What can I say about Teo that hasn't already been said? He's a master lecturer, a true OG Professor. He is so sweet and his lectures are so engrossing. He's old school so he doesn't use slides, but try to write down as much as he can cause he's got so many words of wisdom. This particular Fiat Lux I took was on Plato's Republic, and I could listen to him talk about Greek history for hours. It's as if he's sitting on an armchair and cracking open this very old volume of history's secrets and reading from it aloud. Lovely lovely man, visit him in Office Hours.

Possibly my favorite class I took this quarter. This class met three times, and the only "work" was a one page, essentially a completion grade, reflection. The tour was absolutely amazing, and it was an amazing introduction to the city of LA, especially for someone from out of state. I absolutely loved the History of LA Fiat Lux, and would recommend to anyone!

I really recommend this Fiar Lux with Teo Ruiz to any student, especially if you're new to the LA area. Teo is such a cool person, and he has a really interesting background and stories.

The highlight of this Fiat Lux is the Downtown LA tour. You walk around different neighborhoods and sites from Skid Row to Little Tokyo to Olvera Street and more, and all throughout the trip, you explore the history, diversity, and inequality in Downtown LA, all within walking distance of each other.

It is really fun and eye-opening. Talking with Teo and the other students is just such an enjoyable experience. You get to eat lunch at Grand Central Market too!

The class meets only 3 times:
Week 0: Preparation for Trip
Saturday of Week 0: Downtown LA Trip
Week 1: Discussion of Trip

The only "work" you have to do is a 1-2 page reflection that is due by the end of the quarter (though just do it earlier so you don't forget lol). It's extremely lenient; you can use a casual tone and talk about basically anything as long as it is somehow relevant to the trip. This is basically a free 1 unit.

Overall, take this seminar if you can! You'll meet a cool professor, new people, explore new areas, and just have a deeper understanding of the city that you're studying in.

This class is a field trip to downtown LA. We walked through many different places in DTLA, especially the Skid Row. I was completely blown away! Professor Teo is extremely concerned with teaching students and very helpful answering students' questions. He is such a charismatic lecturer and tour quide :). Love this class so much, def. recommend it to everyone. I am going to sit in his class next quarter and take his Pride & Prejudice Fiat Lux in the future. Also considering applying to the Paris travel study that he leads!
(Side note: Flaneur becomes my fav. word despite reading Sontag's On Photography)

The class was on Pride and Prejudice, and it was AMAZING. We talked over the book very moderately, but this teacher is the type of guy people write about. his life is an amazing story, he's very engaging and warm, and I would 100% recommend this class to anyone.

I took a fiat lux with Ruiz on Pride and Prejudice. I love the book, and was hoping this class would be amazing. Well... it EXCEEDED my expectations. Ruiz is the BEST professor I have had at UCLA. He was very caring about all the students in the class. He made me view Pride and Prejudice in a whole new way, his discussions with the class were very interesting and really made you think. The only assignments or homework we had to do was reading the book, which I found to be enjoyable.

I took a Fiat Lux with Teo on Modern Dystopias, and it was completely fascinating. Teo is an incredible talker and I loved going to his class every week just to hear his opinions on the books we were reading. If you want to think, not just memorize dates or information, this is the prof for you.

I'm a junior and I took the seminar because a friend said he was a really great professor. It was my 5th or 6th hour of class on that day of the week, and I STILL looked forward to it even though it was a one credit p/np freshman seminar... pretty incredible. I am probably going to go sit in and listen to his class next quarter.