This class is basically just a history class about the Iberian Peninsula. There were 3 quizzes during the quarter, and the lowest grade got dropped. There was a midterm essay that you had 3 days to finish, and then a final essay that you had four days to finish. Torrecilla is super helpful; we were supposed to have a 10 page final paper due, but he gave us the option to just take the final for 50% of our final grade instead of doing both the final paper and the final exam.

I LOVED this class! Definitely recommend as a GE, even though I took it for my major/minor. It's basically a history of Spain class but if you like history, I found the information super intriguing and learned a bunch of stuff that's relevant to present day. Homework is just some readings that take maybe an hour a week, but tbh you don't even have to do them (you just discuss the readings in discussion section, but they aren't tested on). The slides are very well organized and the TAs answer every question someone might have during lecture. The midterm and final were both short essays in response to a prompt, and prof. gave us 3 days to complete them (more than enough time). The exams were cake because it's basically just regurgitating material from lecture. There was also a final paper on a topic of your choice- literally ANYTHING related to Spanish history, there were basically zero guidelines. It was lowk fun to write a research paper on whatever you wanted. Finally, there were three timed multiple choice quizzes on lecture material. The lowest grade was dropped but they are pretty easy as long as you re-read your notes to study. Grading breakdown: 20% midterm, 20% final paper, 30% final, 15% quizzes, 15% participation in section.

I love taking classes with Professor Torrecilla, especially because he has been supportive of his students since the pandemic started. For our final, we had a final exam (which was an essay) AND a final paper. After discussing with students, he decided we can choose between the final exam or final paper.

Do yourself a favor and take this class for an easy GE. His slides literally tell you what he will put on midterm and final, so you can just memorize the important details. There's no textbook also, just online articles he posts. Very nice professor, highly recommended.

Professor Torrecilla is adorable and very knowledgeable about the subject. He explains every concept in (sometimes way too much) detail and spends around the first 30 minutes of class reviewing the concepts he went over in the previous lecture. His slideshows are incredibly long, and he includes a lot of unnecessary details, but he underlines all important information that he will test on when he goes over them in lecture. He also utilizes lots of videos and film clips throughout lectures, which can get kind of boring and slow. Professor Torrecilla is always helpful and takes the time to reteach concepts that students have trouble understanding. There are three easy quizzes, one midterm, and one final, which were both easy as long as you took the time to study and master all the thousands of years of history covered in class. Additionally, there is one final 10 page research paper on any subject relating to the class. Overall, I would definitely recommend this class to anyone!

This class is so easy I forgot I was even in it sometimes.