History 156 is the best class I have ever taken at UCLA, and Professor Hernandez is the BEST teacher. She cares so much about the students, she even learned almost everyones names (in a class of 130)! This class really opens your eyes to the problems in the American prison system. It's extremely interesting and something everyone should know. Her lectures are formatted like she is telling a story, so they are very engaging. Once a week, instead of lecture she has an activist come speak about what kind of work they're doing. These people were all very inspirational!

The field trips to prisons and jails are such amazing opportunities that you should definitely go on if you take this class. This class was the first A+ I ever got at UCLA and I would recommend it to everyone! Take this course if you're looking for a REAL college class experience!

WOW. Professor Lytle-Hernandez has hands down been the best professor I've had at UCLA. She is the true definition of a scholar. Her class has changed the way I see the world. It's obvious that she's passionate about what she teaches. I took the History of Mass Imprisonment in Los Angeles and it blew my mind.

Reading is necessary because there are weekly quizzes (easy). For the midterm we had the option to go on two field trips and write about them (easy). She also gives you the opportunity to earn 10% extra credit!

Although this class has been an easy A, it's not because there is no work to do. There's a lot of reading, but they are all very interesting! TAKE A CLASS WITH HER!

this was probably one of the most interesting classes that I've taken. It does require readings everyday for quizzes that werent worth much in discussion, but most of the time I just skimmed over it to get the big idea. There is no homework and the midterm can be substituted with3 field trips that she provides. The final exam was just a final project which took me like a day. I got an A on this class and learned more than I thought it would.

Hist 12A is pretty much the perfect history GE. Not only was it one of the easiest classes I have ever taken at UCLA, but I also learned a ton of interesting things that I wouldn't have been able to pick up anywhere else.
Hernandez is a very personable professor, but she also is a stickler when it comes to phones or laptops being used in class (in other words, no laptops). Her lectures were easy to follow and reflected the material.
The class is graded based on a participation in discussion, a midterm, and a final. However, the midterm is open notes and very basic - she pretty much tells you what's on it. And if you don't like that, go on three field trips and you can skip the midterm. The final is just a project that you design yourself. I spent maybe 3 days working on my final project and ended up with an A.
Discussion section is all based on your TA. You will probably get a quiz each week, so at least skim through the readings. But, for the ridiculous 100+ page readings, just take the L and BS your way through that week's quiz. Your TA will then facilitate some kind of discussion. (Note: If you can get Mark as a TA, do it. He's definitely the best TA and a very interesting guy.)
In the end, this class will also heavily change your perspective on the justice system, the prison system, and the typical viewpoints of American society. Since you can pick up an easy A in the process, I would highly suggest this class.

This class was a joke honestly. I'm a south campus major and I definitely recommend it as a gpa cushion. I stopped going to lecture after week 3 because they're not mandatory, and all the information you need to know is in her book. You submit a super short (half a page double spaced) reading response once a week and there's no midterm. Final is a group project and honestly required little effort lol. Ended up with an A+ haha. She also offers tons of extra credit, though you probably won't need it. Fair warning though, she can be really annoying. The way she talked and wrote her book bothered me so much.

yes good

I am writing this review regarding the course coordinator Amber because I never actually interacted with Lytle-Hernandez.

I was not happy with this course. I think that it is unreasonable that while already working for free at an internship, students are expected to also complete the heavy workload of this class. While the assignments are basically graded for completion, they are still a lot of work. I had to write a 2-3 page paper every week and a 10 page research paper for the final.

Amber was not very clear in her instructions and was not great about responding to emails. The lack of effort she seemed to put into the course made me unmotivated to put in effort in return.

This is honestly the easiest class I've taken at UCLA. It required no effort, only a one-page double-spaced summary/analysis of the reading due in discussion once a week. Lectures were not mandatory for attendance and the "group project" at the end can be done by yourself. The grading was extremely lenient and easy. Even though I never attended lectures, I still learned a lot and found the discussion section to be engaging! As a bonus, there are a ton of extra credit opportunities available. I would definitely recommend taking this class.

Cool GE, professor is a real expert on the area, has written a book (pretty much our textbook for the class) and invites guest speakers regularly. Starting this quarter there are quizzes in lecture in addition to weekly page-long write-ups and the final project has a pretty extensive scope and criteria based off the book, lectures and some other stuff. But if you have any interest and are willing to learn about the extensive history of incarceration and its factors and impacts this is a great class to take. I feel that my own views on imprisonment have been refined and somewhat changed and I have a much better understanding and would be able to actually discuss this topic with real basis and evidence. Would recommend this GE but don't take it just because it's easy, cos it was more time-consuming than I had expected to be honest

I highly recommend this class to anyone who is looking to satisfy a GE or needs additional credits as it is super interesting and a relatively easy course. Professor Hernández is an excellent teacher and brings in guest lecturers that also deliver quality content. The course itself is fascinating and rewarding. I ended the quarter with far more knowledge about Jim Crow and the Prison Industrial System than I feel that I would have ever learned. I highly recommend the class.

In terms of the class the grade breakdown is 30% pop quizzes, 30% for a final project, and 40% for discussion participation/weekly reading assignments.

The pop quizzes are usually based off of the lecture that day so if you pay attention in class you'll get 100%/ they are mostly common sense. You'll need an iclicker. The final project is based off of the whole class (including the content from guest lecturers) so make sure you have some notes from each lecture at least. Participation in class is super easy if you do the readings (or at least skim) and the responses are only a page double space due online before discussion.

Overall I again highly recommend the class for its fascinating content, badass professor, and relative easiness. Loved it truly, 10/10.