The class is okay at best. It's a really easy GE and definitely not hard to do well in. If you took APUSH, it's the exact same course content. The content Dr. Marino covers is somewhat interesting. It does lean pretty progressive if that interests you. However, she has a monotonous voice that will put you to sleep at 8am if you took it when I did. Her slides aren't helpful, as they are mostly just historical paintings and photographs. She brings in pretty interesting guest lecturers, which I appreciated, especially from other parts of the History department. The readings were okay, and the historical documents were interesting – that's basically what you do in Discussion section. For me, personally, if I wanted a more interesting class, I would not take this, but if I wanted an easy GE and GPA booster, I would take this class.

Grading scale: 20% quizzes with unlimited attempts, 30% Discussion post, 20% in-person midterm, 30% in-person final. Midterm and final both include definitions, short paragraph responding to a historical document, and long essay response.

Professor marino was great.
The class changed its format of evaluation which definitely made it harder. I had never taken an American history class, because I am international. If you are familiar with the content you may find the class easier.
20% quiz
30% Discussion post
20% midterm
30% final
Midterm and final are in person and closed book.
Lectures are not recorded, so I would highly recommend to be in class! Since her slides are not helpful.

The test were definitely more challenging, but they were not as bad. Despite getting a B in the midterm, I was able to get a A+ in the class because of the final. Is definitely not a bad class

Definitely would recommend taking her as she is very sweet and always willing to help. The main points in the class came from the Wikipedia assignment and discussion posts. For the Wikipedia assignment, you find either a person or topic that is not on Wikipedia or one with a very short page. With your group (you got to pick members) you then research and add to it and do a very short (4 minute) presentation at the end of the quarter. I definitely enjoyed doing this and am proud to have contributed to Wikipedia.
For discussion posts, you have to do the readings for the week and then reply to the prompt. It was often a question or two about the reading and then you were asked to form your own question. The TA graded this and she was often very unclear on what she was looking for. This meant getting marked down, but luckily if you met with her on zoom she would allow you to edit it and turn it back in (and you'd likely get full credit). I assume it's a different TA every time she teaches this, so it's not a major issue.
The lectures themselves were interesting and cover a lot of different countries. My only other problem was how much reading was assigned. You only have to do five discussion posts for the quarter, so once you finish that, you honestly don't have to keep up with reading. There are no tests or essays about it, so you can read if you have the time, but if you don't you'll be fine.

I took HIST 13B in Winter 2025 with Prof Marino and TA Marcellin. I am biased because I generally like history, but this was a pretty awesome class. When it comes to the workload, this was a really light GE: there were no quizzes or exams except for weekly InQuizitives, which allow you to answer as many questions as you need to reach a target score. The weekly InQuizitives and lectures were based on the textbook "Give Me Liberty" by Eric Foner, which is available as an online edition. The only large assignments were a midterm paper and a final paper worth 20% and 30%, respectively. Discussion sections, when I took the course, had a weekly short response to write based on one of the week's primary sources.

Content-wise, HIST 13B felt very much like whatever part of APUSH covers the 19th century, but magnified. Coming from an APUSH background, this was nice because I had a gist of what happened but the class was still interesting as it went into a lot more detail and nuance. The content is relatively progressive leaning, but I like how while it doesn't paint American history as innocent or perfect it also isn't afraid to praise the moral underpinnings of our country where they were apparent. I left the class feeling like a very nuanced picture was painted of 19th century American history, which is what you should feel IMO, rather than seeing one side of history. There were some guest lecturers sprinkled throughout the quarter who provided a lot of more niche but interesting topics, e.g. one lecture was devoted solely to talking about the Civil War through everyday artifacts, media, house items, etc that remain from the time.

I had Marcellin as my TA and he was great. I like how in discussions he invited us to dig deeper into how different primary sources and how they connect. He was also helpful when I walked into office hours and asked for feedback on my final essay outline.

