Some tips for others intending to take this class. Overall it is not a very difficult class, not a lot of difficult conceptual thinking but a lot of memorizing of small details that seems to be not that relevant/important. The only thing you should do to succeed in this class is to memorize all the information in his slide. The lecture and reading aren’t that important, he makes tests based upon the lecture slides and he gives a lot of curves. I got low 90s probably in both of my tests and I received an A+ for some reason. Definitely doable, especially if you have some Chinese background.

This class was very difficult for me. First, we have a map quiz, where you have to memorize all the 30+ provinces in China, as well as many geographical features. The midterm was extremely difficult in my opinion and I received a 44, and there was no curve. The final project was confusing to be honest, I wasn't sure exactly what was asked of us. I just gave it my best bet and turned it in. I studied for days on end for the final and thankfully I passed the class. The professor is funny, to be fair. He seems like he enjoys what he does and both him and the TA are very knowledgable.

Professor Zackey is funny and cool and knowledgeable. I would take a class with him again if I could. His tests are very reasonable. I think most students would say he is chill.

This course was so interesting and fun! Prof. Zackey is a caring, likeable, and funny lecturer with lots of insight from his many years of living in and studying the human geography of contemporary China. The class is well-organized, informative, engaging, and a great high-level introduction to the political history, natural history, and geography of China. It covers all of the most important topics for beginning to understand China on so many levels - politics, culture, regionality, ethnicity, economics and more. The exams are moderately difficult and require a degree of memorization of important years and specific names of important lists, people and places. He curves grades to very fairly. Be warned that the first two or three weeks of lecture and studying for the midterm will involve a lot of learning history specifically.