The class itself was actually a lot more enjoyable than I expected. Although the lectures did seem disorganized at times, you could tell the professor cared about what she taught about and had a genuine passionate about the subject. For the class structure as a whole, there are mainly two essays (both that undergo revisions) that make up your grade. There's no final for the class either. For the essays, it's worth noting that the rough drafts are generally graded harder than the revised essay as long as you put in effort to improve the draft and take feedback. If you do poorly on the first essay, I wouldn't worry too much.

This class is a difficult one for me to judge. Prof Chea is extremely passionate and chose films and books that I loved and learned a lot from. However, the graded notes and mandatory two hour discussions did feel like a bit much at times. There were two papers, and both of them were graded on the first draft and on the revisions. This is also very much an ethnic studies class, which not everyone may be prepared for. I highly recommend keeping an open mind, really digging into the texts and films, and taking advantage of having classes like this available to us.

In my personal experience, it is rare to take a course with a professor who is so deeply passionate about the content of the course they are teaching. Throughout the entire quarter, Professor Chea has exhibited deep enthusiasm for chronological experiences of Asian Americans of which she presents to us in great depth. She often has to stop herself from tangential lectures when she feels the need to delve deeper into the history she is presenting to us. The course consists of full-length films, short films, documentaries, novels, articles, and theoretical texts as media to analyze, alongside Chea's in-class lectures that provide historical context for the texts. It follows a chronological recount of the Asian American experience, with focuses on particular communities, ethnicities, and geographic regions depending on the historical lens through which we are analyzing.

Chea also did a wonderful job at incorporating the history of our institution, youth movements, and education movements to contextualize the meaning of Asian American society. Through her contextualization of Asian American literature and culture in this manner, she prompted us to understand systemic issues and struggles through a lens that can be applied to events we see unfolding in present time. Her presentation of material in this class was more than a recount of the past, but a tool to truly recognize and respond to injustices present in our current society.

While the course was heavy in the emotional weight of its content and demanded a lot of work in forming complex, nuanced arguments, I feel that its unfair to call the course unnecessarily difficult. Chea does not shy away from the complexity of this course, and she does a great job at presenting content in a way that creates emotional connection, provides means for fruitful discussion and nuanced opinions, and incites reflection about our own experiences and what we observe in the world around us. I don't think the course is unnecessarily difficult, I just think it provides more than surface-level thinking :). The articles and novels we read and films and documentaries we watch are both rich in information and provide a wide range of perspectives, providing more than enough references for arguments in our essays.

Overall, this course was one of the most engaging, eye-opening courses I've taken thus far, and I'm grateful for Professor Chea's enthusiasm and every text she presented to us. I could not recommend it more!

I'm writing this review because I could not disagree more with the other review. Not only was this class very easy (no final exams, just 2 papers and a couple readings or films every week), but Prof Chea is one of the most passionate professors I've ever had. The amount of care she has is contagious and all lectures were very engaging. She handles sensitive topics with the upmost respect. This is one of my favorite classes I had ever taken and I could not recommend this class more!