Selling Fall 2018 and Winter 2019 course readers, as well as A Writer's Reference and Bad Indians FOR CHEAP! All in great condition. Contact me at 805-345-8837 or jiparksoo8@gmail.com if you're interested.

Overall liked this cluster and it wasn't super challenging to get an A in the course since I am a pretty good writer. If you struggle with writing, this class could be tough. Midterm fall quarter is VERY EASY and pure memorization that you can do in two days. Final winter quarter is also fairly easy and can be learned in two days. Reading from the course reader is not entirely necessary you will come to realize. SELLING COURSE READERS FOR FALL AND WINTER QUARTER FOR $20 (this saves you over $100). Text 415-336-1352 if you're interested!

Fall quarter was better than winter quarter, but still sucked. Lectures were boring. You will find that answer across all boards. I've been in many boring classes, very few were THIS boring! KT Bender was a cool TA, very serious but pretty knowledgeable about the cluster and we actually learned things unlike the other TA I had (Winter quarter). This being said, your grade almost entirely depends on section/your TA. Section participation was 25% I believe, and the TA's also grade your essays/finals which encompass 20% each (20% for participation). Anyway, I wouldn't take the cluster again.... You can have more room for other classes because the cluster takes up 6 of your 10 enrollment units for the first pass (sometimes preventing you from enrolling in other courses) and then the GE's it satisifies can literally be satisfied in other courses.... Workload is annoying. The course reader is FAT!!!! The text of the articles is SOOOO small..... It was such a hassle... But if you aren't taking too manu demanding courses and can focus on the cluster, why not?

Selling Writer's Reference, both course readers, and Bad Indians for cheaper. Contact me for prices and details: anmolcheema226@gmail.com

This class can be difficult if you don't do the readings. It's a lot and can be overwhelming, but worth the work. In the fall you have 2 papers and one midterm exam. In the spring you have 2 papers and one final exam. Section participation and lecture participation (clickers) count towards your grade for both quarters as well. The papers are fairly easy if you read the course reader and go to section. The midterm exam is easy as well - you just have to define terms. The final exam was a bit more difficult, consisting of multiple essays, but doable. I found the lectures to be interesting but thats because I thoroughly enjoy this subject. This class allows you to knock out a lot of GE's which is really nice. I wouldn't take this class if you don't find the subject to be intriguing - you'll be bored to death. I'd take it again though.

I'm selling the 2018 fall and 2019 winter course readers for a lot cheaper than you'd buy them new for. Each were about $70 brand new.
Willing to negotiate! clairealeyf@gmail.com

This was a great overall class. It takes care of a lot of GEs and it's really applicable to a lot of other classes you'll take in UCLA. There is a lot of reading, but it's doable.

Selling :
Bad Indians - $15
Writer's Reference: Hacker - $40
2017 Fall CR - $45
2017 Winter CR - $45

Prices are negotiable: mandri99@gmail.com

This class is alright. Just a lot of reading and essays.
Selling course readers for both fall and winter quarters.
Also selling Bad Indians (required reading).
text me at 661-9033212

This class is horrible!!!! The supposed benefit of getting extra credits is NOT worth it!
This class is a lot of reading. The course reader is huge (and yes you HAVE to buy it) and I basically had to spend any "free time" I had reading for this class. The lectures are loosely connected to the readings. Not to mention these lectures are SUPER boring and it is a huge struggle to try to pay attention. I really wanted these lectures to be insightful because the topic of the class is one that interests me, but most of the lecturers just drag on and on.
Professor Ortiz in my opinion is not too great. She is the "main" professor of this class. Her lectures are very opinionated and she rejects anyone who questions her opinions. Also when other professors are lecturing, Ortiz would stand the whole class period and watch the students to make sure they weren't talking (something I found to be very "high school"). The midterm is hard, as you have to basically memorize what professors said in lecture (the slides are not specific enough), and memorize definitions and examples for over 40 terms, just to have 6 terms on the actual test.
Discussion section was the only place I actually got insight on the material we read. Although these sections were interesting, the TAs have way too much power and grade everything (midterm and both essays). If you aren't already an amazing writer you will struggle in this class.
Overall this class is a waste of time and effort. It's not worth the extra units.

For the fall quarter, the course was structured into lectures twice a week with a 2-hour discussion once a week. In lectures, the professors would rotate, and they would lecture on the material relevant to their expertise and areas of research. I personally think that lectures weren't helpful, but I still went because they tracked attendance with clickers. They do post slides online in case you miss something, however. Often times, Professor Ortiz would stand on the side of the lecture room and make sure that nobody was talking, which was pretty funny in my opinion. The unique thing about this cluster (and every cluster) is that discussion attendance and participation made up a significant portion of your grade (25%). Discussions were a seminar-style setting with a TA asking questions and facilitating responses. My TA made us do a presentation on one of the weekly set of readings from the course reader (will be discussed below), which counted for a good portion of our participation grade. The key to getting a good grade is to make sure that your TA likes you (will be discussed below too).

In terms of assignments, we had 2 papers and a midterm exam in the fall, in addition to weekly readings. These readings were out of a quite pricey course reader that you are required to purchase. These readings were often dry and boring, and the corresponding lecture had very little connection to the readings. While I haven't heard of any reading quizzes in discussions, many TA's could determine whether you read or not based on your amount of participation in discussion, which is why it is important to at least have some general idea of what the readings are about. The (week 5) midterm was a vocabulary test where you had to define 6 words from a given list of 40ish words, as well as provide examples from lecture and the course readings. So up to this point, you should be reading and attending lectures to know what is going on. After that, lectures become less important, but you should still be keeping up with your readings in preparation for the winter quarter final (see my review for Ortiz for 20B). The two papers were a literary analysis and an analysis of two historical cartoons. They are pretty straightforward to write, but here is where getting your TA to like you becomes very important. I have heard from my classmates with different TAs that each one grades differently, and often times, harshly. Because of that, I strongly suggest going to TA office hours to seek help and guidance, EVEN IF YOU DON'T NEED IT. This shows to your TA at least that you are taking the initiative to ask for help, even if you don't care. It is important that you and your TA maintain a good relationship because YOUR GRADE IS DETERMINED ENTIRELY BY THE SUBJECTIVITY OF YOUR TA'S GRADING. I had a somewhat harsh TA, but managed to do well because of my persistence, and not much else.
Overall, the class isn't the best class you will take at UCLA, but if you are passionate about the subject or would like to knock out some GE's then it's worth a shot. Nothing is necessarily difficult, but as long as you and your TA are on good terms, then you'll be all set.

This course is garbage. Avoid it at all costs, and don't be swayed into taking it in order to knock out some GE's--your better off taking just taking the regular GE classes. I guess it did teach a bit about some interracial systemic problems in the US, but honestly, it's just too bland. What you do in discussion, what the professors lecture about, and the reading are all different and loosely connected. You don't have to show up to class in order for it to be a contributing factor to your grade.

Ortiz is tied with Goemann for the most boring lecturer in this cluster. She has no sense of what to do, and kinda rambles on, always sounding unsure of herself. Oh, and your entire grade is in the hands of your TA, and most (including whom I had) are pretty much garbage. The textbook they make you buy is literally worthless and I swear to you, NOBODY did the reading after like week 2; reading so dense and boring it seemed like the TA's didn't even like it. This course thinks that you should/will dedicate all your time to just this cluster and its teachings.