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.

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.

All the professors for this Cluster are extreme experts on their topics. If you're into history and analysis of genocides you'll be very interested. I'm not really into that stuff but they were able to draw me in. Easy cluster to take but it depends on your TA bc they're the ones grading your papers. You have long readings each week and two optional lectures. I didn't do the readings, nor go to lectures and still managed to write A worthy essays. You have like 2 essays a quarter and then one as your final exam. The discussion groups talk about the weekly readings but if you get the gist of the three case studies it's easy to bs your participation. My TA was the best teacher I have ever had, Bradley Cordozo. He is super fun, humorous, and understanding for extensions and stuff like that. He is also so helpful and always available for appointments. He is one of the main reasons I recommend this course. The first two quarters are the same in structure but the third is apparently a seminar style class, which could be easier or harder, we'll see.

Cluster 48 was by FAR my favorite course I've taken this year. The subject is incredibly interesting, the professors are incredibly knowledgeable about their particular case, and do a very good job at incorporating humor and personality into their lectures. Although keeping up with the readings can be tough, it is very doable. Additionally all the TAs were extremely kind and helpful. I heavily recommend taking this cluster ; )

This was a great class! I absolutely love all of the professors and they are so knowledgable and helpful. I would really recommend this class to any 1st year student, because I've been able to get to know professors and other students due to the fact the course runs the whole year. ALSO: STEVE CUCHARO IS A GOD AMONGST MEN!!!

All the professors that teach this class are very engaging and very passionate about all their subjects. You can really see that they put in a lot of effort to make this a great class and is very organized in its structure. it's overall a very fun and engaging class especially since the topic is unique as a subject. There are a lot of opportunities to do well in this class because they are very clear with their directions in writing the paper and the final. I got an A- because I was late to section quite often so attendance and participation does matter otherwise this class is very easy. Winter quarter they also give extra credit if you attend event. Questions are also welcomed every lecture and the professors love answering questions plus it's in De Neve. Amazin