Don't understand why others are bashing on him. He knows his stuff and does a good job digging at what philosophy is all about.

Brence is a great guy. Really funny, extremely passionate about his subject. I definitely suggest taking one of his courses.

Prof. Brence likes to talk alot but goes out fo his way to make office hours and extra voluntary discussion sessions. He is fair with grading papers and not opposed to adjusting the syllabus depending on how the class is going.

I am somewhat taken aback and in truth, embarrassed by some of the presumptuous comments already made here at the expense of prof. Brence. His commitment to the philosophical practice and its cultivation among new minds is apparent for anyone who takes a meaningful interest in their own studies. Right on if not above par with U of O's phil. dep.

Excellent teacher, really cares about students and their learning.

Great teacher!

Interesting prof. Hard class, but he made it lively. Good points but occasionally was hard to follow. Did make me want to take more philosophy classes!

You need to be pretty good at writing a solid essay. If you can do that, you'll be fine.

Provocative lectures, smart guy, can get a bit convoluted at times, but that is to be expected with most philosophy.

Great teacher, really nice guy and fantastic at lecturing. I learned a lot in Philosophy of Film.

The most interesting lecturer I've had as a professor. Very intelligent and knows what he's talking about. Not a very labor-intensive course (two 5 page essays and a final). A lot of readings but they're interesting.

He knows what he is talking about but does not always explain it in the easiest terms to understand. His GTF's help a ton though. The only thing I do not like about this course is how much printing and reading is required. I have wasted so much paper on things I will never look at again. Digital copies in class would be awesome.

Very funny and pretty clear as far as philosophy teachers go. Really nice guy and great speaker.

I really enjoyed the class, but it's a lot more rewarding if you actually participate in in-class discussions. Essay prompts give a lot of room to go whichever route you want to, which depending on how you feel about writing is either really good or really bad. There's no textbook, just PDFs, but you HAVE to do the readings.

Awesome prof, very intelligent and knowledgable on a huge scope of topics. Choses readings and films strategically. You should attend class, and engage in discussion or you wont get much out of the course. He tends to rant and share is opinions widely. Not necessarily an issue. Overall such an engaging and manageable (work load) course.

Professor Brence doesn't want to teach you how to get a great job. He wants to teach you how to lose a terrible job. He wants you to care about your integrity. He wants you to question the status quo and the easy path. He wants you to actually consider your life's purpose or lack of purpose. This class will make you think, if you let it. Try it!

Dr. Brence is very passionate about what he teaches. The readings are sometimes long and difficult, but lecture explains them very well. I would recommend taking a class with him, because he is willing to work over complicated notions with you. Overall, the course has 3 essays and while they can be a bit tricky, good grades are attainable.

Daily assignments but only graded on completion. Nice teacher.

Steven himself is absolutely amazing, he feels kind of a sarcastic and judgey grandpa but who will still make you laugh in class. There's no textbook, just lots of articles and a few movies but i used free trials on amazon and didn't need to pay for anything ! quality class and i really enjoyed it

Professor Brence is brilliant and cares deeply about helping students to understand the texts, which are difficult but enlightening. Do your reading, go to class, ask questions when you have them amd you'll do great!

Brence is a brilliant guy and explores philosophic ideas in a pretty unique way. That being said, you do have to pay close attention in order to follow what he's saying. If you're ready to do the readings and commit, being in his class will be very rewarding. Definitely take advantage of his office hours. Also talks about music and his cat a lot :)

I took Brence's logic class and really enjoyed it. He's a great lecturer, although the subject material is by nature somewhat dry. He has a relaxed grading policy; he let us replace our midterm grade with our score on that content on the final. Very accomodating.

If you want a good grade in his class it's important to do the reading, it especially helps a lot with understanding the material and the exams (midterm/final) rely heavily on it. If you attempt the practice problems in the reading youll be so grateful (answers are in back of book) plus they help when doing the hw. Hes amazing, I def. recommend.

Prof Brence is a really cool and engaging guy. Despite the challenges of online learning, he seems to be able to actually teach us something. There's a lot of readings but most of them are shorter than 15 pages and you can skim them just for a couple of details to put in your biweekly discussion post.

