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Dr. Lilly is laid back and has a good sense of humor. However, her teaching style does not mesh well with mine, and I heard many of my classmates express similar sentiments. Rather than providing a considerable amount of specific information in her lectures, she assigns weekly readings and spends most of the class time facilitating discussions about said readings.
For the midterm (which comprises 30% of your grade) we were given three essay questions and told to choose two to answer. They were very open-ended, and she explained that they were a "great opportunity for research," meaning we were welcome to use information from outside of the class in our answers. As someone who enjoys specific parameters and expectations, this was not enjoyable. I studied my brains out, did all the required readings, and ended up with a B on the midterm.
The good news is that the midterm is all you have to study for. The rest of your grade is made up of attendance/participation, a synagogue visit and reflection paper, 10-minute presentation, a handful of written assignments based on readings, and a 10-page analysis paper that serves as the final.
Dr. Lilly is rather slow in posting grades, if she posts them at all. We didn't know our midterm grade until two weeks after we took the exam, and the rest of our grades (including attendance/participation and the final paper) were never made known. In my case it wasn't a big deal because I somehow ended up with an A in the class, but it would have been nice to know how I did on each assignment.
I'm sure there are some students who will enjoy Dr. Lilly's unorthodox teaching style, but I wish I would have opted for a different Religious Traditions class.
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Multiple Choice
Essay