Alex Purves
Department of Classics
AD
4.6
Overall Rating
Based on 46 Users
Easiness 3.8 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 4.6 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 3.2 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 4.6 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

TOP TAGS

  • Uses Slides
  • Useful Textbooks
  • Engaging Lectures
  • Often Funny
  • Would Take Again
  • Tolerates Tardiness
  • Needs Textbook
  • Is Podcasted
  • Participation Matters
GRADE DISTRIBUTIONS
47.3%
39.4%
31.5%
23.6%
15.8%
7.9%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

42.1%
35.1%
28.0%
21.0%
14.0%
7.0%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

22.4%
18.7%
14.9%
11.2%
7.5%
3.7%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

23.4%
19.5%
15.6%
11.7%
7.8%
3.9%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

ENROLLMENT DISTRIBUTIONS
Clear marks

Sorry, no enrollment data is available.

AD

Reviews (38)

2 of 4
2 of 4
Add your review...
Quarter: Fall 2018
Grade: A-
March 20, 2019

Professor Purves class is amazing. One of the best GEs I have taken. If you love classics or literature, you don't want to miss it.

Helpful?

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Quarter: Spring 2018
Grade: A
Dec. 22, 2018

Lectures are fun and engaging, but also precise and to the point - you know exactly what the topic is and what you're focused on learning. Midterm and Final are pretty straight forward if you just go to class and lowkey pay attention.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2018
Grade: A-
Dec. 4, 2018

This is a great class- professor Purves is hilarious, engaging and fun to listen to. You can come to the lectures having done none of the reading and still pay full attention and grasp all the major concepts. This is probably the biggest issue for anyone in this class- there is SO much reading. The class surveys a lot of myths and moves very quickly, so there are multiple readings due every class. If you can't keep up with constant readings, this class is not for you, especially since it's impossible to pass the tests, quizzes and papers if you don't do the readings. Purves requires that you have the exact translations of texts that she asks for, and if any info you include on a test/paper is from a different translation you'll get a 0. I loved this course- my TA was great (shoutout Kat) and I went to every single lecture out of enjoyment. The downsides: a crap ton of reading in a very short amount of time that is 100% necessary. The other thing that annoyed me about this class was the fact that you had to buy all of the texts, even if we were only reading a few sections out of it. This ends up being a lot of money (as much as a textbook for a normal class would be). Overall this is not an easy GE, but it's fun and rewarding forsure.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2018
Grade: A
Sept. 13, 2018

Selling the course reader. Email me at ************* if you're interested. The reader is used for class discussion and for the essay at the end of the quarter so it's definitely necessary.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2018
Grade: B+
Sept. 12, 2018

My interest has now peaked at an all-time high of Greek and Roman mythologies. I love the readings picked for the course and the way the texts were analyzed in lecture. My only concern would be the technical difficulties with the laptop and the mic sometimes. Also, the readings seem to be enough, but I was taking other classes that also required a lot of passages. I wish I had more time to read and break the text down before going into the lecture. It is heavy reading and the tests ask a lot of questions. Other than that the class is fantastic and would take the course again or so take me to Hades or make me go through Odysseus journey!

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2018
Grade: A-
Sept. 10, 2018

This class was very engaging and entertaining. Professor Purves, although she tends to sidetrack while explaining certain myths, is one of the most thoughtful educators because she truly tries to accommodate to students' comprehension. There are many books needed for this course (plenty of reading too) but Prof. Purves has decreased the amount of reading for students and encourages us to buy used copies if possible or to use copies on reserve. I'm selling the course reader for $10 (the latest copy) so email me ************* if you'd like to purchase it(original price is ~$29).

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2018
Grade: A
June 26, 2018

The class itself was great, but the professor is very, very overhyped. I did enjoy this class, though it was a lot of work. Nightly readings which had to be done before the next lecture, two quizzes, 150+ vocabulary words, one 6-8 page paper, one midterm, and one final. The material of this course was very engaging and I absolutely enjoyed it. Her lectures were enjoyable, when she would actually talk about the stories, which she started doing less and less through out the quarter. I just found this professor to be very annoying. She always sat too close to the speaker and her mic would give off horrible feedback that she would just ignore the entire lecture, she would have 8 ID terms for the lecture and only get through 2 because she wanted to show useless videos or was too busy messing around with her iPad that she just needed to use even though she didn't know how to work it. Overall, greek mythology is a great interesting subject but I don't not think this was an easy GE!

I am also selling the required course reader for this class (completely clean copy) so email me at *************!

Helpful?

0 1 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2018
Grade: N/A
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
June 19, 2018

There are a lot of books (10 I believe) required for this class, but they are on reserve at Powell so you can check them out for 2 hours/take pictures of the required reading. We didn't read all ten books completely, just fractions of them, so buying them was not worth it in my opinion. Anyways, I LOVED this class and how Prof. Purves gave engaging lectures. The readings were not too bad length wise, but so interesting to read content wise!! Would take this class again honestly! It's an easy GE if you are interested in the subject and stories, but if you know you will not bother reading the material, then this class is not for you. The tests are very fair and the paper topics are purposely broad so you can write about whatever you want and use whatever texts you need. TA's are the one grading your stuff and they are very fair.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2018
Grade: NR
June 17, 2018

Selling 9/10 of the required readings in a bundle (course reader, Hom. Hymns, Odyssey, Oresteia, Oedipus, Bacchae, Aeneid, Six Tragedies, and Metamorphoses... everything except Theogony) all for $40. Text ********** if interested in buying

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2017
Grade: N/A
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
June 3, 2018

Selling the course reader for the class! Text me at ********** if interested :) (I'm moving so will throw it away after 6/14, so please contact me immediately if interested!)

