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SOC 2052 Sociology of the Family
Last taught: Fall 2026 Add to Schedule
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Review Summary Updated April 05, 2026

This class is a straightforward grade booster if you memorize key statistics from lecture slides and pull direct references from the readings for your exams and term paper. The curriculum heavily emphasizes traditional, conservative views on marriage and gender roles, which many students value as practical, real-world advice, while others find the material outdated or frustratingly one-sided. Attendance is strictly tracked with clicker questions, but you can generally coast through the coursework without completing every assigned reading as long as you know how to cite the core concepts on tests. Your experience will heavily depend on your assigned teaching assistant, since grading fairness and discussion engagement vary dramatically across sections. Take this course if you want a manageable workload and a traditional perspective on family life, but be prepared to navigate views that may directly challenge progressive beliefs.

51 Reviews

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Fall 2016
3.7
Average

Very cool class on a topic that you just wouldn't expect. Grading is pretty easy as long as readings are cited. I would recommend for those looking for a final class to complete a schedule.

Instructor 4.0
Enjoyability 3.0
Recommend 4.0
Difficulty 2.0
Hours/Week 0.0
Fall 2016
4.7
Average

So Prof. Wilcox is definitely conservative, but he presents the opposing arguments and the class is really useful for life and just interesting altogether. He is willing to help you with your debate/paper if you go to him personally and he is just a great person to talk to if you want to know more about sociology. As a pre-med engineer, I think this was a great way to satisfy the MCAT requirement and I learned a ton. You have to go to class because he does clicker questions, but lecture is very interesting. There's also an 8-page paper but you get to choose your own topic. There's a midterm and a final.

Instructor 5.0
Enjoyability 4.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 1.0
Hours/Week 3.0
Fall 2016
2.3
Average

Not a huge fan of this class because Professor Wilcox is very conservative and it's pretty obvious. He is a nice guy and tries to show both sides but it doesn't always work. This is more a class on how to have a good marriage. Not too hard of a class, there's one 8 page paper and one debate along with the midterm and final.

Instructor 2.0
Enjoyability 2.0
Recommend 3.0
Difficulty 2.0
Hours/Week 2.0
Fall 2016
4.3
Average

My best class this semester by far. I was a bit hesitant to take it after reading some of the reviews that painted Wilcox as a conservative who shoves his opinion down your throat. THIS IS NOT THE CASE. Yes, he is a conservative (he actually admits to it on day 1) but he does show both sides of the argument and the reading does a good job of doing this. This class is extremely interesting and useful for relationships and family life. The reading can be a lot at times but for the most part it's really interesting. There's a debate you do in your discussion section, a midterm, 8-page research paper, and final.
Not that hard of a class and totally worth it in my mind.

Instructor 4.0
Enjoyability 4.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 2.0
Hours/Week 6.0
Spring 2016
3.0
Average

Do not take Elissa Zeno as your TA! this class itself is easy but she will ruin your grade ! She makes it an easy B not an easy A ! don't get me wrong she is super sweet! but she grades pretty harshly and unfairly too If I must say!

Instructor 3.0
Enjoyability 3.0
Recommend 3.0
Difficulty 3.0
Hours/Week 0.0
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Spring 2016
4.0
Average

Loved this class! One 8 page paper, a midterm, a final, a debate, 2 pop quizzes and discussion participation make up the grade. Don't think he counts clicker questions. Good easy class. Pedraza is a good TA!

Instructor 4.0
Enjoyability 4.0
Recommend 4.0
Difficulty 2.0
Hours/Week 3.0
Spring 2016
1.0
Average

If you value the basic right of women to not have to be a slave to household chores, I wouldn't recommend this class. Wilcox voices his opinions in all of his lectures, and most of the time the class lacks an actually scientific perspective on the issues of family life. He is awful. I would have dropped this class immediately had I known how sexist he is. It's not worth the GPA booster to sit and listen to him bolster his beliefs on traditional family models and gender norms of women in the home.

Instructor 1.0
Enjoyability 1.0
Recommend 1.0
Difficulty 1.0
Hours/Week 1.0
Fall 2014
4.0
Average

Lectures are interesting, and you don't really have to read if you pay attention. The essay is very important for your grade.

Instructor 4.0
Enjoyability 4.0
Recommend 4.0
Difficulty 2.0
Hours/Week 1.0
Fall 2014
3.3
Average

Professor Wilcox is a very well established, and I recommend you take the class if you are Conservative. Depending on the TA, the class is easy. There is a lot of reading, up to you whether or not you want to read it. Great class, but very one-sided.

Instructor 2.0
Enjoyability 5.0
Recommend 3.0
Difficulty 1.0
Hours/Week 0.0
Fall 2014
2.0
Average

This is far and away the easiest class I've ever taken at UVA. One midterm, one 8-page paper, a debate, and a final exam. There is weekly reading, but as long as you get the gist of the book as a whole you really don't need to do it. That said, this class is taught from one angle: extremely, cringingly conservative. Prof. Wilcox makes it very clear where he stands on issues such as women's roles in a family, gay marriage, divorce, cohabitation, etc. His lectures are also excruciatingly boring (think PowerPoints of endless statistics that are 20+ years old). However, try to get Andrew Lynn as your TA--he fell more on the moderate side of most issues, and made discussion much less aggravating than lecture. Overall, if you can handle being preached at for a semester, you will likely be rewarded with an A for minimal effort. It's your call on whether or not that's worth it to you.

Instructor 1.0
Enjoyability 2.0
Recommend 3.0
Difficulty 1.0
Hours/Week 2.0
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