I loved this class and would jump at the opportunity to take another course with Dr. Brown. It's not easy, but it's incredibly interesting and rewarding. It will make you think critically about your social positionality at UCLA and in general. The first half of the class covers race theory, which you write about in your midterm (the hardest part of the class in my opinion, 33%). The second half of the class covers research on race, ethnicity, and class in academia. The class culminates in a group final with a lot of creative freedom (34%). You also have to write a one-page single-spaced paper reflecting on a reading from one week (33%).

The worst part of the class was my classmates; they constantly complained about being 'blindsided' by grading policies that were stated on the syllabus and wasted class time with their repetitive and disrespectful complaints. Granted, many students had troubles due to COVID that they felt were not being accounted for, but their approach was unprofessional and rude. As a previous review notes, this class is mainly transfer students (Dr. Brown does this intentionally because she's awesome), and I think some of my classmates were unprepared for the rigor of her class. She will not hold your hand through the work, but if you are kind to her she will be very kind to you.

I did every reading, went to every live lecture, worked hard on the midterm and final, and got an A+. If you have the opportunity to take this class, I highly recommend it but be ready to work hard to EARN your grade.

One critique of this class was that there were no discussion sections. Sections would have been really really helpful for understanding the material, but unfortunately, almost all the TAs in this class were unhelpful during office hours.

This class, although difficult at times, is FAIR GAME. If you do not do the readings and don't attempt to understand the readings (go to your TA's office hours and attend the live sessions for help) you won't do well.

A lot of people in my class complained about how the class was too hard and graded too hard when the reality is that they probably just didn't write a solid essay. Dr. Brown is VERY accommodating and wants to push you. Remember that this course is a WRITING INTENSIVE course so don't complain when the writing is too tough... it's literally a part of the class because as sociologists we should know how to write and analyze.

The class was graded on 3 assignments-- a reflection paper (1 page), a midterm essay (5-7 pages), and a final project (can be done in a group or alone). I ended up getting a 100% on the reflection, a 90% on the midterm, and currently don't have my final grade but from the comments of my professor and TA it seems like I am well onto an A.

You won't do well in this class by complaining. Read the articles (there's kind of a lot of reading, but understand the concepts more than finding minute details) and go to your TA's office hours for clarification on the material. They help clear up sooooo many concepts!!

The only annoying thing is that it took until week 9 for us to receive a single grade which is a little ridiculous, but it's not like not knowing our grades would have changed the fate of our final grade since we already submitted them in. And we really can't complain about our grades when Dr. Brown gave us like a 5 day extension on our midterm papers.

Basically, if you are a solid essay writer, take the class. It's interesting and as long as you understand the midterm prompt and analyze you should be able to get a 90% or higher on the paper. As for the reflection paper, it's easy. But if you're not that experienced with college-level writing, this class might be difficult for you.

Dr. Brown is an excellent professor! Her class was informative and entertaining. She provides pdf's for a majority of her assigned readings, we only had to purchase one book, which was affordable. The workload for this class, makes taking other classes along with this one, very doable. I highly recommend taking her class. She is incredibly knowledgeable and sweet. We had one reflection paper, a take home midterm, and for the final, a multimedia project.

Professor Brown is the best. Her class is one of the easiest at UCLA. Her lectures can be boring and annoying at times but she's a funny person overall. The midterm was a take home essay in which the prompt was relatively easy and the TA's were super helpful. The final was a take home group project where you had to create something that would help teach others a topic you learned about in class. There was an easy opportunity for extra credit. Attend a talk and write a reflection paper to prove you were there. There were books but I didn't get any. I do recommend you get the book by WEB Du Bois, that helped me a lot with my midterm paper but the prompt will most likely change. The TA's for this class are super helpful and want you to succeed.

After reading other reviews, I literally cannot fathom how anyone did poorly in 180A. I am a junior transfer and a sociology major, and this was my first sociology class at UCLA. It was a breeze and I recieved an A+. The readings can be fairly dense, but Dr. Brown does a great job of clearly and concisely explaining them. There's only three assignments: a midterm essay, a one-page reflection paper on one reading of your choice, and a final group project. As long as you reflect on personal experiences in your reflection, you're practically guranteed 25/25 points. I can't speak on how helpful office hours with the professor or TAs are -- because I never went and I still got perfect scores on all of the assignments. The one time I personally interacted with her was to ask for an extension. Despite not knowing me at all and my extension being a last minute request, she still granted it to me in a kind, understanding manner. I don't know why some reviews paint her as rude or uncaring because she cares so much about the success of her students. Dr. Brown extended the midterm by several days after some students were affected by local fires and also provided extra credit opportunities and office hours over Skype. She also passed around the mic during class to allow students to share their thoughts and ask questions. I would definitely take this class and this professor again and I hope a couple of negative reviews do not stop people from taking it.