Strongly agree with the other reviews, this was one of my favorite classes I've taken so far. I wouldn't say that history is my favorite subject in general, but this cluster was still very compelling to me. I think this is because the lecturers are so knowledgeable in their respective subjects (Prof Robinson on Indonesian Mass Killings, Prof Sengul on Armenian Genocide, and Prof McBride + Prof Rothberg on Holocaust). The TAs are also all very knowledgeable and helpful (Yair = very cool guy). As one might expect the subject matter can be pretty heavy sometimes, but the class didn't feel overly negative or depressing. I have to also mention that people were more engaged in the discussion section than in any other remote class I've been in (at least for Yair's).

Homework in first quarter consists of weekly readings for discussion and short response papers, though the response papers stop in the second quarter. There is one longer essay (~5 pages double spaced) on Indonesia at the end of the quarter. No rewrites, just a first draft and then a final draft, but plenty of time to think about subject between lecture and discussion. Normally there would be two essays on the other two cases in the second quarter. I would say that lecture attendance is important since the lecturers are so good. Overall, not a bad workload, especially for a 6 credit class. There are even a few chances for extra credit watching films.

All in all, big props to this class. Would recommend to anyone looking for a cluster to work on GEs, or even just for the opportunity to take such a consistently quality history class.

Love Professor McBride so much!! He's an amazing professor and a really really great lecturer. All his lectures were so engaging and he really makes learning fun. He goes a LITTLE fast sometimes so there's no time to zone out during lectures. He also tries to arrange casual meetings with students outside of office hours and I really appreciate that. I was so emotional when this cluster ended because it genuinely was the best part of my first two quarters at UCLA. The workload for the class is a bit heavy because of the readings, but you can get by with skimming through them. Take Julia as your TA, she is quite literally the best thing that will ever happen to you. Overall, the class was really easy for me.

I found the lectures for this class very interesting and I liked the topic itself, but discussions were painful. I had heard so much good things about this cluster but I really got messed up with my TA. I had Sharon as my TA. The discussions are nearly 2 hours of boring hell. Luckily it’s just once a week and you can easily bullshit your way through it, but still. She expects you to of read the readings, and when no one has, the class is just silent while she asks questions about them. It might of just been my specific discussion section not vibing, but Sharon herself lacks a lot of enthusiasm, too. For our major grade paper I had asked her in class about my thesis, which she said was good. But when she graded my paper, she gave me a B and said my thesis had problems. You said my thesis was good when I showed it to you and I didn’t change anything????? I never consider myself to be a great writer so I’ll take my B like a champ but it still sucks. Besides the weekly readings that aren’t assigned (but really are if you don’t want to look like a fool in discussion), at the beginning of the quarter there are 4 response papers over the readings where you basically just talk about the readings and note about something interesting (1 is a rewrite). Don’t overthink these, I got too analytical on one and my grade was worse for it. These response papers are worth 25% of your grade. Participation is 25%, the paper I mentioned earlier is also 25%, but you get 4 whole weeks to work on it with a part of it due each discussion section, so it’s really not a lot of work in the short term. Then our final was 2 essays we picked from 3 prompts worth 25%, but we got a whole week to do it and it was based just on lecture and reading content. Overall, if you get a good TA and a vibey section you’ll be fine.

As someone who is minoring in history simply because i like history, i took this class only because i wanted to learn about the subject. I think mcbride really fulfilled that purpose; his lectures are very informative, like he wastes no time. They're very dense and he goes really fast so i would recommend typing your notes (!!) but i personally thought he was a great lecturer and i enjoyed the class solely for the learning aspect. the class has one midterm and FOUR 4-5 page essays which i really dreaded for some reason like i really had no motivation to do them but mcbride was really merciful upon me turning in the first two essays so late!!! he did take points off but not as much as i thought he would. I will say that the first two essays were due the monday after thanksgiving which is annoying because who wants to write papers during thanksgiving?? the grading for the midterm was pretty harsh, i studied thoroughly for 3 days and used the textbook (which is on reserve at powell) but i did not get the grade i expected. he assigns 3 books (novels, not the textbook) but they are only necessary if you choose those options for the midterm and the essays; you can definitely avoid them if necessary, i only used one of them as essay sources. this class was very challenging because of the papers, harsh grading, and fast-paced/dense lectures. definitely not an easy A, but if you are actually interested in the subject then take the class. mcbride is also a pretty hip and young professor, throws in some jokes here and there, and is pretty approachable. his lectures are really organized and he seems like a chill guy.

this class depends a lot on what TA you had. my TA (bradley) graded papers super easily and was in general very nice. during discussion section, we were expected to talk in small groups about one assigned reading and then say one thing we found interesting. generally super easy to get by and skim the readings without much effort. the lectures varied a lot on how interesting they were but they ultimately weren't mandatory and not particularly relevant to the visual studies paper (basically a film analysis) or final essays (i attended one review session and reread a couple assigned readings and wrote the final essays on that).

my easiest class by far this quarter, plus it was pretty nice that it was on the hill (not sure if this is always the case though)

I would take this class again 100 times over! If you want to take it, make sure you are ready to read as there is a good amount of reading. They are not boring readings though! Everything you read is interesting but I am sure that if you miss some readings it won’t affect how you do in the class. There is a midterm and 2 essays, all of which the professor adequately prepares you for. The lectures are detailed and engaging. I suggest taking as many notes as you can. I have no qualms with this class or professor at all.

Took this class in my freshman year. There will be a lot of content to go through because you're essentially cramming 300 years worth of history into 10 weeks but the tests were fair. If you study with the study guides and read up on some main themes on the textbook it will be fine. Be prepared to put in a reasonable amount of work though. The professor himself has a very thick voice and you will fall asleep in every lecture but it's going to be okay if you attend TA sections.

Professor McBride is a fantastic teacher in lecture. He is really engaging and often adds elements of comedy into his slides, for example he brings his dog onto zoom sometimes. He finds very interesting readings for the class and has a unique perspective to the material. Highly recommend.

This class is one of the best classes I've ever taken so far. All the professors are tremendous and their lectures are always interesting. Stephen Cucharo was my TA and he was extraordinarily helpful. He, as well as all the other professors like Prof. McBride, made sure that we knew that they were always available to help. Not only are the topics interesting but the discussions themselves don't feel like you have to participate because you end up wanting to. Professor McBride is a really great professor and his lectures always go in-depth because of how passionate he is to teach. Overall, I don't regret taking this class at all. Professor McBride is truly an amazing professor.

I had my qualms with Cluster 48A but went ahead and continued on to 48B because I didn’t know what else to do. My TA Rebecca was a lot better than my 48A TA Sharon. She really cared about her students, her discussions were a lot better structured, and she was an easier grader (still hard, but slightly easier). There were 2 6 page essays this quarter, each 25% of your grade, participation 25%, and your final, which is 2 4 page essays, worth 25% as well. This quarter in general was a lot more conceptual and literature based than 48A since in 48A you were learning a lot of the history but in 48B the focus is more on memory, justice, and representation (films, books, etc.) of political violence. The first essay of the quarter came really easy to me, but the second essay was based on the Armenian genocide and Prof Sengul’s lectures are really hard to understand and digest so the essay was really hard to write. This definitely was not my favorite class and I wish I had picked another cluster but it is ok to get by with some half assed effort.