History 1A with Professor PHillips is probably the only relatively easy GE offered. If you can convince your TA you did your weekly reading of primary sources, there really isn't much work you need to do for the class. The reading can get annoying but depending on your TA you might be able to get away with skimming through it.
There are two midterms and a final which is essentially just a third midterm. Phillips gives you a study guide of thirty terms and a four essay questions. if you can memorize the thirty terms (dates, places, important people, etc.) and be prepared to answer the essay questions, you can easily get an A. There are no surprises on the midterms. He also asks a bonus question which is not on the study guide. you just need to take some time, a day is enough, to memorize the terms. He gives 10 or so terms on the midterms and you need to write about 8 of them--i think, I don't remember how many exactly. and of the 4 essay questions, he gives two of them and you need to answer one. None of the midterms are cumulative so after each midterm you don't have to stress about remembering all that information.
There is a final term paper but it is only 6-8 pages long which makes it the shortest paper i have had to write at UCLA!
I highly recommend this class. If you are interested in Greece or Italy, this class will be great for you. Professor Phillips specialized in ancient Greek history so he clearly knows the material very well. if you are just looking for a history class to satisfy your GE requirements, i think this class is pretty easy. It requires some time and effort but far less than other classes require.
Also, Professor phillips always makes allusions and jokes in class. the lectures are usually entertaining and go by pretty fast.

Fantastic professor, hilarious lecturer. A no nonsense class!! Highly recommended.

Good lecturer, i was fairly interested. Be sure to take lots of notes, as it helps A LOT with the essays and key terms for both midterm and final. I thought the class was pretty straightforward. However, the discussions were extremely boring. Readings were pretty dry. Overall, its a good GE.

This was at the same time one of my most enjoyed classes and one of my most despised. It was so enjoyable because Phillips is a fantastic orator. Whether he took classes in public speaking or just tries his best, his lectures are some of the most informative, engaging, and impressive displays of oratory I have witnessed. That being said, the grading system left much to be desired. Each TA has their own standards, and where one TA may have multiple people getting in the a+ range, another (mine) might give out A's VERY sparingly. The tests are easy to study for, as he basically tells you what could be on it beforehand, but it's not so easy that you can blow it off: DO study, and study hard.

Overall, a fantastic experience, but my GPA suffered because of it. If you like history, though, you'll LOVE Phillips.

If you ever get Jeff as your TA, run far far away

You will learn a lot of history in this course. Or you will fail. Not to sound intimidating... The lectures were really good, extremely well structured, very interesting. At first I thought Phillips had a slow, monotone voice (like the stereotypical college professor you see in all the movies), but this is just so you can type down notes. Since the class covers so much material, every sentence in lecture is crucial information that you may be held accountable for on the tests. So bring a laptop and type notes. If you don't get everything in lecture, the textbook goes over a lot of the same stuff and is a good resource when you go back to review. For the tests, he gives you a study guide with about 30 terms, 8 of which appear on test. You choose to write paragraphs on 5. Basically you have to write down everything presented in lecture and in the textbook, including dates. It's really a lot of information to memorize. So it's best to split up the terms with one or two other people, learn the material, and then test each other. For dates I created a separate date sheet of the terms in chronological order, which helped to put things in context. You also have to write an essay for each exam which should be thought out in advance. Write quickly; you only have an hour. You also have to write two five page essays for the class based on materials from the sourcebook. My essays were 7 and 10 pages and I got A's on both, so more is definitely better than less. Also, cite sources extensively. If you don't you'll be marked down a lot. I found a good approach was to cite the source and then write a few sentences reflecting on it in the next paragraph, then set up for the next quote. The workload is a lot before the tests, but otherwise you really just have to go to lecture. Don't bother to do the discussion readings in advance. Discussion is basically useless, but you have to attend for participation points. TA's do all the grading. Came out knowing a lot more about ancient western history than I ever thought I'd know (or frankly cared to know). Got an A though =)

This class is a good one to take for a GE. Basically, the info isn't that hard, you don't really have to do any of the Oedipus/Epic of Gilgamesh (literature) readings, and I am pulling an A without going to class (the secret: do the western experience and primary source readings)

I don't go to class because I find that Phillips reminds me of the Clear Eyes guy/teacher from Ferris Bueller...that kind of monotonous slow talking style...nothing personal Phillips, but I can't sit through slow talkers. So I just do the reading, show up to my discussion and BS my way through it my volunteering for participation points on the easy stuff (when was Plato around, etc.) and don't make eye contact on the hard stuff (What are some of the literary devices seen in The Apology?)

Great teacher!! Fun class, tests are not that hard, Take him if you can!!

I really liked Professor Phillips. He is very knowledgeable and manages to make his lectures interesting and even funny. He gives three one-hour exams and tells you exactly what will be on it so there are no surprises at all. The readings are pretty much unnecessary if you go to class but helpful in discussion and the papers. Just do the study guide, go to section and write a decent paper and you should get an A.

This is the best class I've taken so far. His lectures make ancient history really interesting! Tests are really easy if you go to every lecture and take notes. He has study guides before each test, and you can basically use your notes to study for it, rather than the reading assigned. For each test, there is a lot of memorization involved, but it's so straightforward. It's a pretty easy GE.