This is the second class I have had with Dr. Herrera and I wish more classes were taught by him. He is an extremely thoughtful professor and the coursework is relatable, engaging, and thought provoking. The assignments are reasonable and the course material brings different angles to light in regards to the week's content. This class was taught remotely without much preparation and included recorded lectures as well as live office hours. Truly one of the best professors I have had and I am appreciative of the content and his compassion.

Once again Professor Herrera brings wonderful insight into the world around us (well, California) with his GEOG 184 course. I had taken GEOG 3 with Professor Herrera before and I was thrilled that he was teaching more GEOG courses since I had thoroughly enjoyed his other class. The lectures were posted online, available to watch at any time. Professor Herrera is very knowledgeable, kind, and understanding. All of the content discussed in this course remains relevant to the structure of not only California, but in the structure of our society today. I attended office hours one time, and I really enjoyed having a professor take the time to ask about my story and for feedback on the course. I do recommend this course with Professor Herrera 100%.

There are slides posted for the lecture, and it is always helpful to takes notes on them. The readings can be long, but they are all very important and interesting reads.

Grade breakdown:

20% Participation/ Discussion Forum Comments: There are weekly forum where we would share our thoughts on the week's readings. You only needed to choose one to write about, but it helps to talk about multiple readings to show your engagement and understanding of the material.

30% Reflection Papers: Two 3-page analytical reflection papers based on selected films or articles. The TAs graded pretty harshly on this, and I believe it was graded a bit oddly. I spent a lot of time on them, but I did not receive the grade I had aimed for.

20% Online Quizzes: They were all multiple-choice questions based on the readings and lectures.

30% Final Exam: Due to the various external factors going on around us, it was a no harm final, and it was an essay question (3-5 pgs). I did not participate in the final, and I was still able to receive an A in the course.

Professor Herrera is the best. I had him for Geog 3 as well and I liked him so much that I took this class with him as well. I'm bummed that he isn't teaching any other Geog classes. He truly cares about each and everyone of his students. It is clear that he wants everyone to succeed. As long as you do the readings, show up to class and interact with other students and with Professor Herrera you'll do great. This was one of the few classes where the entire class (around 80 students) felt more like a community rather than the typical anonymous and unsocial lectures where everyone is in their own world. He listens to student feedback and genuinely wants his class and content to make sense, be helpful and understandable. Take a class with him if you can. He's amazing.