This class changed my worldview, and I cannot recommend it enough. Professor Sheppard is extremely knowledgeable about the material, and he really makes you question what you think you know about the world. There is a course reader for this class, but the readings aren't bad if you read a couple pages a day. There is a weekly quiz, but you only need 3/5 on each quiz to get full credit, plus he drops two of them. The main assignment for this class is a research paper on trans-national corporations, which I really enjoyed writing. You can pick any corporation you're interested in, and the research skills I gained from writing this paper have already helped me in writing research papers for other classes. The midterm and final aren't too bad, there is no multiple choice, and the test is divided into definitions and slightly longer essays. Overall, take this class!!! You won't regret it.

I will start by saying this class is extremely interesting and changed the way I view the world. The content is applicable to any major and provides insight into daily functions (logistics, capitalism, production, etc.) that run our lives. Professor Sheppard is clearly passionate about the material and his accent/ amusing speech makes the somewhat drab, screen- free lectures more entertaining. The format of the class is fairly straightforward with a midterm, final, and term paper. The class is extremely writing heavy (midterm and final were both essay style), so I did have to work for my A. I would attribute my grade to three things. Firstly, I attended lecture and took thorough notes. Not only was this information key for the midterm/ final, the professor posts stripped versions of the power points on CCLE after class. Essentially, what he says in lecture is much more valuable than simply looking at the slides instead of attending lecture. I would highly suggest making friends with people in your discussion for notes in case you do have to miss lecture. Secondly, I did the readings. The professor provides a course reader that is essential to success in the class. The reading vary in length and difficulty; however, recalling authors on the midterm/ final will get you high marks. They are dense and (sometimes) boring, so the readings were definitely the thing that made this course my most time intensive of the quarter. Lastly, I got lucky with a good TA. Unfortunately, he is no longer TAing the course, but he was extremely helpful in summarizing readings, streamlining information, and translating professor Sheppard's somewhat confusing lectures into manageable chunks. If possible, do your research on which TA teaches which section before hand. It will make a big difference. Overall, I would recommend taking this very enlightening course for the content; however, be warned that it isn't an easy A. Do not take it if you know you're a weak writer or aren't willing to do most of the readings. You will end up hating the course and yourself. I will say this was my first quarter at UCLA, so my experience with this course is only relative to the two other classes I have taken. Good luck!

I love Sheppard! His lectures are dense but he’s an interesting guy, the material is engaging and the workload is definitely not too bad. Besides a weekly online quiz on lectures (slides are posted online) there’s just one main short paper. The paper grading is dependent on your TA so I would check in with them throughout. solid GE class and good professor.

Not gonna lie, this is not the easiest class and you should not take it if you're looking for an easy GE. There is a LOT of readings and the midterm and final are in class essays so you really have to keep up with lecture and readings. Either way I do not regret taking this class. It is a really eye-opening class and Sheppard knows what he's talking about, he'll give you a lot of reading materials to drive the point home. His lectures cover a LOT and end exactly when class is supposed to, usually not a second earlier. I found he is a little fast paced for a screen-free classroom so its often hard to get everything on my notes.

Like a previous review said, don't take this as just a GE because it is more than a GE deserves. Not an easy A at all but so rewarding and eye-opening. Many people thought that Sheppard was a boring lecturer but I personally feel as though I learned really well from his teaching style. His lectures are very organized which I personally appreciate, especially after having a TA that I felt was fairly sporadic and disorganized. Most of the content is about globalization through neoliberal policies, but we didn't get into that much until after the midterm (pre-midterm was a lot of history on colonialism/capitalism and other topics). The midterm and final (IDs and essays) definitely require a bit of studying and are just so much writing, but you can do well as long as you grasp most of the main topics of the class. Thankfully the exams are the kind that allow you to discuss only what you know (choose 3 out of the 6 topics to write about) so that really saved me! Sheppard uses a lot of case studies to teach concepts which I also thought was great. There is one paper that's about 6 pages on a transnational corporation; it's time-consuming, but you basically only need to apply the concepts from class to the corporation's practices. Overall this has been one of the most rewarding classes I've taken! So many interesting topics regarding development were brought up; if you are an IDS major or you care about the betterment of the "developing" world, take this class!!! My only complaint is that i felt my TA didn't teach in my preferred teaching style (organized, thorough) but I will say all the TAs tried hard to help us succeed! (-:

It was a very eye opening class because it really introduces you to the issues and aspects of inequality in terms of geography. Also a very difficult class with the hardest final I've ver taken, I would not recommend taking this as a GE.

This is one of the most eye-opening class I have ever taken in UCLA. Professor Sheppard is an expert in dissecting abstract concepts into understandable chunks for students to regurgitate. The class will challenge your belief: it requires you to question the world's truth-like norm and expand your horizon.

There's a research project for this class. You have to research about a transnational company. Professor Sheppard provides really good guidelines for the essay, so it shouldn't be a problem.

His classes were SOOO interesting but he was not. I would attend class just to listen to what he talks, not for him. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS AS A G.E. JUST DON'T ITS MUCH MORE THAN A G.E. DESERVES!!!!
Assigns a LOT of reading and makes TAs assign reflections for readings, and there's a 1500 word essay in the end.
Midterm and Final were A LOT OF WRITING so if that's good for you then you'd be fine.
Its a MASSIVE class with over 350 students in it.
Final was choose 3 out of 6 topics and write a page for each, 2 essays of 2 pages each and 2 essays of 3 pages each. Literally death. Final makes your grade lower so PREPARE TO WRITE A LOT.

This class ended up being my hardest class of the quarter and possibly one of the hardest courses that I have taken at UCLA. The papers are graded very harshly and the exams require a certain type of studying. First, you must know and understand all of the terms presented on the study guides and then you must memorize about 20-30 concepts/facts in order to be able to reproduce them on the in-class, timed essays. Responses to the concept questions are also graded very intricately and harshly. I recommend only taking this class if it is a required major/minor course.

Professor Sheppard's class was one of the most engaging and eye-opening classes I've taken at UCLA . Although he might be a bit drab during his lectures, his accent and the content he talks about makes up for it. The readings can be difficult, but if you do all of them and pay attention in class, there's no way you can't get a decent grade.

There's also a research paper due which was worth like 30% of your grade, just pick a large corporation that has had a lot of controversy surrounding it and you'll be fine.

Take this class if you're an IDS major, but I wouldn't recommend it as a GE unless you're willing to challenge yourself.