Christabelle Sethna - University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON

Professor: Christabelle Sethna

Department: Social Science

College: University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: FEM2107
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Will interrupt a student if she disagrees with them. You dont have to do the readings if you attend class because she will go over them extensively. Exams are okay but she will dock marks if you dont give her the exact answer she is looking for. Expects you to have everything memorized.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: FEM2107
• Grade Received: D+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

This prof was good but super tough. You won't pass if you don't do the readings and attend the lectures. Her exams were difficult because she has high expectations from everybody. She's smart and passionate about the class material which made for interesting lectures, I learned a lot. Even if I just passed this class, I recommend it to all.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: FEM2107
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Be ready for your GPA to drop. Hardest test ever, never missed a class, did all the reading and I can't even get a B....

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: FEM4320
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

No final exam which was great. Seminar class worth 20% participation. HEAVY reading- if you don't keep up you won't do well. Very unclear about expectations for midterm. No laptops. Would not recommend although she grades fairly

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: FEM4320
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Sethna is an extremely intelligent and articulate person, and she expects the same from her students. She is tough, but in a great way that allows you to develop critical skills you'll need to have throughout your undergrad. She is extremely helpful if you ask for it and the content of her courses is super interesting. Highly recommend!

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: FEM2107
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

To be fair, I barely went to this class all semester & still did alright - but the classes I did go to were informative, broke my hand from writing so much, and had me actively trying not to roll my eyes at all the very arrogant remarks she made. One of those profs that teaches their opinion - strongly. No laptops/phones was unfortunate. Easy tests

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: HSS2121
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Get ready to write. Sethna bans all electronic devices in her classroom. She is arrogant and likes to make fun of dumb answers, however I found her to be very knowledgeable and the subject matter of the course is interesting. Her exams are based on what she emphasizes in class AND the readings. Memorize memorize memorize!!

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: HSS2121
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Do not expect a good grade. HSS2121 is made up of mostly HSS students with science backgrounds, her whole course seemed to intend on proving that Social Sciences are better. She emphasizes the importance of critical thinking over grades but then tests on memorization solely for the midterms. The final was fair but did not make up for the midterms.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: HS2121
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I am in no sense being bias. I got an A- in this class and let me tell you, its an extremely interesting course and she is an amazing lecturer, but you literally have you take notes from the each chapter and make sure you try and pick out whatever names you think are important and make sure its spelled clearly on the exam. Goodluck!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: HSS2121
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

The course and readings (there are a lot) are very interesting! I'm a social science student with an interest in health so I took this course for fun and got a lot out of it. Be warned: her tests are difficult - be prepared to memorize meticulous details from the text course pack. There is a no laptop policy. Great speaker but a bit demeaning.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: HSS2121
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

She's a great lecturer, but they way she speaks can be demeaning at times. She tells us that we should be reading more books, although we already have a whole textbook and a course-pack that we need to read through. Her final also had multiple mistakes in it, but make sure you memorize names, and don't make any spelling mistakes.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: HSS2121
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Sethna is probably the most interesting lecturer I have ever had at uOttawa. However, she emphasizes on critical thinking throughout the course but there's absolutely NO critical thinking in her exams. Learn names (all of them from the book), dates and examples BY HEART (this isn't critical thinking at all its memorizing).

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: HSS2121B
• Grade Received: C-
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

HSS2121 Winter session 2015 was ABSOLUTELY AWFUL. This is the worst professor I have ever had. Spends her lectures emphasizing about material and showing videos that are not tested on. Derives all her questions from textbook, but does not touch on it in class. Seriously needs to adjust to the 21st century. Exams are all short answer.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: HSS2121
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Her mid terms have questions I don't remember learning in class or in the lecture. Was told it would be an easy A, I think I have a C in the class.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: HSS2121
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

She's a good lecturer that makes the course interesting. She plays plenty of movies during class and regularly dismisses students early. Where she really fails are the tests. Memorize, memorize and do more memorization and you'll be fine. Despite what she claims, there is absolutely no critical thinking needed in this course.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: HSS2121
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

A nice change to the typical university course. Sethna drives the class to focus on comprehension instead of memorization. She uses different media to reinforce the message. I've never taken a history class but i am really enjoying it. The three hour class goes by faster than my hour twenty classes!

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: HSS2121
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Amazing lecturer, one of the few I've had where my mind never wandered throughout the lecture. She is not a fan of electronics in the class and will give you one warning for using your cell phone before you get to sing a Bieber song in front of everyone. If a laptop is better for taking notes on though you can talk to her and she'll let you though.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: HSS2121
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Dr Sethna is truly one of a kind. She is very knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and engaging. The textbook was also very interesting. However she is quite stubborn and often times focused on the history of medicine from a purely feministic point of view because of a personal vendetta. Exams were tough, but fair. If you're eager to learn take it with her

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: FEM4320
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Amazing prof. You learn SO much SO quickly- but it's totally worth it. She expects a lot from her students, so don't take this class if you're just trying to fill your time table. Take this class and learn from her! She's excellent.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: FEM2107
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Professor Sethna did an amazing job teaching this class and conveyed the subject matter in a great way. She doesn't allow laptops, and does not post notes online, so its very important that you attend class every week. There is a lot of reading and expects you to thoroughly understand each article assigned.