Review posted on Mon 30 Nov 2009
Course(s) Taken: Italian: 50A

if you want to waste your money and college experience, take professor Betti. otherwise, AVOID. it may be an easy A, but being in class was EXCRUCIATING. Not only does he make a potentially interesting topic boring, but it is nearly impossible to understand his monotone, quiet, heavily accented voice. I couldn't even take notes if I wanted to. Seriously, he was so boring that I felt like my soul was being sucked out of me and into a black hole of nothingness.If he really cared about his students, he'd lecture to the students instead of mumbling to his lecture notes. you have been warned!!

Review posted on Sat 27 Jun 2009
Course(s) Taken: Italian: 50A

Take this class, he is very easy! Plus, Erika is a very passionate TA who will help you get that A. She grades everything so write whatever she wants to hear and you're set. I took notes for the first lecture, and never did again. I only brought my laptop to keep myself entertained, and I think our TA did so as well. This class made taking four classes very bearable. I gained something meaningful out of his class, hopefully you will too.

Review posted on Sat 24 Nov 2007
Course(s) Taken: Italian: 50A

MONOTONE. FAT ITALIAN ACCENT. HOT ROOM. QUIET VOICE. BORING SUBJECT. ... take it if you like any of the above three. otherwise please choose a different professor. i could not bear going to class but i did to about half of them. he drags on dante and rushes like mad thru other works. very confusing. and it would realllllly help if i could understand him.

Review posted on Thu 22 Feb 2007
Course(s) Taken: None

Betti is super nice. I went about 3 times to his class,and went to 3/4 of the discussions (the ta didn't take attendance) and wrote my papers the night before. I got an A-.

Review posted on Tue 27 Jun 2006
Course(s) Taken: Italian: 110

He's a really nice guy, but that doesn't help his teaching. Like others have said, he literally reads the text aloud. Though the class was called Dante, implying all his works, Betti focuses on the Inferno and rushes through Purgatory and Paradise; but he still expects you to write essays on the latter two. But if you're good with last-minute essays, this is the class for you; he'd give out prompts for two 4-page essays on Thursday and expect them by Tuesday. I didn't do any reading outside of class until I knew what the essay prompts were. If you're OK with being rushed, it's not that hard of a class, but it can get boring; Betti speaks with an accent that may be hard to understand at times and he tends to mumble. Try to stay awake.

Review posted on Mon 26 Jun 2006
Course(s) Taken: Italian: 110

I took him for his Dante class in Spring '06. Consider that most, if not all, people were taking this as a filler class since it has no G.E. value. The man is hard to understand (Italian accent and low voice). The class was sparsely attended despite threats that 4 absences would equal an automatic fail; no doubt one that stemmed from his previous experiences. What is sad to me is that this passes off as a UCLA class. If you really want to read Dante in-depth: 1) read it on your own as someone here mentioned or 2) take a Comparative Lit. class. Other than that be prepared to do 2 EASY, high school-quality papers to get an A and never go to class. I only went 'cause of the threat which never fell through otherwise he'd have failed 3/4 of the class. I do NOT recommend the class especially if you value your time.

Review posted on Mon 27 Feb 2006
Course(s) Taken: Italian 50A; Masterpieces of Italian Literature

I took this class as an undergrad during the Fall 2005 quarter. It was a fairly interesting class along with the professor. The professor is a very nice man and he means well. He is a bit difficult to understand since he speaks softly and his Italian-English accent is hard to understand when he tries to articulate himself to the class. I recommend sitting in the front of the class when possible. He can get a little dry at times just reading out of the required novels and readings, though you never get penalized if you don't have time to read the materials before class. Though for my quarter, our TA starting giving pretty easy, small, 10-point reading quizzes to see who actually went to class and read the readings since half of the signed up numbers of students on URSA weren't showing up to the lecture, which is was two hours long too. The professor was there for help when absolutely necessary and very approachable and easy to deal with. No ego or haughty issues of personality to deal with here. But the great thing is the TAs are there for any sort of help and are able to guide with advice and basic terms on what to expect when turning in papers and how to study for the midterm and final in the correct way with the correct information. I would give him a mediocre thumbs up and really only take the class if you would like an "easy A" at the same time you are trying to satisfy a GE requirement.

Review posted on Sat 17 Dec 2005
Course(s) Taken: italian 50a

As someone said earlier, the lack of intellectual advancement in this class far superpasses its attraction as an easy A. If you are truly interested in learning anything, just pick up Dante and read the Divine Comedy for yourself. Betti will not give you any additional insight and you can't help but feeling like your life is being wasted in lecture. This is probably why nobody went after the second week. Do yourself a favor and find another GE that you will learn something in - that's why you came to UCLA.

Review posted on Sun 04 Dec 2005
Course(s) Taken: Italian: 50A

Professor Betti is extremely knowledgable about the Italian classics, but his soft voice and heavy accent made lectures difficult to follow, and eventually, difficult to attend. This wouldn't have been so bad, except that he had no set syllabus, and we never knew what to have read by when. He spent 5 weeks on 1/3 of a book, and two days on the last 2/3. This was frustrating. Overall, the class was unorganized, though Betti had great potential as an interesting lecturer.

Review posted on Mon 04 Jul 2005
Course(s) Taken: Italian: 50A

The readings in this class were VERY interesting and entertaining. But during class, prof Betti would just read random passages and it was hard to follow along. there was not much analysis. The 2 hour lecture would drag and I really got nothing out of the lecture. But the professor himself is a charming and funny man. but....I expected more out of this class.