Professor
Paul Von Blum
2 of 3
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2016 - Professor Von Blum is the best person I've met at UCLA and it was an honor to take a class with him. He has an extensive history in social justice work and is not afraid to tell you what he thinks and stand up people who are often left out of the conversation. This class is especially great because you get to learn about social change through art - something the Communications Department doesn't offer very frequently. You don't need to memorize anything you learn about, but I promise it will stick with you because it is so important and he presents it in an incredibly engaging way. Your grade is based on either curating an art exhibition or writing an extensive research paper on whatever area interests you. Either are great opportunities to take everything he teaches you and apply it in a way that will cultivate important skills for the future.
Winter 2016 - Professor Von Blum is the best person I've met at UCLA and it was an honor to take a class with him. He has an extensive history in social justice work and is not afraid to tell you what he thinks and stand up people who are often left out of the conversation. This class is especially great because you get to learn about social change through art - something the Communications Department doesn't offer very frequently. You don't need to memorize anything you learn about, but I promise it will stick with you because it is so important and he presents it in an incredibly engaging way. Your grade is based on either curating an art exhibition or writing an extensive research paper on whatever area interests you. Either are great opportunities to take everything he teaches you and apply it in a way that will cultivate important skills for the future.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2020 - This guy cares about his students. Period. You would have to try your hardest if you wanted a poor grade in this class. 1. Show up 2. No hw 3. Final paper is your entire grade. Not a tough grader at all. You always pick the topic of your own paper. 4. One quiz, worth 5% of your grade. THIS MAN IS AN ANGEL!
Fall 2020 - This guy cares about his students. Period. You would have to try your hardest if you wanted a poor grade in this class. 1. Show up 2. No hw 3. Final paper is your entire grade. Not a tough grader at all. You always pick the topic of your own paper. 4. One quiz, worth 5% of your grade. THIS MAN IS AN ANGEL!
AD
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2017 - I'm a south campus major and I took this class for easy upper division units. That being said, this class is interesting and it's super refreshing to listen to lectures given by someone who genuinely cares about educating young people (let's be honest, most math and science professors couldn't care less if undergraduates left their classes learning nothing valuable in the long run). If you're like me, you have no idea what "criticism and public arts" means, so here you go: this class focuses on concepts such as analyzing artworks based on form vs content (ie. how do you evaluate a technically brilliant work of art with a terrible message like the glorification of Nazi Germany?), taking a stand against the status quo, and critically evaluating the world we live in based on our conscience instead of what we have been led to believe our whole lives. You will read 2 books and watch 5 films (2 in class), and apply the concepts illustrated in these decades-old works to the society we live in today. There are two 6-7 page papers and a final quiz. The papers are easy to write as long as you have attended class and paid attention. The final quiz is a GIFT because you only have to answer 5/7 of the questions. If you get all 5 right your grade gets bumped up by 1/3, and if you get 4 right, your grade stays the same. Pretty good deal. My TA, Shey, was really great and assigned a "creative assignment" (you can literally do anything you want to present your understanding of topics covered in class) that also bumps you up 1/3 of a grade as long as you complete it. The downside to this class is that lectures are really long (3 hours, and this quarter it was from 5-8pm!), so it can be hard to stay focused the whole time even though it is interesting. He does give breaks halfway through which are helpful. Overall, I definitely recommend this class.
Fall 2017 - I'm a south campus major and I took this class for easy upper division units. That being said, this class is interesting and it's super refreshing to listen to lectures given by someone who genuinely cares about educating young people (let's be honest, most math and science professors couldn't care less if undergraduates left their classes learning nothing valuable in the long run). If you're like me, you have no idea what "criticism and public arts" means, so here you go: this class focuses on concepts such as analyzing artworks based on form vs content (ie. how do you evaluate a technically brilliant work of art with a terrible message like the glorification of Nazi Germany?), taking a stand against the status quo, and critically evaluating the world we live in based on our conscience instead of what we have been led to believe our whole lives. You will read 2 books and watch 5 films (2 in class), and apply the concepts illustrated in these decades-old works to the society we live in today. There are two 6-7 page papers and a final quiz. The papers are easy to write as long as you have attended class and paid attention. The final quiz is a GIFT because you only have to answer 5/7 of the questions. If you get all 5 right your grade gets bumped up by 1/3, and if you get 4 right, your grade stays the same. Pretty good deal. My TA, Shey, was really great and assigned a "creative assignment" (you can literally do anything you want to present your understanding of topics covered in class) that also bumps you up 1/3 of a grade as long as you complete it. The downside to this class is that lectures are really long (3 hours, and this quarter it was from 5-8pm!), so it can be hard to stay focused the whole time even though it is interesting. He does give breaks halfway through which are helpful. Overall, I definitely recommend this class.
Most Helpful Review
if you already studied what far-left liberals are and think rationally, insightfully, it'd be annoying that what the prof. says doesn't make sense. and one important thing to remember is "Don't give your paper to Ashley(TA)!" she wouldn't know what you're saying and would give you a bad grade.
if you already studied what far-left liberals are and think rationally, insightfully, it'd be annoying that what the prof. says doesn't make sense. and one important thing to remember is "Don't give your paper to Ashley(TA)!" she wouldn't know what you're saying and would give you a bad grade.
AD
Most Helpful Review
I had the pleasure of taking Comm Studies 165 with Professor Von Blum over a year ago and it was the best choice I ever made. Von Blum is an amazing speaker and teacher. He managed not only to keep me interested for three hours, but to get me to WANT to come back to lecture each week. This class was so brilliant because the content is so intertwined with his own life and he teaches from personal experience. He's very approachable and he loves helping his students. He teaches you to THINK and to challenge yourself, not just to regurgitate facts that you'll never care about again. It was a truly inspiring class. Grading is 2 papers and a quiz to make sure you attend lectures. Very straightforward and he even gives you a choice between several paper topics.
I had the pleasure of taking Comm Studies 165 with Professor Von Blum over a year ago and it was the best choice I ever made. Von Blum is an amazing speaker and teacher. He managed not only to keep me interested for three hours, but to get me to WANT to come back to lecture each week. This class was so brilliant because the content is so intertwined with his own life and he teaches from personal experience. He's very approachable and he loves helping his students. He teaches you to THINK and to challenge yourself, not just to regurgitate facts that you'll never care about again. It was a truly inspiring class. Grading is 2 papers and a quiz to make sure you attend lectures. Very straightforward and he even gives you a choice between several paper topics.
AD
2 of 3
