A sample of anonymous student comments on SOC 209, "Ancestry, History, and Personal Identity," taught by Kenneth Westhues in Fall 2002, at the University of Waterloo

Prof gives good feedback on essays. Learned a lot from this course, about both the world and myself.

Excellent, a great experience to be part of this class.

Glad to have taken it, very useful at a personal level.

Personally educational. Strength is the personal identity and knowledge one gains from the essay.

Huge workload, but necessary. Excellent, everyone should take this course.

Excellent. It gives meaning not only to our personal ancestries, but also to the fields of history, geography, sociology, etc.

An excellent course. This is something I've wanted to do for a long time. I feel like I want to continue with this research when course is over. Gave me a lot of food for thought with respect to who I am.

Excellent opportunity to analyze your family. The lectures towards the end of the course, for example the one on social class, seemed to lose students' interest.

Very worthwhile class, effective in making connections with one's family; enjoyable, interesting course.

The best course I've taken in university so far, helps me connect with myself and helps me plan my future. Everyone should take this course.

Extremely exciting, interesting, and by far the most worthwhile course I have taken.

Needed more direction on expectations for essays. It was interesting and actually applied to myself. Provided an opportunity for self-evaluation.