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Shes one of the best sociology teachers at ucsc. Her lectures are so clear that the points just sink in. It is hard to write notes yet you still come out of class smarter than when you came in.

The best professor I've ever had!! She loves what she is teaching and she will make you love it too! Take anything with her because you will actually enjoy the reading that you have to do for the class. She is very fair and always willing to help.

The best teacher. Compassionate, brilliant, and very helpful. I only had her for core, but I recommend taking any class she teaches

She was a very helpful professor. If I had any questions I could go to her during office hours and she was really helpful. She also improved my writing a lot by giving me lots of feedback.

Great teacher, I am taking her next quarter because she is that good, I don't really care for the class, but love her teaching style.

Wendy is a great person who cares. Her teaching style is alittle fluffy, but because she cares the readings and the lectures do consistantly have worthwhile nuggets. I can see why some people don't like her, but teaching isn't a popularity contest. She sucked at getting work back in a timely fashion, but again there was always something good.

The class was really easy and pointless. She missed a lot of classes. Basically, you just listen to what she says and write that down in your papers and assignments and you get an A. She isn't an effective teacher, but she is really nice.

Wendy is an amazing teacher! I had classes with her over eight years ago and still cinsider discussions I had we her. Her teaching style, her passion and her love inspired me to pursue a career in academics. I admire her tremendously and think of her often. UCSC students are lucky to have her.

She's a great lecturer and she knows her material. Loves reading books and she has a great list that writes down every day in class to add to your reading list. Take home midterms and finals (summer session) were very long, time consuming, and "ok" (not too easy or hard), but the other assignments were fun and easy. I recommend her 110%!

What can I say about Wendy that I'm sure hasn't already been said?.....probably nothing so I won't try. Keep it up Wendy!!

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The class is really boring, but she's a good teacher and she makes it bareable. If you have any questions, she is really helpful. Definetly go to her office hours!

best teacher, always take her classes, learn about life and more, cares about students more than a grade.

She rocks... a very easy A!

I took so many classes with Wendy, I love her! She's is fabulous!

Wendy is an amazing woman, dedicated professor and passionate human being. i learned lessons from her i use daily and will never forget. it may take a while to get your papers back,stick it out it's worth it!

I did not like her class, it was set at the middle-school level. Aside from the laughable reading list and lecture on how toys are like families, she is a very nice and caring person.

I took death and dying as well as sociology of love and enjoyed both classes. I liked the passion she has behind her teaching and although some may consider it an easy A, I found the class more about self discovery. Discussions, especially if you've had on

she's amazing.

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The most inspiring professor I have ever had. If I ever become famous, I will thank her on national TV...but she won't see it because she probably doesn't have one..dang, foiled again!

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She's very passionate and was very sensitive towards me in my freshmen year (as I'm sure she is to all freshmen). I had expressed in a paper that I hoped to get Maxine Hong-Kingston's autograph when she came to Book Shop Santa Cruz. Wendy went and didn't see me there so she had Maxine sign an advertisement of her book for me!!! She lectures in a style that makes you think of the subject in a deep way rather than a "I have to study this for class" way.

This woman is an angel! Albeit she sings you Simon & Garfunkel songs and begins every lecture with inspirational quotes, it is this whimsical nature you grow to love. She's sweet, easy to talk to, and very responsive. Don't pass her off, she's worth every moment of your time! Very inspirational and you take with you much more than book learnin'.

"Hella tight."

Effing amazing teacher. Whatever you do, don't write her off. I plan to take courses I'm not even interested in just because she's teaching them.

Very passionate. Fair assignments. Tough exams (but you get to use notes). She is very disorganized and sometimes it's easy to miss main points. She tries very hard to inspire students and encourage intellictual as well as personal growth (rare to find a teacher with this kind of passion). A little fluffy at times but lovely to listen to.

Probably the best teacher I've ever had. She obviously cares very much about what she is teaching and looks to inspire those in her class.

This class was easy bc you get to watch video clips, write essays, and have in-class exams (you get to have a cheat sheet each exam). It is hard to go to class because it's just a whole bunch of stories and people sharing their personal lives (cool for a class, but you wish you were doing something else). Wendy is a really nice person though!

passionate about issues and problems in america

Wendy is really nice when confronted, and is very knowledgable about the topics she teaches. Although she might go off on tangents, they are interesting ones, and always pertain to class discussions. Very good professor and I learned a lot from her.

A very chil class. Wendy is gives you everything you need to know for the tests and lets you have a page of notes for the tests. Just a word to the wise, if she likes you she will give you A's on everything. Make sure she gets to know your name and your TA likes you too. TAs aren't told what is on the test so don't listen to them.

I really liked her as a teacher. She tries to connect real life situations to what she's teaching & she also tries to open up our minds instead of being swept up into what mainstream America wants us to think. Keep up with your reading s0o you wont be overloaded. Allowed cheat sheets with finals and midterms. The take-homes are purty simple.

Really nice when you get to know her. Usually an easy grader

Wendy had a lasting impact on me in her teaching approach and personhood. I appreciated her challenging my basic writing skills as well motivating me to excel in academics. Frankly, she was a breath of fresh air. By simplifying and relating class topics to real life she helped to make potentially complicated issues accessible.

Wendy ran a delightfully, intriguing and challenging class. The reading was on topic, and interesting. There were several 2 page papers, and the midterm and final were short answer/ essay (as to be expected with a social science class)

Nice lady. the lectures weren't very good, but the guest speakers and movies that she showed us were outstanding.