Sorry for the long blurb. I tend to write a lot, but if anything, take that as an indication that this class was something really great and I would recommend it to anyone interested in a relatively easy but enriching GE. Very relevant to our current age

You should take this class! Professor Marino was fantastic and has been one of my favorite professors I have taken throughout my first few quarters here at UCLA, as she genuinely cares about her students and their wellbeing!

On the first day of the lecture, we walked in, and right away, Professor Marino began by providing a safe space. Each time someone asked a question or provided an answer to one of her questions, she asked for their name and remembered it throughout the entire quarter. Who can learn around one hundred students' names and call on them by name when they raise their hands? Professor Marino can!

This course is not your typical lecture-based class; it's a platform for active engagement. Professor Marino's lectures are not only captivating but also thought-provoking. The interactive nature of the course, where every student's answer is expanded upon and further insights are provided, fosters a stimulating learning environment. This approach encouraged me to share my thoughts and ideas, knowing they would be valued and accepted.

Professor Marino often invited guest lectures that kept the learning engaging and fun and provided additional insights on the various topics we discussed in class.

My TA in this class was helpful and provided a safe learning environment! Shoutout to Madeline; she was fantastic. The discussion sections helped me better understand the material as we went around the room and shared ideas on various topics. This allowed me to understand and appreciate new perspectives. The TAs also helped with the midterm and final essays for this course and helped with our thesis statements, which helped guide the rest of our papers.

You have to take this class if given the opportunity! Professor Marino is brilliant, and 13B will forever be one of my favorite classes. This class aided in deepening previous knowledge and enhanced new understandings as we progressed throughout the quarter. Thank you so much, Professor Marino, for a great class and quarter!

Honestly, I didn't care for this class and stopped attending lectures after week 3. They're recorded so if I needed information I would just watch the recording. The two most important things are the papers where you have to cite sources from the readings and the lectures. This class is doable but it was just boring. The discussion sections are mandatory and they take attendance. Take this class if you want extra units or a somewhat light class.

Professor Marino is one of my all time favorite professors at UCLA. She genuinely cares about all of her students and will go above and beyond. For this class, there was a Wikipedia group project where you make a Wikipedia page for someone or something that does not have one yet (with the topic being related to the course). This project was so interesting and super cool! I loved it! The class itself is fascinating and the workload is doable. Professor Marino genuinely wants everyone to succeed and will help you get there! She is absolutely amazing, and I definitely recommend taking a class with her!

This is by far one of my favorite classes I've taken at UCLA. Professor Marino is an incredible professor. Her lectures are interesting and interactive and she is always willing to help in office hours. I would recommend her class to everyone.

I would highly recommend her! She is a great lecturer and her topics are very interesting. For this class, it relied on participation, weekly discussion posts, and two essays. Attendance is required, but the topics and her lecturing style makes the class not dreadful (I actually look foreward to going to class). Go to her office hours as well, she is super helpful when it comes to your essays.

Grading:
20% InQuizitive quizzes that have unlimited attempts
20% Midterm Paper (1000-1250 words)
30% Participation (includes weekly 300 word discussion posts and attendance at discussion sections)
30% Final Paper (1500-2000 words)

I liked this class a lot. It was definitely the class I looked forward to going to the most this quarter. I liked how Marino gave a holistic perspective of US History. Lectures were super interesting. Her slides had fewer words on it and had more pictures. My advice would be to be attentive and take a lot of notes so that you can use some of the points she made in lecture for your paper.

This class was essentially just APUSH Periods 4-6. I think anyone who took APUSH in high school and got a 4/5 on the exam will do extremely well in the class because most of the class's content will be review. However, this class also spends more time talking about the history of all groups in the US--stuff most APUSH teachers and classes largely ignore. For people who enjoy US History, I seriously recommend this class. It's an easy GE imo and it was always super interesting. Also, Prof Marino is a great teacher.