I would highly recommend taking a philosophy class with Prof Brence. He's extremely engaging and brings very relevant issues and topics to his lectures. I liked that our homework wasn't just solely reading and writing but also watching movies and listening to podcasts. I firmly believe that I'm coming out of his class with a different perspective.

This class was super interesting and consisted of lectures, discussion board posts, papers, and a discussion section. The lectures were 1 hour and were easy to understand. 4 papers, three different activities relating to each. One final paper that wasn't too difficult. The overall class is easyish, just put in the work.

I really enjoyed this class with professor Brence. He is very attentive and genuinely wants students to succeed. He always makes time to talk outside of class and is always down for a deep conversation. Class is definitely mandatory though and he values participation a lot.

I have taken 2 of prof Brence's classes and they consist of 2 weekly discussion posts and 3 essays for the whole term. The essays are not very difficult, but each one is worth 20% of your grade. The discussion posts are another 20% and participation is the last 20%. Attendance is mandatory for discussion sections. Overall, he is nice & a good prof

This professor is just a really cool guy. He expects you to work hard but is very reasonable.

Prof Brence was overall a good teacher and interesting lecturer. I liked the topics we discussed and the fact we watched two movies. There were 3 discussion posts a week and three essays. Grading depends on your GE but I liked mine. The annoying thing was that talking in class was intimidating and he sometimes kept us over time.

60% of the grade is on 3 essays. 20% is on canvas discussion posts that you get all the points by doing them. The other 20% is on participation by showing up and interacting in the discussion section of the classroom

Overall good professor and interesting lectures. Some people may find him a bit mean because he is opinionated and will say if he disagrees with you, but personally, I don't think he is a rude person. I liked all the movies we watched. Most of your grade is based on two essays and weekly discussion posts. This class can be time-consuming.

Steven is a genuine guy and knows most people in the class aren't philo majors. He will change your perspective on life if you really dig in to the class. The timing of assignments is odd but the workload is light. He comes off as rude but is often just pushing your thinking deeper. First class I've ever taken that changed how I think.

great professor!

Very thorough and does a good job creating organization in the class. The only complaint I have is that he makes us do lecture specific assignments before class, and then the lecture is all just him discussing what we already learned in order to submit the assignment.

I liked the material that Brence taught and it was a really eye-opening course. However, I wish we learned about the material before we had homework assigned. I don't like how we learn about it after we've done the work already. I also wish we could use technology in his class, but that's just based on my preference.

I enjoyed this course more than I thought I would. It's definitely more "math-based" than philosophy (which I liked) so keep that in mind. The lectures closely follow the textbook, so reading the assigned section and doing the practice problems before lectures makes them easier to follow. Plus, the exams were open-textbook which was amazing.

Class, Canvas page very well-organized. Very reachable if you need help or just wanna talk. The assigned reading is pretty interesting! His lectures were pretty easy to follow, but sometimes skips over some stuff. Grading was TA-run. First reading of class was the hardest. Doesn't fight w students, just introduces not-universally-accepted ideas.

Dr. Brence provides really interesting media sources for philosophical engagement and the essays and lectures are really insightful. And on top of all that, I was never not at least semi entertained and engaged by the lectures and material.

This guy is the goat. such a funny fella. knows what hes teaching and teaches it well. He also drinks out of a mason jar.

Very enjoyable! If you are interested in Philosophy, you must take him. Even if you're not, take him. He is passionate about what he teaches, its very refreshing. He cares very much and he is extremely funny and enjoyable to learn from. Do nottt pull out your phone in class or be stuck on your computer, he will call you out!

Light work load, there was assigned reading but you never had to do them, nor did you have to take any notes

Professor Brence was an amazing Formal Logic professor. I wouldn't want anyone else to teach it. While he does not take attendance, class is mandatory. You will be lost if you miss a single lecture as every concept is cumulative. He makes a daunting subject satisfying and challenging

I was terrified of Formal Logic but Dr. Brence made it make sense. Still a difficult class but if you apply yourself, you'll succeed. He is also very entertaining and has a good but dry sense of humor.

he's actually really sweet, but you have to get on his good side because I can see how other people don't like him. it was a little frustrating that he didn't grade anything and would redirect you to the GE for questions but if you really need to talk, he will. I found him interesting but nice.