All I have to say is that this was too much for an introductory class (that most people are taking as a GE). The reading load was heavy and the final is basically a 13 page paper. They (Gaspar de Alba and Lopez) were good professors in the aspect that they were very passionate and their overall message was very good but the delivery of the message was lacking and some things did not connect as well as they could have. I was disappointed because I heard from others that they had taken the class with other professors and had gotten a lot out of it and I did not get as much as I wanted to out of this class.

Overall, Profe Gaspar de Alba and her wife Profesora Lopez are very passionate and knowledgeable about the subject of the course. As a freshman, the reading load was very heavy and made it a tough but very intriguing GE. The class lectures were on prezi slides and were very interesting and well put together.

This was by far my favorite class this past quarter, the people who are complaining about it being too much work were probably lazy; this class was not difficult at all, even as a first-year I found it to be relatively easy compared to my other classes. Profe's lectures were intriguing and it is evident that she spent much time putting together her slides. The readings were interesting and relevant to the themes discussed in the class. My TA Kimberly was incredible and really helped us to put the topics that were touched upon in lecture into perspective, and she offered several extra credit opportunities. She effectively prepared us for the midterm and was willing to give us overall advice for our final which was a take-home essay. I was amazed at how much I learned about the history of my people throughout the duration of this course and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to learn about the history of the Chicanx community.

Wow wow wow, I cannot even begin to talk about how much I love this class. I think it's the perfect blend of having a challenging class, yet in the grand scheme of college classes, its relatively easy. Before I go off on why I love this class and this professor so much, let me go over some logistics:

Grades: Based on midterm, iclicker questions (which sucks if you often come late to class because sometimes the iclicker questions are at the top of class and are graded on accuracy), final essay, participation in lecture.

Style of class: The slideshow is one of those dynamic slideshows that zoom out and in on one giant page of sorts, and is a lot more interesting than the typical slideshow. She reads her lecture from her written one, and I love it. Her lectures sometimes contain such beautiful prose. You can really tell they love what they teach, which I think is essential.

Level of difficulty: If you're a freshman, maybe you'd take this and think its hard. Compared to high school, it is, for sure, but if I'm being blunt, this is one of the easiest classes I've ever taken in my entire career in college, and I'm about to graduate, so I've taken quite a few. The readings are interesting and engaging, and some are straight up poetry. I didn't think I'd be reading such prose from academic text. Borderlands, the book by Gloria Anzaldua, will be staying in my bookshelf-that book is beautiful. They're not dense readings in any sense, and not more workload than the average class; I honestly don't know what people are thinking. This is college; this is to be expected.

Grading Policy: I'm not one hundred percent sure, yet, since I'm currently taking the class, but it's not super hard to get an A if you keep up with the work and go to class, which, honestly, is the bare minimum you should be doing to be a good student. Sheer talent and cleverness doesn't get anyone anywhere anymore. Put in the work. My TA prepared us for the midterm quite well with the study guide she gave. Thoroughly study it and you should be fine. I got a 99%. They offer lots of extra credit events you can go and receive credit for.

Basically, for those who just want to lazily get by a class, I think this class is still doable and passable. Be ready to de-colonize your mind. If your mind is still colonized, I really hope this class helps you achieve "conscientizacion"/awareness. For those who love to learn and are interested, I think you'll love this class. It presents a Chicanx history full of lush imagery and metaphors. This shit is straight poetry sometimes, man, I'm inspired every time I leave the class. This is one of my favourite GEs I've ever taken, telling a perspective of history that is not often told and is refreshing. I have been greatly affected by what I've learned in this class, and I think anyone would be, too, if they came to it with openness and love. You're learning a history that is often suppressed. It is courageous to be so blatantly them in a world not meant for them.

She is a well educated and passionate professor about the Juarez murders. Her lectures are pre-hand written and she reads them in class. She is very tough and strict about her classroom setting. All electronics are banned and prohibited from use. Overall, she is strict but a very well knowledge and passionate. Great professor!!!

Profe Gaspar has a policy where you cannot receive a higher overall grade than your final essay grade. For instance, I received A's on my quizzes and an A+ on my midterm. I had a great well written journal to serve as proof of my overall work. However, my final essay (which by the way was insane due to the excessive amount of information that the prompts asked for) was "randomly" selected by the Profe along with some other unfortunate essays and she graded them. She gave me B+ on the essay, and according to her policy, I cannot receive higher than a B+ as my overall grade. I honestly felt cheated out of my grade. I read every single text (which was A LOT) and I knew every concept. I am a Chicana myself and I have lived everything that the Profe taught. If you are a conscious Chicana/o, do not take this introductory course, it is a waste of time that will drift you away from Chicano Studies due to its bad policy and excessive and exaggerated information. I am very upset to have these kinds of things happening in the Chicano Studies Department which is supposed to promote equality and solidarity.

