The reviews below are pretty scary, but the class is not that bad if you put in the time and effort to study and do well. The readings are definitely necessary!! If you keep up with them and study for the exams, it will not be a terrible class. The research project is interesting if you choose an interesting topic, so beware. Survey experiments are possibly the easiest method (just saying). There are 2 exams and a 15 page paper at the end of the term based on a research project that is broken down into different parts. Your TA is a good resource! Use them! Professor Winter is a really nice guy and will help you out if you go to office hours or email him directly. I recommend this class, but is not an easy A!

This class was not as bad as everyone said and the research project was definitely ok. the class was common sense and interesting to listen to. the tests were incredibly hard though

This class is pretty awful.

Don't take this class unless you have enough time to read every single reading in a detailed fashion and create specific reading notes. Exams are designed to trick you even if you do read, which is super frustrating. The topic sounded interesting, and Winter is a funny/nice dude, but the TAs generally sucked (this semester), and the exams were difficult even though the material was common sense.

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. This class was the worst class I have ever taken at UVA. I didn't learn anything and the class was difficult. It seems like it would be an interesting class, but everything you learn is common sense (Ex. Democrats read democratic newspapers). Despite this, the tests were insanely specific and tested whether you had memorized each lecture and reading rather than understanding of concepts. You also have to do a huge research project that is also graded rather unfairly/not really based on the rubric. Professor Winter seems like a nice guy, but this class is extremely poorly designed. You will come out of it feeling like you wasted your time and ruined your GPA for nothing.

This class was exceptionally average. Professor Winter is a decent professor (sometimes his lectures can be a little boring and drift off topic). The readings are dense at the beginning but by the end of the semester there are a lot less as you get more into your research. As for the research project, it is broken down into about four parts that all total count for half of your grade. You get to choose your topic, method, and conduct the research yourself which is pretty cool. (Fair warning for anyone who chooses to do focus groups or interviews, transcribing is TERRIBLE. Takes about three times as long as the recording) There also is a midterm and a final (both multiple choice). They require you to regurgitate authors and minute facts, so that's annoying. Also it is really easy to get behind on all the reading...I recommend finding friends and making a shared study guide so that you can split up all the reading because it honestly is not worth doing it all.

This is a fascinating course, and the professor isn't boring (some don't really like Winter, but I thought his relaxed attitude and interesting lectures kept the course afloat). Additionally, there is a research project (done in installments) that is part of the syllabus. All parts of this project summed up account for half of the course grade. Important to note is that it is written about empirical, student-collected data, and I must warn anyone interested in this course that TRANSCRIBING INTERVIEWS IS A BITCH. Apart from that, great course on an intriguing topic. Enjoy.