside and out. really interesting and very cool. wants kids to do well but forces you to learn/preps you for further learning. highly recommend. Guy is a big beauty.

Sociology was a three hour night class and many in the class were bored. You have to be paying attention the entire class and taking notes on your computer to keep up with the material. He was entirely knowlegable about this subject and we read many of his papers. You must attend class or it will be hard to find the connections in the material.

He is a great professor and he definitely knows what he is teaching. He had us read papers written by him. Classes were interesting but 3 hours long at night so that sucked. This made tests tough If you choose to write a paper he is willing to criticize every little bit of your draft. It's good in the end when your paper is completely finished.

Get ready for complexity and angles. Also, lots of reading. The lectures are interesting. Dr. Hier gives lots of feedback on written work that will be a good challenge.

Sean is one of my favourite profs hands down. He is extremely smart, but his lectures are crucial. He does go on a lot of tangents, but he is there to help you no matter what. His tests are very straight forward, but you must attend class to know what's going on.

Best class/professor I've ever taken/had. He is intelligent, witty, and always there to help out. Many students say he's a tough marker, but as long as you put in the effort, show up to class (not hard, lectures are very fun), and do the readings, you will do great. I would highly recommend this class to anyone who has an interest in SOCI or CRIM.

Sean is a global leader in the social problems and moral panic fields. It was very exciting to learn about current content and studies. Sean's lectures can be a bit tangential and take longer than he expects, but he is fair about testing material and wants students to succeed. Show up to class and take good notes--his lecture slides are useless.

Great prof who took great care in making sure that students knew his expectations. He was always available to talk and was through with his information. However, don't expect to just talk to him through e-mails: he prefers to speak one on one because of the detail he puts in. Lectures were a little scattered, but concepts were frequently revisited.

He is a very good professor and very knowledgable about the material. Sometimes concepts can be a biy hard to understand in class but if you go to see him he explains them really well.

A hidden gem of the department! Really enjoyed Dr. Hier and his TA, Nicola. I don't understand all the bad reviews - he does get off topic sometimes but he's clearly passionate and ENJOYS teaching. He's hilarious and shows lots of videos to keep people engaged. Very fair grading. Really enjoyed the content and I hope he teaches more courses!

Great professor! He is very clear on the material and explains things very well and in an interesting way. Funniest professor so far as well. Can be a tough grader, but outlines exactly what he wants in assignments and tests.

I really liked Sean. I felt his grading criteria was clear and he was incredibly accessible outside of class. I would take another class with him. Make sure to show up to class, as he doesn't post on Coursespaces and do your readings. Get his advice on your paper. Just the usual.

I took 307 with him because I did well in his previous class. Despite the same work ethic and desire to learn as the last class I had him with, I did significantly worse. I dont know if it is because he changed his exam style (started doing MC & T/F), the material was harder, or a different TA. Still a really interesting class and a fun prof.

Regarding the professor, Dr. Hier provides unwavering support for student success. Dr. Hier has demonstrated mutual respect. Dr. Hier was available for answering questions and addressing concerns after each lecture. Dr. Hier's communication via email exceeded "outstanding." Regarding course, students must compl. all readings/attend all lect.

I do understand why people may not like him BUT, his class was actually interesting. He does make you attend all the lectures and doesn't post his lectures online so I do recommend you ask someone to swap notes with you. You get the exam q's in advance and he gives you specific advice on how to do well on them. Also the text isnt crucial at all

Many of my friends did not like this prof but I loved him!! He let me join the class late and responded to my emails quickly. Helped me through some tough material and let me retake a quiz when I needed help. He is hard, and the exams are not easy, but very doable if you put in the time. Read the Textbook!!!

A lot of my friends did not like him but i thought he was great! He responded to my emails quickly, let me join the class when I was on the waitlist, explained hard material outside of class and let me redo a quiz when I wasn't doing as well as I wanted. He is a hard prof, read the textbook and take good notes! But overall, I thought he was great

Not sure why there are so many bad reviews, but I thought Dr. Hier was a gem. There was a lot of material to cover, & to do well, you must watch all of the lectures, read the chapters and take good notes to do well on tests. Dr. Hier was very accessible outside of class and helped with all difficulties. I can't wait to take a class with him again!

Very interesting guy. Always livens his lectures up with some anecdotes that you can't help but laugh at. Weekly quizzes were actually pretty challenging. You'll do well if you watch all the lectures and do all the readings.

I was skeptical of taking this class because of the reviews, but wow! Sean is an amazing prof. Responds to emails very quickly, and really cares if you keep in touch/don't understand something. Only graded by weekly quizzes (12) and a MC final. Posts around 5-10 videos every week that you MUST watch and study to do decent. Hard class but doable.

