I would recommend this class to anyone. The class was interesting, the workload was reasonable and the tests were fair. Additionally, Prof. Alim was an excellent lecturer and would make jokes and tell stories to try to help us remember the content, and he was always open to more discussion and class ideas.
We mainly focused on how race impacts communicative styles (especially black Americans) but also touched upon nationality, age, gender, and sexuality. I read most of the required texts because I enjoyed them, but you could absolutely get by without the texts. The texts and lecture covered virtually the same thing, though the lecture tended to focus more on important concepts and critical thinking/implications of the text.
The tests were pretty easy, online multiple choice, and the questions were based off of the texts/lecture, and the essays were each a page and a half long with an in depth prompt that pretty much walks you through what you need to write. Both the tests and the essays were basically measurements of whether you're paying attention in class/read the texts. If you pay attention in class you're pretty much guaranteed a B or higher grade.