HIST 8B
Political Economy of Latin American Underdevelopment, 1750 to 1930
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Introductory survey of social, political, and economic history of Latin America after independence, region that includes Mexico, Central and South America, and Caribbean. Formation of independent nation states and political regimes and quest for sovereignty and its challenges in shadow of U.S., approached from bottom up through lens of social history, everyday life, and popular culture. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
1 of 1
Most Helpful Review
Derby is passionate and well-intentioned, but overall a very poor professor. Unfortunately, Derby's love for Latin America and the Caribbean does not translate into anything comprehensible in lecture- her lectures are random and extremely unorganized, often with Powerpoints of only keyterms and a picture or two. Fortunately, TA's are understanding of Derby's terrible lecture skills and really help the students to understand the material, which spans many countries and several hundred years. An interest in Latin America before Hist. 8C helped me to get through the class, but others were not as fortunate. The class consists of three essays (two for the midterm), which are all doable, and one broad final on the hundreds of keyterms throughout the quarter. Not the worst class I've taken, but certainly not the best.
Derby is passionate and well-intentioned, but overall a very poor professor. Unfortunately, Derby's love for Latin America and the Caribbean does not translate into anything comprehensible in lecture- her lectures are random and extremely unorganized, often with Powerpoints of only keyterms and a picture or two. Fortunately, TA's are understanding of Derby's terrible lecture skills and really help the students to understand the material, which spans many countries and several hundred years. An interest in Latin America before Hist. 8C helped me to get through the class, but others were not as fortunate. The class consists of three essays (two for the midterm), which are all doable, and one broad final on the hundreds of keyterms throughout the quarter. Not the worst class I've taken, but certainly not the best.
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2016 - Professor Garcia has been one of my favorite professors at UCLA. He is clearly very knowledgeable and passionate about what he teaches, which translates into great lectures. The assigned reading is pretty heavy; however, a light skim will do as long as you pay attention in lecture. He does mention some things in lecture that are not in the readings and will pop up in exams. Lectures aren't podcasted, so going to class is pretty important. Graded material includes one short research paper, a midterm and a final. Exams consist of a couple of essays and short answers. Grading is pretty lenient, so I'd say the class is an easy A as long as you do the basics.
Winter 2016 - Professor Garcia has been one of my favorite professors at UCLA. He is clearly very knowledgeable and passionate about what he teaches, which translates into great lectures. The assigned reading is pretty heavy; however, a light skim will do as long as you pay attention in lecture. He does mention some things in lecture that are not in the readings and will pop up in exams. Lectures aren't podcasted, so going to class is pretty important. Graded material includes one short research paper, a midterm and a final. Exams consist of a couple of essays and short answers. Grading is pretty lenient, so I'd say the class is an easy A as long as you do the basics.
AD
Most Helpful Review
I really enjoyed Prof. Namala's class. She was a decent lecturer and made great use of media in her presentations. And her tests were very reasonable. She was straightforward about the material, and gave us really helpful study guides. The exams are a lot of writing, but it's totally doable. And the texts that are required for the class are actually interesting. The sections and overall class focus more heavily on the less interesting text, but the other one is so great you'll want to read it even if it's not going to be discussed. I would highly recommend this course for anyone looking to satisfy a requirement or simply just as a GPA booster. And if you get Daniel Beckman as your TA, he's super awkward but a really agreeable grader, especially in comparison to the other TAs.
I really enjoyed Prof. Namala's class. She was a decent lecturer and made great use of media in her presentations. And her tests were very reasonable. She was straightforward about the material, and gave us really helpful study guides. The exams are a lot of writing, but it's totally doable. And the texts that are required for the class are actually interesting. The sections and overall class focus more heavily on the less interesting text, but the other one is so great you'll want to read it even if it's not going to be discussed. I would highly recommend this course for anyone looking to satisfy a requirement or simply just as a GPA booster. And if you get Daniel Beckman as your TA, he's super awkward but a really agreeable grader, especially in comparison to the other TAs.
Most Helpful Review
Here's the deal with History 8B: Summerhill is a great lecturer. He's funny and well organized and really likes to lecture. But, the readings are almost always extremely long and dense, and many of the multiple choice questions come from obscure factoids in them, not the lectures. He also missed a number of lectures this last quarter for personal reasons, and he'll tell you up front that when that happens, he will make no effort help you catch up. This class is entertaining and enjoyable, but you HAVE to do the reading. And when he gives you some possible essay questions, make sure to study for ALL of them, not just two out of three. Invariably, the one you didn't study for is the one you end up having to write.
Here's the deal with History 8B: Summerhill is a great lecturer. He's funny and well organized and really likes to lecture. But, the readings are almost always extremely long and dense, and many of the multiple choice questions come from obscure factoids in them, not the lectures. He also missed a number of lectures this last quarter for personal reasons, and he'll tell you up front that when that happens, he will make no effort help you catch up. This class is entertaining and enjoyable, but you HAVE to do the reading. And when he gives you some possible essay questions, make sure to study for ALL of them, not just two out of three. Invariably, the one you didn't study for is the one you end up having to write.
1 of 1