- Very organized -- material is laid out well, with study guides for each week - Lectures are interesting and engaging - Dr. Hier is flexible in how he approaches the material and seems to adjust it based on feedback - Grades are based on weekly quizzes and a multiple choice final (I think they used to do a paper, may change in the future)

I had completed Sociology 307 in January April 2020 semester Professor Dr Hier deserves another positive review by me because he was very supportive, offered feedback on my essays, which made me a better writer, responded to emails in a very timely fashion, and respectful But, it is worth noting, SOCI307 was the hardest SOCI course

I loved this class and would recommend it to anyone taking SOCI at UVic. Hier is great and helpful, if a bit wordy.

You get out what you put in. Essay and exam criteria are really clear, study guides are awesome. Readings are important, so put in the time even though they're dry. He really likes the subject. Lectures are often summaries of readings than introduction of new materials. Serial killer week is rough if you're not already emotionally numb by then

The only professor that covers social issues and doesn't get on a soapbox the entire lecture. Huge respect.

Organized and Passionate professor! Light and enthusiastic about his work, knows how to engage through everyday examples- is clear and concise. His moral duty to educate on sociology- especially classical social theory was divine intervention!

If you go to class and actively pay attention to the material you will do well! Dr. Hier is very passionate about the material he teaches and wants you to do well. He responds to emails in a timely manner. It is not an easy class to take and requires a lot of extra work outside of class but I would recommend both the class and Dr. Hier.

Moral panics was such a fascinating course but Sean is a tough marker and he really knows his stuff inside and out in this field. I really enjoyed this class, Sean is funny and lays out clear guidelines for assignments but I had to work incredibly hard to get decent grades. I recommend this class if you have time to give 110% in it

Passionate lecturer, provides excellent feedback if you reach out, but definitely not a course for those who struggle with big projects, long deadlines, and information retention Personally I'm a big fan but I like a challenge lol

Professor Hier is very knowledgable, considerable, and humorous. Yes, his course is not easy, but he tries his best to make it clear and accessible. I would like to recommend his course to anyone who want to know more about the complexity of sociology: you will learn a lot from him!

I took soci202 over the summer and it was an awesome course. Hier had prerecorded lectures and he seemed passionate about what he taught. I liked the layout and the videos. I thought the final paper was clearly laid out and decently chill. Overall I would take his course again.

The exam averages were in the 70's and the outline average was in the 80's and he provides weekly outlines of lectures and outlines for exams.

I found this class pretty engaging for the most part but the text is DRY and a slog. Lecture videos take a long time to go through but worth it as tests/final exam are detail oriented. Hier responds to emails quickly and is engaging and lighthearted in videos. Heaviest workload of all my classes last semester

You can tell that Sean Heir really wants his students to succeed in his classes. Although this was an online course, he still made the lectures fun by adding effects and visuals. He explains concepts well, and as long as you watch the lectures and do the readings you can easily pass! Definitely recommend him for sociology courses.

Sean's way of teaching soci210 in a way that is both captivating and engaging will lead all soci students with a great understanding of classical social theorizing. Shout out to his song "Hey, Hey, Durkheim" I look forward to using is at my wedding!

While I can understand students' dislike of Dr. Hier's quiz format, overall I really enjoyed the course and thought he was very funny, easy to ask questions and get ahold of, and the grading fair (the assignment was marked quite easily, the worst 2 quizzes dropped, he adjusted the difficulty based on past quizzes, etc.). Great for an online course!

Professor Hier's class was a real challenge, but engaging with his teaching style paid off. The lectures were dense, but the weekly outlines and exam prep materials were very helpful. For study, I found using unstuckstudy alongside the textbook was a game-changer. Overall, a demanding but rewarding course.

I thought that Sean did a great job of explaining classical social theory in an engaging and interesting way. Assignments were not graded too harshly, and the exams are not too difficult with enough prep. Would take again.

This was by far one of my favourite classes I've taken at UVic. Sean's lectures were incredibly engaging, and inspired deep critical thinking about the way our society functions. The readings were sometimes long but not dry, and no textbook! I will 100% be taking another class with Sean in the future. Highly recommend.

I liked Hier's class, even though I did not have as much time as I would've preferred to study it due to working full time. The material was interesting, even if it was hard to grasp at points. Hier clearly is passionate about sociology and I would definitely take him again in the future.

I really enjoyed moral panics but man did the lectures drag on. Something to be expected in a condensed online summer class, though. Overall, great professor who clearly cares about his topic and is always welcomes what you have to say.