If you have an interest in ancient history, this is a really good GE to take. It's not unreasonably hard, and the workload is not bad at all. You really have to attend lectures if you want to do well, but if you attend lecture, you will have already done the majority of the work you will need to do. The professor covers everything you need to know in his lectures, and I didn't feel any need to read the textbook. The exams are really just about memorization, and the professor sends out a study guide with everything that will be on the exam a week before each exam. The hardest thing about the exam is that you have to memorize dates, or else you will lose a lot of points. As someone who enjoys learning about history, I found the lectures were really interesting and I learned a lot through this class.

Prof Phillips is extremely dull. Lectures often have one or two slides with no information on them, so you have to listen extremely closely to what he says. This is difficult in part because of all the ancient greek words that are used, so you don't know how they're spelled. He has some dry humor he throws in maybe once per class, which is admittedly pretty funny, but otherwise he's very stern. When I asked questions after class he was always very dismissive. The class also is extremely broad, so it's impossible to gain that much insight into the time periods. Pros: His periodical humor, his two tone doc martins. Cons: mean and boring, hard to follow, way too much material to cover.

If you don't want to be treated like an idiot, Phillips is your man. He won't baby you or give you free points. He expects excellence, though it seems he has become accustomed to mediocrity, which in his eyes, is still a massive achievement considering how academically rigorous he can be. Expect to be simultaneously entertained and blown away at how much information can reside inside one plump and unassuming Doc Marten-wearing professor's brain.

A probable candidate for smartest, most rigorous professor as well as best orator.

I am selling the PDF version of the textbook for this class (Egypt, Greece, and Rome: Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean, 3rd Edition) for $10. Text me at ********** if interested, I accept venmo as payment.

TL/DR: Enjoyed this class. Fair amount of reading, but the exams are pretty fair and if you are a good note-taker you will be able to do well in the class. Definitely recommend for history majors or people looking for a good GE where you will be able to learn a breadth of knowledge you might need to know.

Full Review with grading/material/etc info here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15vILblHwWrnV7KnB-sOFzTRnQE2QPA7nmHxj4gdNKBU/edit?usp=sharing

Phillips is one of the best professors I've had at UCLA.

He is not friendly. He discourages questions during during his lectures, is stern with his rules, and will not take kindly to attempts by students to act buddy-buddy. He purposefully exudes an aura of aloofness, but if you take one of his classes you will quickly realize that he has every right to do so.

That said, top tier professors are not obligated to be your friend. Phillips is quite obviously a master of his field; he effortlessly rails off ancient Greek quotes, and lays out Greek history in painstaking detail, mostly from the top of his head. If you do approach him with detailed questions during office hours or after class, he will undoubtedly have a straightforward answer. This is how UCLA professors should be.

As others have stated, his lectures are whirlwind affairs. I type upwards of 110 WPM, and I still have trouble keeping up on my off days. However, the lectures progress logically and are incredibly well put together. He shapes classes in the form of an outline, and he speaks in a clear, monotone voice that ensures you won't miss what he says. Despite speaking at a breakneck pace for fifty minutes at a time, almost every piece of information he gives is relevant--a welcome relief from the tendencies of most professors. His occasional forays into humor are dry but generally hilarious.

His style of history focuses on the wars and political intrigue of ancient Greece, a perspective that is all too rarely skipped these days in favor of "seeing through the eyes" of ancient civilizations. He touches on Greek culture when it is relevant, but you're not going to learn much about Socrates and Plato. This, in my opinion, is for the better.

The class is not particularly easy, but if you want an A you can get it. The upside of Phillips' courses is that his lectures are entirely parallel with the assigned books. I have received A's in both classes taken despite never dusting off the textbook. His study guides are hefty, and he expects you to remember large amounts of information (especially dates), but he gives you everything you need to succeed in lecture. Take good notes and give yourself three nights of moderate studying, and you will rock his tests. Despite his statements otherwise, he is not that hard of a grader.

I was not particularly interested in the Greeks pre-Phillips, but he makes Greek history into a very badass and interesting narrative. If you enjoy history, you should definitely take a Phillips course.

I am selling all the textbooks and course materials for this class, I will attach the list of all the materials and the price in the end

In general, History 1A with professor Philips was interesting and worth taking if you are interested in history/ancient civilization or looking for a relatively easy GE course. This course covers civilizations including Mesopotamia, Assyria, Egypt, Greek, and Rome, etc. Gradings: total of three exams: 60 %, discussion session participation: 20 %. One history essay: 20 %. Like being said in other reviews, the exams should be nothing unexpected, both the identifications and essays prompts were given a week prior to the exam date, and you just need to immerse yourself with all the materials before each hour exam. Professor Philips is, however, obsessed with dates which means you indeed need a good short-term memory to memorize dates for EVERY person or event. Besides that, the exams were not difficult and I personally scored above 90 percent on everyone of them without stressing too much about them. You do need to speak up once in a while during your discussion session with your TA, and the key is to persuade your TA that you’ve read your materials and know what u are talking about. The prompts of term paper were somehow ambiguous and confusing for me, and It made me get a B+ as the final grade. One advice for the term paper is to talk about it with your TA during their office hours, so hopefully you will gain a better understanding of all of the prompts. Overall this course is mind-opening and I highly recommend it as a Doable GE course.

All of the materials were required for this course, were mostly brand new with little to no writing on them.

Selling:
Readings in Ancient History: $85
Egypt, Greece, and Rome: $40
The Epic of Gilgamesh: $6
Two Lives of Charlemagne: $9
The Last Days of Socrates( brand new): $10
The Theban Plays( brand new): $10
Course pack: $8

Contact me by email: *************

Selling course reader for history 1A with Professor Philips. Brand new
Email if interested- *************

History 1A

Selling: Readings in Ancient History 7th edition. Nels M. Bailkey, Richard Lim.

Contact: *************

History 1A

Selling:

1. Readings in Ancient History 7th edition. Nels M. Bailkey, Richard Lim.

2. The Western Experience 10th edition. Chambers Hanawalt Rabb Woloch Tiersten.

3. History 1A course reader

Contact: *************