i have to start off by saying I'm not a fan of US history so maybe my review is a little bias but I thought his lectures erred on the side of boring. First off all, there was so much information he would give and I thought some were quite redundant. Hes also just not a great lecturer. Like he def knows his stuff and is really into history of california but hes just not a good lecturer. all he does is read off his slides in an alarming speed, one where its basically impossible for you to write it all down. he has no texts on his slides, his lectures are not recorded and so it makes it extremely difficult to get all the information down. he is really helpful in his office hours and in most cases seems like a nice guy but i wouldnt value that as being a good prof. i dont think i would consider his exams and papers difficult. he does tell you exactly what he wants from them and so if you follow that closely your more than likely to get a good grade its just that man was this class absolutely boring

Professor is nice but his lectures consist of him talking very fast for the entire class. Doesn't give you time to write notes because of how fast he speaks and does not use PowerPoint so you have a chance to go back and write notes. He gives you 1 midterm (10 ID questions & a 4-5 Page paper, fairly easy), one 4-page paper, an image analysis, and one final paper (8 pages). Although the work is not hard, keeping up with his lectures is rather impossible, he reads his lectures way too fast.

I joined this class because of the high ratings on here. Yes, the professor is a funny lecturer, clear, and very willing to help his students. However I would not take this class unless you want to ruin your GPA. Sladeck is a "If you do the bare minimum you will get a B" type of professor and I simply disagree with this philosophy. I feel like if a student does what the professor asks of them, they should receive an A. The professor is a brutally harsh grader and has extremely high writing expectations for the midterm and final papers. Personally, I do not like the style of how he lectures- he speaks VERY fast (reads everything he says off of his laptop) and does not use slides (only picture slides) so it is hard to keep up and truly grasp the content while taking notes. You basically have to read all of the readings (and buy a book) in order to understand what's going on in the course. If reading is not your thing, DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. Additionally, I was horrified when the professor started going over his writing expectations today in class, which is why I am dropping this class in week 3... And also because I do not want to ruin my GPA. I would consider myself a decent writer and usually enjoy classes with written take-home exams, but absolutely not this class. If you are not a good writer, this class is not for you. I would not recommend taking this course as an elective to anybody, and especially not to non-history majors like myself.

Amazing professor, and maybe the best lecturer I have ever taken a class with. I have taken two other classes, and he continues to be an engaging, kind, and smart professor. I think I have literally learned the most from these classes without a lot of stress or burden. Literally, have to take any of his classes!!!

Sladeck is a great professor who made his class lectures, contents and assignments very clear. Even had extra credit opportunities. I loved his class and would totally take another with him. His lectures sometimes went very left leaning but who doesn't at UCLA.