This class was really interesting and highly recommend if you need a social analysis GE. Min is a very funny professor and gives really engaging lectures. I rented the textbook because I thought it was essential to read it but stopped around the 4th week or so and honestly don't get the book. It does highlight some material we cover in class more in depth but as long as you go lecture and grasp the material you should be fine. He blanks out some notes from the slides he posts online to motivate students to go to class to see the blanked out parts but honestly lecture wasn't that bad.

If you're going to take PS20, you've got to take it with Professor Min even if you have to wait a quarter or two. He's by far the most straightforward and reasonable professor I've ever had. He expects you to get your work done and participate (discussions are very mandatory) but he only requires what he believes you ought to do to understand the class concepts. There's only a midterm, final, and one paper (along with proposal, outline, etc.) but just review the slides and you will be absolutely fine. Textbook is a decent supplement but you don't really need it--download for free if you want but definitely don't spend the money to get a hard copy. Lectures aren't mandatory since all the slides are posted on CCLE although they do have blanks you need to be in lecture to fill out (tbh just highlight the blank, sometimes it shows up), HOWEVER, he's such an engaging, smart, and funny guy that it's worth your time to show up. He once read the entirety of the Cardi B-Nicki Minaj feud post (profanity included) to demonstrate a concept. At his very last lecture, the whole class applauded, which hasn't happened in any of my other classes, which just goes to show what a swell dude he is. 100% would take this class again.

I took this fall quarter of my freshman year and I thought that it was completely doable. Class consists of a midterm, a "research" paper, and a final. Discussion is mandatory. The final and the midterm are pretty easy if you just go over the slides. No need to really go to class because he puts the lecture slides online (but he does black out some key words so you'll need to get those from a friend). Overall, take the class for an easy GPA bump. I didn't put in a ton of effort and did well. For the paper, it's a pretty open ended questions that's easy to answer. Also, they really hold your hand through the writing process. You have to submit a proposal one week, then a two page outline a few weeks later, then a rough draft later, and then finally the final draft during week 9. It's literally impossible to fall behind because they guide you through it. Min is an engaging lecturer, though can get boring during lame material. Min is also super helpful during office hours, and an overall 10/10 guy to be around. Take the class.

I have no criticism for Prof. Min! He is very thorough with his lectures, and he goes to great lengths to foster a relaxed atmosphere in class.

Some advice: Be wary of the wording on examinations. I've noticed that he creates some questions in such a way that glossing over even a single word could completely change the question's meaning. Make sure to take your time and read each question multiple times.

I took this class in my first quarter at UCLA and really liked it; Professor Min is an engaging lecturer and his passion for the subject is clear during lectures. The workload is pretty light (one paper, a midterm, and a final); I generally didn't do the readings because the lectures cover the exact same topics. He does go through a LOT of info in lecture, so you might have to go back and fill in some notes after. Overall, I really liked this class and Professor Min; also want to give a huge shoutout to whoever airdropped me a pdf of the textbook during the first lecture.

I took this class my first quarter of college, but I can't imagine a professor being much better than this. His lectures are very organized, and he makes relatively boring topics engaging and interesting. You don't need the textbooks since his lectures are plenty enough for the exams. He doesn't have clicker questions, but he leaves parts of the slides blank online to encourage you to come to lecture. I found the discussions pretty useless. The quarter analysis paper was only 5-6 pages, required relatively little time, and was graded pretty easily. Instructions on it are a little confusing so I recommend going to office hours to clear that up before you start. As long as you look through his slides the midterm and final are both pretty easy. If the class A rate is less than 35% he gives everyone extra credit until it is at least 35%.

You don't need to spend the $140+ on the textbook for the class as long as you go to the lectures, since all of the content for the midterm and final are in the lecture slides (which are also posted to CCLE). Professor Min emphasizes what you definitely need to know for the tests, and he gives real-world examples that clarify the theoretical concepts being covered in lecture.

There is one research paper due towards the end of the quarter, but they really break it down over the course of the quarter and have you peer review each other's work throughout the process. You may want to go to office hours or email Professor Min or your TA to have a full understanding of what they're looking for (some of the instructions and the rubric can be a bit ambiguous), but otherwise it's a straightforward assignment.

Speaking of TAs, Yana Otlan is a helpful TA who genuinely cares about the subject and the students she's in charge of, and she seems to have the clearest understanding of diplomacy and war, so I highly recommend signing up for her discussion section.

Professor Min is one of the best professors I have ever had at UCLA. He is funny, engaging, and knows the material very well. He often makes jokes in class, making his lectures very enjoyable. I went to his office hours once after the midterm, and he was extremely helpful. He spent at least twenty minutes going over every single question I got wrong, and I learned a lot.

Overall, PS 20 with Professor Min was a pretty great class. The workload wasn't too bad, since the readings aren't really required. There was one midterm, one paper, and the final. Professor Min posts his slides on CCLE and they basically cover everything in the reading, so study those and you'll be fine. Word of advice: start the paper early, you'll have a much easier time if you do so.

Professor Min was an awesome professor and I'd definitely recommend taking his class!

Good lecturer; keeps class interesting with jokes and pop culture references. Class covers easy concepts and professor does an adequate job of explaining. He's chill and patient during office hours and seems to genuinely love teaching. There is one research paper, and that is the only assignment for the entire class.

Don't purchase the textbook, it's genuinely useless. Exams are based solely on slides, and they're thorough enough to go off of. Lecture attendance isn't mandatory, and concepts are easy enough to understand on your own. However, if you're having trouble, lecture is genuinely useful and sometimes fun to attend.

Eric Min is a great professor and a funny, kind, interesting person. He puts real effort into making the class fun (including jokes and pop culture references). The class content itself is also pretty interesting. Your grade comes down to 3 things: the midterm, a 5-6 page analysis paper, and the final. The midterm is easy if you study his lecture slides (which he very plainly tells you to do). This makes the textbook completely unnecessary and not worth buying in my opinion. The analysis paper is done over the course of the first 8 weeks and peer-reviewed several times, meaning you should not stress over it. I don't consider myself a very good writer or very knowledgable in current events and the paper was still very doable. The final is the same format as the midterm (multiple choice and a few short answer) and again, if you study his lecture slides and listen when he tells you to pay extra attention to something, you'll be fine. Overall, this class was a great GE and easy enough in my opinion. Professor Min is truly a gem of a human being and I looked forward to his lectures. I would 100% take this class again & I would very highly recommend it.