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2018
Grade: A-
March 20, 2019

Professor Purves class is amazing. One of the best GEs I have taken. If you love classics or literature, you don't want to miss it.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2018
Grade: A
Dec. 22, 2018

Lectures are fun and engaging, but also precise and to the point - you know exactly what the topic is and what you're focused on learning. Midterm and Final are pretty straight forward if you just go to class and lowkey pay attention.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2018
Grade: A-
Dec. 4, 2018

This is a great class- professor Purves is hilarious, engaging and fun to listen to. You can come to the lectures having done none of the reading and still pay full attention and grasp all the major concepts. This is probably the biggest issue for anyone in this class- there is SO much reading. The class surveys a lot of myths and moves very quickly, so there are multiple readings due every class. If you can't keep up with constant readings, this class is not for you, especially since it's impossible to pass the tests, quizzes and papers if you don't do the readings. Purves requires that you have the exact translations of texts that she asks for, and if any info you include on a test/paper is from a different translation you'll get a 0. I loved this course- my TA was great (shoutout Kat) and I went to every single lecture out of enjoyment. The downsides: a crap ton of reading in a very short amount of time that is 100% necessary. The other thing that annoyed me about this class was the fact that you had to buy all of the texts, even if we were only reading a few sections out of it. This ends up being a lot of money (as much as a textbook for a normal class would be). Overall this is not an easy GE, but it's fun and rewarding forsure.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2018
Grade: A
Sept. 13, 2018

Selling the course reader. Email me at ************* if you're interested. The reader is used for class discussion and for the essay at the end of the quarter so it's definitely necessary.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2018
Grade: B+
Sept. 12, 2018

My interest has now peaked at an all-time high of Greek and Roman mythologies. I love the readings picked for the course and the way the texts were analyzed in lecture. My only concern would be the technical difficulties with the laptop and the mic sometimes. Also, the readings seem to be enough, but I was taking other classes that also required a lot of passages. I wish I had more time to read and break the text down before going into the lecture. It is heavy reading and the tests ask a lot of questions. Other than that the class is fantastic and would take the course again or so take me to Hades or make me go through Odysseus journey!

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2018
Grade: A-
Sept. 10, 2018

This class was very engaging and entertaining. Professor Purves, although she tends to sidetrack while explaining certain myths, is one of the most thoughtful educators because she truly tries to accommodate to students' comprehension. There are many books needed for this course (plenty of reading too) but Prof. Purves has decreased the amount of reading for students and encourages us to buy used copies if possible or to use copies on reserve. I'm selling the course reader for $10 (the latest copy) so email me ************* if you'd like to purchase it(original price is ~$29).

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2018
Grade: A
June 26, 2018

The class itself was great, but the professor is very, very overhyped. I did enjoy this class, though it was a lot of work. Nightly readings which had to be done before the next lecture, two quizzes, 150+ vocabulary words, one 6-8 page paper, one midterm, and one final. The material of this course was very engaging and I absolutely enjoyed it. Her lectures were enjoyable, when she would actually talk about the stories, which she started doing less and less through out the quarter. I just found this professor to be very annoying. She always sat too close to the speaker and her mic would give off horrible feedback that she would just ignore the entire lecture, she would have 8 ID terms for the lecture and only get through 2 because she wanted to show useless videos or was too busy messing around with her iPad that she just needed to use even though she didn't know how to work it. Overall, greek mythology is a great interesting subject but I don't not think this was an easy GE!

I am also selling the required course reader for this class (completely clean copy) so email me at *************!

Helpful?

0 1 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Spring 2018
Grade: N/A
June 19, 2018

There are a lot of books (10 I believe) required for this class, but they are on reserve at Powell so you can check them out for 2 hours/take pictures of the required reading. We didn't read all ten books completely, just fractions of them, so buying them was not worth it in my opinion. Anyways, I LOVED this class and how Prof. Purves gave engaging lectures. The readings were not too bad length wise, but so interesting to read content wise!! Would take this class again honestly! It's an easy GE if you are interested in the subject and stories, but if you know you will not bother reading the material, then this class is not for you. The tests are very fair and the paper topics are purposely broad so you can write about whatever you want and use whatever texts you need. TA's are the one grading your stuff and they are very fair.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2018
Grade: NR
June 17, 2018

Selling 9/10 of the required readings in a bundle (course reader, Hom. Hymns, Odyssey, Oresteia, Oedipus, Bacchae, Aeneid, Six Tragedies, and Metamorphoses... everything except Theogony) all for $40. Text ********** if interested in buying

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Spring 2017
Grade: N/A
June 3, 2018

Selling the course reader for the class! Text me at ********** if interested :) (I'm moving so will throw it away after 6/14, so please contact me immediately if interested!)

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
2 of 4
4.6
Overall Rating
Based on 46 Users
Easiness 3.8 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 4.6 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 3.2 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 4.6 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

TOP TAGS

  • Uses Slides
    (20)
  • Useful Textbooks
    (17)
  • Engaging Lectures
    (18)
  • Often Funny
    (18)
  • Would Take Again
    (19)
  • Tolerates Tardiness
    (13)
  • Needs Textbook
    (15)
  • Is Podcasted
    (15)
  • Participation Matters
    (15)
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