Bro these lectures were so so so long and absolutely useless. Thankfully, the assignments weren't based on what was taught in the lectures. It is a super easy GE, and I would recommend it - just don't go to the lectures. Also my TA didn't really speak English, so when I would ask her something she would high key just confuse me more and not answer my questions at all. NOT HER FAULT FOR NOT SPEAKING ENGLISH it just made it hard to have her as a teacher.

This class was pretty easy, and it wasn't necessarily over the top too difficult. The lectures aren't too important to attend, but they definitely are interesting if one can pay attention. There were two quizzes, and while I definitely benefitted from going to lectures for the first quiz, the second quiz was information that was within the modules. The two papers were also fun to complete. They were assigned about 3 weeks apart, and they took about 6 hours each max. The final was a playlist on any genre of your choice, and overall, the class was extremely doable if you don't fall behind. Even if you do though, the readings weren't required, but it may entirely depend on your TA. I'd definitely take this class again as this is probably one of the easier classes that one can take without needing to try too hard on.

This class was such an easy GE. Your grade is mainly 2 papers and a final project, all of which were graded super leniently (at least with my TA). The lecture can get a bit boring, but you don't have to go. Some days are guest speakers and those are fun! Definitely recommend this class for a low effort GE.

This was a cool class if you are interested in music around the world and definitely informative. The lectures are two hours long and the professor is not the most entertaining so it can be a little hard to stay engaged at times. For the quizzes you mostly have to be at lectures because he puts specific details on them if you missed it. My TA was helpful and the workload is very chill.

Very easy GE. The lectures were very long and not very engaging (other than the times guest artists came in). All the content you are tested on can be answered without listening in lecture and the paper topics were fun to write. The final was to create a spotify playlist which was very cool. Overall very very easy class and would recommend as a GE but not very interesting.

I absolutely loved this class and genuinely enjoyed the lectures with Professor Ruskin. He is a very engaging professor who cares about his students. I never needed to but I am sure if you ever expressed a concern with him he will be willing to listen and provide assistance to you.

The class itself was very interesting. The only assignments we had were two quizzes and two take-home papers for the midterm and final. Other than that there were weekly readings you needed to read for discussion. If you stay on top of the readings you will not have a hard time with the quizzes as they are based directly on that. If I remember correctly, the quizzes were timed but he gives you more than enough time to complete them.

It's not hard to pass this class with an A or A+ so I definitely recommend if you're looking to cover a GE.

Perfect for a GE! This class is easy and interesting, no prior knowledge needed. Many people don’t come to lecture but I would highly recommend it even if you do other work because they are really fun. You’ll definitely find cool music to add to your playlist and the guest speakers Dr. Ruskin brings in are engaging.

TLDR: One of the easiest GE's that exist at UCLA, but some changes to this quarter pushed that back slightly.

Not quite sure about previous quarters, but for this quarter, he started Canvas exams (open for 24 hours) that have questions pertaining to class lectures. Some of them pertain to the lectures on certain days, so if you miss class on that day and it shows up on the test, that's a loss of a free point. Most of the questions on the test pertain to concepts we learned in class, though.

Lectures are not mandatory, but discussions are mandatory. One midterm exam on Canvas, one final exam on Canvas. Both are MCQ's only.
One midterm 1 paper, one midterm 2 paper, one final paper.

He invites guests for special performances and talks (we had two guests this quarter). One of the guests was just starting their music career, another was a 12-time Grammy nominee (6-time winner) for Hawaiian music.

Hopefully his lectures in the future are a little bit more engaging. His lectures felt really really slow, and we would just stay on one slide for 30-45 mins.

I think it is clear that professor Ruskin is passionate about this topic and knows what he is doing. HOWEVER his presentations are very disorganized and it is hard to know what I should be notaking is very unclear. It feels like most of the subject matter discussed in lecture isn't at all related to homework. Overall its a fun class, but not amazing.

i hated going to lectures so much expect for the occasional musical performances. they were just so long and weary and i almost never paid attention because prof is really unengaging. HOWEVER, it is such an easy class that you can absolutely grab an A. I actually enjoyed and looked forward to going to section (shoutout my TA Learsi) cuz it was so much fun and you actually made a connection to your own taste in music. The papers were fun to write, and the final project was to curate a playlist surrounding a topic of your own choosing and your own connection to the songs and the topic. the assignments were very personal and it is hard to bomb them. i just hated lectures, everything else was so easy and fun.