Haha... I don't usually write anything here, under the assumption that all of the things that go in here are just opinion. I decided to write something here because of the previous review, stating that the class was just too hard and biased.

Really? Hard? You're in college! You're at a top notch university, ranked high in the nation. You expect easy classes? Maybe UCLA isn't for you. I've had classes where the reading load has been much more intense than this class, so I really don't know what you're talking about. All I can say about this point is to grow up, and start reading. That's why your parents are paying for college, after all, right?

Biased... the professor had stated in the first class that this would be a counter-hegemonic class, that there would be some parts that would make people really uncomfortable, because it could be perceived as going against something that they value so much. Needless to say, she has reasons for doing this. As a Chicano, who do you think feels this way when the education system tell him that Mexico "sold" its land to the US, that "Mexicans" are foreigners (despite many of them being in the US longer than whites), that they are aliens, that they suck up resources, that they are burdens, that their use of Spanish is retrograde, that they should forget their customs and learn America's. How do you think people feel when they're told all this crap? Obviously, they feel pretty bad. They're probably the same feelings you feel when we speak badly about the US. Hence, it's a counter-hegemonic class that makes the person who is discriminated against feel proud of his or her history, that his or her history isn't the result of laziness or meaninglessness, but rather the work of so many historical processes that have made Chicano history invisible.

Not all whites do the things that colonizers do. But colonizers, as whites, do impose hierarchies based on race, class, and gender. That's the difference that you're forgetting to notice, and that's why you're taking things so personal. Think about the class on gender... how do you think guys feel being told they oppress women? I can speak for myself... I feel uncomfortable that my privilege puts women in a lower social position. That's an open mind.

And your idea of all of this being opinion... who's to say the education you received isn't opinion as well? American ideals of freedom, liberty and equality certainly sound great. But how can these principles not be opinions, especially in the face of discrimination, slavery, and exploitation. History isn't written in stone. It's all based on interpretation (written by the victor, if you will). You cannot yell out "oh that's your opinion," without automatically making your ideas and your history "opinion" as well. This simply puts us in a cycle of endless talk, that gets us nowhere.

If you feel that you have to speak to defend your race and country (which is my country as well, I was born here), fine. But no one is "egging" you to hate America nor hate whites, but to be alert of how being non-white leads to an presumption of being un-American. You have never been questioned, and you probably never will because of your race. This isn't your fault, however. You didn't ask for this treatment--you certainly didn't earn it by being a member of a certain group. What you should take from this class is the tools that allow you to look at these things critically, and to realize that everything you have come to value (your house, car, computer) is simply a result of history. Think about this... if the US would have left Mexico alone, do you think you'd be living here? Probably not, right? It's not your fault, but it doesn't hide the fact that these things didn't happen.

OVerall, I can only say good things about Gaspar de Alba. This class hasn't been my first experience with Chicano theory, but her clarity is certainly reinvigorating and mind-opening for those who have no experience with such classes.

One of the biggest mistakes of my UCLA career was taking 10A, so I'm coming here to vent. I'm your typical UCLA student that took this class as a GE, thinking it would be easy and simple. But my experience here has been pretty bad.

I'm not against classes with high work load, but the fact was that this class #1: required a ton of reading, more than any of my other courses, #2: extremely biased/wrong information. You essentially would be forced to read hours of BS for every class period.

I don't dislike the professor and I think she's a very smart person, but this class is essentially what brainwashing looks like. I'm a white, non-political, skeptical person, so I came here with an open mind.. but was left thinking "How do we allow someone like this teach a class"?

Off the top of my head, some of the claims the professor made: 9/11 was "obviously" done by the USA. Tall buildings are a symbol of the penis and patriarchy. Chicanos would eventually "reclaim" America. Huh?

As you can probably tell this is a class on Chicano culture, but since the professor is a self described "Chicano queer feminist activist", her viewpoints are constantly shoved down your throat. The theme of the class is simple: White, English speaking males have been keeping down the Chicano people and here is why. The facts presented are dubious of origin and almost all the readings are opinion piece. In one week of the class the professor makes you read a book that she wrote. Often, the professor leads students on in after class discussions and eggs on her students to say anti-"Anglo" things, to the point where a student who is in the ROTC walked out after a half an hour discussion about how America is destroying the world.

The professor's teaching style is monotonous. She reads off her notes off a presentation on her iPad that she constantly has trouble getting to work. Takes up the whole class section, and in times that she finishes her lecture early, makes all her students stay until the end in a "discussion" period. Note taking is required, as well as freewriting "reflections", posting in the message boards, etc.

On the whole, the class is a bunch of misinformation by a delusional bully.. and really too much trouble for what it's worth: a GE class. Unless you're trying to major in Chicano Studies I really recommend avoiding this like the plague.