Overall, I really liked this class. It was the most eye-opening class I've taken at UCLA, but it's really up to you as to how much you'll get out of it. You really get what you put in. Professor Staub is a really engaging lecturer, and you can tell that he really cares about educating the class. He facilitates difficult conversations, tries to get as much feedback as possible, and welcomes all viewpoints. I had David as my TA and he's such a funny, approachable, and overall helpful TA. The main component of this class is the 3 hours/week of service learning you do from week3 -10. A lot of the locations are pretty far away, so it ends up being more than a 3 hour commitment per week but many people enjoyed what they did. For the workload, there's weekly readings, reflections, and 3 hour blocks of service learning you have to complete. The weekly assigned readings which actually aren't that long and he says their mandatory but you could totally go without reading them. That being said, I personally found the readings to be really interesting and valuable going into lecture, so as I said earlier, you get what you put into the class. The reflections varied week to week- most were reflections based on our service learning, but there was also a cool bus riding assignment and setting goals for the course. My recommendations would be to: Take your time researching the site you want to do service learning at (make sure you'll get something useful out of your time there!), be open-minded, and enjoy the course!

I took this course remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. My experience is different than what the class would look like in person, but overall I enjoyed the class. In terms of grades, this class is an easy A and a great class to take to fulfill GE requirements. This class is different than most other classes in the way that you are required to volunteer with a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles. However, it is very easy to get started with an organization, especially remotely, because there are so many different options that are provided by professor Staub and all work can be done at home. Though about 24 hours of service are required for full credit in the course, because of the pandemic, this requirement has been relaxed a little, so there really is no need to worry about this portion too much. The other main assignments are one research paper around week 6-7 and then the final for which you can choose from several different options such as a paper, writing a letter, making a video, etc. Going to discussion is also mandatory since it accounts for your participation grade, but oftentimes discussion is so engaging and almost like just having a conversation with your peers and TA that it does not even feel like you're in class. Though there is a time listed for lectures in this class, Professor Staub posts all the lectures asynchronously and we never met live for anything except on the first day and in our weekly discussion sections. The lectures and readings for the week are meant to be completed before you attend discussion, but most weeks I would not watch lectures or read and I was able to fully participate in discussion and do well on the assignments. Overall, this is a great class for someone looking for GE credit and wanting an easy A with minimum effort.

Awesome professor and class! Highly recommend if you need to satisfy the diversity requirement and social analysis GE. Staub took the time to meet with everyone in the class individually and get to know them (I think that alone says a lot about him). TA, Andrea was also very kind. Coursework is interesting, work load is very manageable, grading is clear and fair, and the service-learning component was actually very enjoyable.

This is probably the best class I've ever taken at UCLA. This class examines a lot of social issues through the lens of learning about Los Angeles and its history. When you combine this with the service learning component and see the issues right in front of you, it truly is an eye-opening experience that makes for some of the most interesting discussions I've ever had in a classroom setting. My TA, David Flores, is one of the coolest people I've ever met, and I learned so much from his discussion. This class does take up a lot of time as you have to work at your service site and write weekly reflections on your experiences there, so it will take a lot of work. However, it is one of the coolest classes you will ever take, and I highly recommend it. If I could take this class again, I would do it in a heartbeat. Thank you Dr. Staub and David for making this class one of the best experiences I've had at UCLA.

Professor Staub is probably one of the most caring professors I've had at UCLA. I took this class online, which is not how it was designed, but I thought Dr. Staub did an excellent job at translating it to a virtual setting. Of course, a majority of this class involves visiting and volunteering at a community organization site, but Dr. Staub and his team were able to cultivate a group of sites that we could volunteer at virtually. He was very supportive and understanding of the current situation, and told us on the first day that we shouldn't worry about our grade, that as long as we did our work we would receive an A. There was a good amount of reading each week, and you had to write a weekly response, but the readings were interesting, insightful, and topical. I also really enjoyed working for my organization, and I'm still volunteering even after the class has ended. Overall, this was an enjoyable, eye-opening class that I'm sure would be even more impactful in-person!

This class was very enlightening and super fun to take! Sadly I took it as soon as the COVID quarantine happened, so you would think it would have been less interactive and interesting. The professor and TAs didn't let that happen ! We had weekly critical reflections, two bigger essays, and were paired up to different community orgs . My TA Natalie was amazing, she was incredibly caring, empathetic, and did her due diligence to check up on us every discussion-not to mention added breathing exercises at the beginning and end of the session! 50SL is definitely a class where you can take a breather from any south campus classes and opens you up to a new perspective.

Take this class if you care about social welfare and social change. This professor is so accommodating, wants to get to know each and every student, opens your eyes to so many interesting concepts, and genuinely cares about well-being in every sense of the word. You have to be open minded to take this class, but trust me it's worth the engaging conversations

I loved this class! Professor Staub is a great professor. Unfortunately I had him during the pandemic, so all of our lectures were recorded and posted online, but he put in effort to make them interesting and to meet us through his office hours, which were fun and quick. The class itself is really interesting, especially for someone who isn't familiar with LA. But I would still recommend taking it even if you grew up there! It's a great way to learn about the different neighborhoods and cultures within the city. It's also a great way to learn about the many social injustices that occur within LA and how we can work to improve the city without feeling required to "fix it" or developing a "savior complex". You are required to work with a community organization, which is really fun. There are weekly writing assignments, but they are never more than 3 pages, except for your research paper and your final project. There are also no tests in the class, only the aforementioned paper and project, which you can write on anything you want, as long as it relates back to the class! I highly recommend taking this class, it was great! Also if you have the chance, Alan Goff is a fantastic TA :)

Honestly I went to lecture once. I do wish I could've gone more though, out of pure interest (but I was having a hard quarter and didn't have time). This is definitely an easy and interesting GE. Discussion is required, there's a midterm paper and a final project, and you have to log 20-24 hours with a community service partner (some are offered on Zoom). I'd take it again!

The lectures and discussions were both 2 hours long each which was VERY long at times. I went to lecture twice and never took notes but got an A on the project and paper. I had to spend a lot of my time volunteering at my partner organization though but it was an interesting and rewarding experience. The paper and project were fairly straightforward and easy. Lectures were long and boring at times so I didn't go after week two or read any of the assigned readings (you can read them out of interest though). Volunteering was a fun experience.

My TA was Aaron and he was amazing though. I went to discussions because his class format was very interesting and you get to have very insightful conversations with classmates. He was very accommodating and helpful. A great TA.