Wendy's a pretty cool lady. She is a really easy grader as far as individual papers, but she's also really invested in giving thorough feedback (which unfortunately means it takes forever to get papers back). She's really approachable and interesting. She has realistic expectations, but she changes the syllabus a lot, so it's kind of confusing.

Really cool teacher, great sense of humor, makes all kinds of jokes and references during her classes. Easy class, no stress about turning stuff in late, gives really good, in-depth feedback on all written work, although she takes a while to get anything back to you. Really friendly and easy to talk to, I recommend her highly.

Wendy is the most amazing prof. ever. She really cares about her students and their work. She will help you with your work for an hour or more if you go to her office hours. Take any class you can from her this woman is amazing.

She is an incredible teacher! Really helpful, friendly, insightful, great lecturer. She's basically great at everything! I love her! :D Any class that she teaches, I highly recommend it. :D

It astounds me that students have the ability to speak poorly about Dr. Martyna. I graduated in 2004 and her words continue to guide me professionally. She was, by far, my most brilliant professor. She speaks in metaphors, and her lectures renew inspiration!

Professor Martyna didn't make the most of the time spent in class. Much of what we did was play games and discuss slightly irrelevant material. However, I liked how she emphasized creative writing and she did introduce new ways of learning that were fun.

Sociology 111 Family and Society. Easy class, I received an A. She is a great professor. You may think she goes off on a tangent on her stories but in the end it's relevant to the lectures. Has some really interesting videos and course book. Highly recommend taking the class.

I've took 3 sociology courses with this professor and she is amazing, compassionate and genuine. My experience at UCSC prior to taking classes with Martyna was less than mediocre. She reached out and offered to help me work through my crazy schedule and was supportive of my ideas and papers.

Took Martyna for Death & Dying, Social Psych and Social Interaction/Language. Loved all of these courses, mainly because of her. She is so genuine and intelligent. I really appreciated her teaching style, she lectures in a personal way (not always about the text) and is very good at integrating a discussion in lecture

Extremely easy! She is a psychology/sociology professor so the class was a lot about how we felt about issues/our emotions. Definitely an easy A class

i've had dr. martyna for two classes now, and i absolutely love her teaching style. lectures are relaxed, and fluid. she pushes you to become a better writer. concept based, rather than extensive detail and research. i can see how her classes aren't for everyone, but if you have an interest in family/gender/social issues, look no further.

Awesome Lecturer. The only thing I didn't like is that she showed to many movies...

I loved Wendy and her class. I found her inspirational and extremely helpful in my growth as a Psych major. Highly recommend!

Wendy is an awesome teacher. Yes, she is particular about a few things but once you have those things down, you're set! I honestly learned so much in her class and enjoyed coming every meeting. Just realize that all of the reading she assigns is what's on the tests and essays, her class lectures often don't touch upon every reading.

I think Wendy is misunderstood and different. Instead of literally talking about facts she wants us to critically think. She assigns little kid books to allow yourself to engage with the material on a more personal level. Her classes have helped me through personal issues which has helped me grow as an individual. Don't insult it, embrace it.

Professor Martyna is such an intelligent instructor. Like other reviewers have said, she pushes you to critically analyze the material and integrate it within your own life and the society around you. She blends sociology and psychology together perfectly. If you're interested in either discipline, you won't be let down at all!

Great teacher, reasonable assignments, fair grading.

I LOVE WENDY I WANT HER TO TEACH ALL MY CLASSES. She is an excellent and experienced professor and has a great teaching style. She assigns lots of writing but is not too tough a grader. You will watch many interesting films and everything she teaches you is explained thoroughly.

Very smart professor with very witty methods of teaching. She will talk about life experiences but eventually tie them to the course material. Eventually she encourages us to make sense of the material through our lives. She knows how to make the material relevant and rather practical. I would recommend her.

Wendy is a great professor and can crack a joke every once in a while. She does assign a lot of reading, about 4 books, but you do read them cover to cover, so you get your moneys worth. If you stay on top of your work and go to class you should have no problem passing the class. She does allow you to have a cheat sheet for the midterm and final.

Wendy is great. Written assignments are easy and straightforward. Tests are phrased strangely but aren't impossible to do well on with your cheat sheet. It is imperative that you do all of the reading or you WILL NOT pass. Reading is slightly overwhelming but not too bad. This class is about concept, not terms and memorization. Overall pretty easy.

Amazing professor! She opened up my eyes and thanks to her I have become more mindful. Her class is an easy A if you do the readings of course. The books are really interesting. I recommend Wendy!

Wendy is my favorite professor of all time as she is very witty and passionate. She is so knowledgable and knows how to teach! She is respectful of every students personal views. I learn something new every lecture. All the material is interwoven with relevant issues personal stories and readings are intriguing and informative. Worth your while.

AMAZING. Wendy is the best teacher I've had at UCSC. She's such an eloquent, intelligent lecturer; the only person I can pay full attention to for an hour and a half. She assigns a ton of reading but it's usually quite interesting. You can still get an A by skimming the textbook and skipping parts of books - just get the full concepts.

Wendy is a beautiful speaker and very nice. However, this course seemed very common sensical. The readings were flourishing with information, but she did not take much class time to discuss their deep content; she spent time on trivial things such as texting, dating apps, and watching tons of videos. I learned nothing, but I got an A.

Professor Martyna is one of those professors people seem to either love ore hate. I was lucky to be one of the people that loved her. She talked about social problems and always ended class with a movement working to fight those problems. The class is pretty easy. There is a lot of reading! She allows a page of notes for tests.

Professor Martyna is a very caring and intelligent instructor. Assigns great reading material. Really dislikes students using phones in class, so make sure it is put away.