Atrocious is the only word I can use to describe Professor Landecker. While the class itself isn't very difficult, she herself is. She makes the midterms extremely hard to score well on -- even if you understand the material (e.g. takes points off for using synonymous words in free response questions instead of the EXACT word she wants you to write, takes points off for writing outside of the text box???, etc.). Then, when most of the class scores poorly on the midterms, she has a bad habit of sending out passive-aggressive emails accusing students of not attending lectures/completing the readings and that we're creating more work for her by scoring badly. Her evidence and logic for why we are poor, inattentive students (rather than her being a bad professor) is that a few people managed to get full scores on the exam.
She also waited until the very last minute to submit grades (as in 3 hours before the deadline) and upon questioning when grades would be in, sent back a snarky email saying grades would be in by the end of the day.
One of the worst professors I've ever had in my undergraduate career; would not recommend.

To this day, I am still vexed about my experience in this class. My TA, Maris Kamalu, would take off points for such arbitrary and trivial things. It almost felt like she had it out for some students. My classmate received a higher score on a small assignment submitted using ChatGPT than on one she wrote herself. How are you deciding that the substance of AI can surpass the minds of the sentient? I will feel bitterness toward her whenever I remember this class.

Dr. Landecker also has a poor attitude. On the first day of lecture, she whistled at students who were leaving prematurely and said that she wasn't finished. People could have places to be or valid reasons to leave. Attendance wasn't mandatory so it was so bizarre of her to point out those students in front of everyone. She has the same demeanor as a strict substitute teacher who felt that she needed to demand respect at all times. When the midterm average was low, she attributed it to laziness. She thought so lowly of her own students and felt the need to remind us that she gives speeches at Ivy Leagues. She's the type of professor to tell students that only 10 students can receive an A in the class.

However, the readings were very interesting and helped enhance our understanding of the units she chose. The multiple choice portion of the midterm wasn't too difficult as long as you did the readings and understood the main idea of the lecture slides. But the free response section was phrased so vaguely and you wouldn't get credit unless you worded the answer in the exact way they wanted. Professors can test on whatever they want but I don't know how many students will take time to remember the exact year a certain law was passed.

TLDR: While the course was definitely more than manageable, the experience felt like being in a class where none of the instructors wanted you to succeed and held the belief that you didn't want to succeed either.

Prof. Landecker is very knowledgable in her field of study and this course has definitely been one of my favorites at UCLA! The class is divided into two sections (the first half on antibiotic resistance and the second on sleep biology). I found both to be extremely interesting to learn about from a biology and social lens. Although there is a hefty amount of reading each week, the coursework consists of attending lecture and section, 2 short essay assignments, 1 longer essay, a midterm, and a final. I felt like the midterm was on the harder side of tests since the study guide was somewhat broad and vague. However, I liked how in the second half of the class (after the midterm) she started to post reading questions for the readings (this helped to understand what I should be focusing on).

As a sociology student, I really appreciated the "integrative approach" taken in this course. The professor did an excellent job of having students engaged with the material in various ways, through many creative activities in discussion sections and assignments. She also communicated a lot through class announcements, which made me feel my learning was encouraged.

Professor Landecker's lectures were always well-organized and engaging. I always felt like I understood why we were doing what we were doing in class. The format of the class is very unique. I liked how we approached two very different topics from a variety of analytical perspectives.

~SELLING THE ISLAND OF DR MOREAU EMAIL *************~

Professor Landecker and this course were not overly challenging at all. I'm not premed and got higher than a 93% on both the midterm and the final. Participation also counts for 20% of your grade, and there's a weekly assignment that has to be turned in each week. Also, there are pop in class assignments to make sure you go to lecture since they're podcasted, giving you an easy 10% pass credit. I'm a little annoyed at the end of class, since there was one paper that brought my grade down to an A- when I got a 95% on everything else, and it appears my TA graded much harder than most other TAs, but overall the grading was lenient and nothing on tests was out of nowhere. It isn't a bad GE at all, and a very interesting class for pre HBS majors. Section was mainly lecture review, so could sometimes be a little bland, but at least it paid off on tests. Landecker is very passionate and knowledgeable about the subject, but she could often talk monotonously which could make listening difficult after multiple other lectures. Overall, I would take it again and didn't find it too challenging in the least.

This class may seem like an easy A. Before you know it, it is almost impossible to receive an A. Not because the work is hard (its easy,) the professor is just petty. Missing one class can automatically bring you down to a b. Although, you won't know this until it's finals week and participation is added. I wish there was some clarification on participation in the beginning of the course so students know that if the are sick they should still show up to class.

This class was incredibly interesting! I never thought that sleep could be so fun to study! Dr. Landecker is VERY knowledgable and makes students feel empowered to engage with the material.

Beware of the amount of reading required for this class. The exams are alright as long as you did the study guide and understood all the terms. Overall, this was a pretty generic GE. I am also selling the printed book of Island of Dr. Moreau for 5 dollars. Feel free to message me at **********.

Very reading heavy. If you don't usually do the readings for a class, then this isn't for you because the entire course is designed around the readings, with the midterms being "Reading Exams". That being said, this makes the class pretty manageable because as long as you do the readings, you should be successful. Lectures are helpful, but you don't need to attend them if you understand the readings well enough. There are "small writing assignments" that are 2-page essays, but they ask you to interact with a reading so as long as you do the readings, these should be easy and some of them are actually kind of fun, so if you're scared of writing essays this isn't bad at all.