By far the best class I've taken and best professor I've ever had at UCLA! You do not need any background on the material in order to do well because the Professor presents everything clearly and elaborates in depth. He is one of the kindest, most intelligent Professors I have ever had, and anyone even slightly interested in Iran or the Middle East in general should definitely take this class. I feel like I seriously learned so much just by taking his class, and in addition to actually teaching you important things about the world, it's also fairly easy! All he assigns is one midterm, one final, and one 4-6 page research paper, all of which he prepares you for extremely well and none of which are difficult. Attendance is a part of the grade so you have to attend lectures, but if you do and actually pay attention, studying for the midterm and final is super easy because you are already familiar with the topics and concepts. Bottom line, everyone should take this class, it was amazing and Professor Saeidi is outstanding.

He's very passionate and a genuine man. To do well you just have to pay attention during class and take notes on what he says. He provides study guides for the midterm and final and only selects question from the study guides, however you wont be able to answer the questions without superb notes from lecture. He really wants to give you the A as long as you put in the work.

Saiedi is a great Professor. He always comes to class prepared and he knows the material well enough to present it. There's one midterm, one final, and a final paper. You have to actually study and work for your grade and if you do, you'll do great.