DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS! I'm not saying this because I slacked off. I got a an A in the class, but it took blood, sweat and tears. I was hoping for an easy GE, but that wasn't the case. Professor Koropeckyj is condescending and a terrible lecturer. His lectures have no sense of continuity and he's horrible to listen to as he hunches over his podium. Don't be fooled: the "four short tests" are actually midterms. Professor Koropeckyj gives out the study guides (which he believes is so nice of him) barely 3-4 days before the tests. These study guides have around 40 terms on them, 10-12 will be on these "four short tests," along with a literature component. Also,there is a riduclous amount of reading for this class. Some of which makes no sense at all. If it wasn't for the amazing TA, Boris Dralyuk, I would not have gotten anything out of it. In addition, the final is huge, it's worth 40% of the grade. Most of the class needed more than 3 hours to finish, although we only got 3 hours to take it. So unless you want a midterm every other week along with having to listen to terrible lectures as well as completing a lot of reading, don't take this class! Wait until an easier GE is offered.

May this be a warning to all UCLA students seeking an “easy” Philosophical/Linguistic Analysis GE. I took this class out of a fear for philosophy and lack of linguistic classes that fit my schedule and it was by far the most intense class I’ve taken at UCLA thus far. NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. I earned an A with weekly study sessions and a library of flashcards. There are 4 midterms (disguised as “short tests”) on the 4 Slavic civilizations (covering history and literature) of the Poles, Czechs, Yugoslavians, and Ukrainians, followed with an epic 3 hour written final combining the four.

I enjoyed this class immensely, but not because of Professor Koropeckyj’s teaching. He is the worst lecturer I’ve encountered at UCLA. While he provides a terms list at the beginning of each lecture to provide a rough outline of lecture topics, he doesn’t use lecture slides, is a chronic rambler, and rarely follows any sort of chronology when teaching. Our T.A., on the other hand, Boris Dralyuk, was awesome. If it weren’t for him I would have learned so much less from this intense class. Our class was apparently the first to be taught with a T.A. and I have no idea how others before us survived without one. Boris was a far better teacher than Professor Koropeckyj, so pray that you have the same guidance if you enroll in this class.

The information is interesting once decoded after lectures, but frustrating to understand as it’s being delivered. I learned a lot of Eastern European history that I had never covered before, so a love of history is a must for this class. Lots of reading as well, but it’s manageable if you don’t procrastinate. I made some of my best friends at UCLA in this class while bonding over this torture. Lots of work, lots of reading, lots of tests, but with a great study group and willingness to put in the work, an A is achievable.

this professor isn't the best. lectures way too fast, not an easy ge...too much reading, expensive books, inconvenient article finding at library

So this class deals with 4 ethnic groups in the Balkans (Poland, Czech-Slovak, Yugoslavia, Ukraine) which is kinda interesting, but its not so easy. The worst part is that there is an unrealistic amount of reading assigned (1 little novel plus 4 articles per week) but you can still get away with not reading if you pay VERY good attention in class. you have to take notes on everything he says, even the little things that seem unimportant to you. you cant stop paying attention for even a second or else you will miss something he said that will be on the test and its hard to catch up because he speaks quickly and packs in a lotta info.

on the 4 tests you have to identify terms and names which isnt too hard because he give you a study list beforehand but you have to be pretty detailed in the descriptions. providing all the info that he said in class for a term may not be sufficient and you will not receive full credit for that question, supplementary info from readings or research (encyclopedias =) will get you full credit. so write detailed descriptions for every term on the study sheet and memorize all of them, even the unimportant ones. also you will be asked to identify the themes discussed in about 3 of the major readings per unit. its not so hard, if he discusses it in class, that's all you have to write. if he doesn't, just skim the book/article to make sure you know the jist of it and a couple of examples. final is cumulative so that's a lotta info but

overall, pretty good professor: interesting, not too dry, but lectures too packed with info

material: fairly interesting b/c he connects contemporary events with historical myths/ideas/events. a lot of info for each of the 4 units but not too hard to memorize

tip* slavic language/background not a benefit. interest in balkan countries/history very beneficial

my opinion: took it b/c i speak Russian and thought it would be an easy GE. did minimal reading, studied all night before tests, got Bs on test, received B in class. not what i expected, didnt like it, recommend it only if you are willing to work a little to get around the readings.