I took this class Fall 2012 Let me tell you its an interesting class but your grade basically depends on which TA you get. Some grade easy and in my case my TA is a pain in the ass, his a hard grader. So if you take this class avoid taking it with FERANANDO SERRANO. He is a pretty bad TA, i don't think he is a fair grader.

Great professor! He starts each class playing some music and goes on to lecture in a rather engaging way.
He definitely conveyed an intense passion for Latin American history.
There are 2 papers which I found to be very reasonable. Just be sure to write it with enough time to show a draft to your TA.
He gives you possible prompts for the midterm and final--so helpful!
There is A LOT of reading, but I found most of it very interesting. I actually did all of the reading, but I know a lot of people who didn't and they seemed to get off with somewhat decent grades.
I received an A+, and I really learned SO much from this class!

Professor Terraciano is phenomenal! He is very passionate about Latin American Studies and encourages students to attend office hours (group dialogue structure). The readings are extensive but Terraciano and the course TAs work as a team to highlight the major themes and points for critical thinking. The load is lessened according to the format your TAs follow. In my section, we worked off collaborative group dialogue. We were assigned readings as groups (sections was split into 3 groups) and utilized the online forum to expand on the course topics.

As far as lectures, Terraciano is great at clarifying and reiterating important terminology and historical perspectives. I truly enjoyed the class more than I anticipated. He's translated several of the texts himself and is an expert on the subject. As others have mentioned, grades are dependent on your TA, but the scale is more than generous: 40% writing (2 essays), 10% discussion section participation, 15% midterm, and 35% final. Terraciano provides a sheet of writing pointers for historical papers, and your TAs work out outlines as a guide. Make sure to visit your TA with essay ideas/questions, outlines, and drafts and you'll be fine with the course. The midterm and final (especially the final) rely heavily on your comprehension of the subject, so just make sure to follow with the readings and cross-reference with the lectures (the blue reader is a detailed version of his lecture notes).

If you're going to take a course in Latin American Studies, Professor Terraciano is the best. Hist 8A winded up being one the best courses thus far. I highly recommend taking it.

Terraciano is a good lecturer, but the lectures weren't really all that necessary. The grade you get in this class is really dependent on your TA, which is unfortunate for those of us stuck with tough graders. Also, there is a LOT of reading, but you don't have to do all of it.

I just finished 8A with Terraciano, and he was easily the best professor I had during my first quarter here at UCLA. Readings varied from 1 to 2 hundred pages a week, but as others have mentioned he does not require you to read every word of every reading, and a good TA (Caroline, if she continues next year, was absolutely fantastic.) will further break down the readings. If you can't handle a college-level workload in that respect though, the subject isn't going to bail you out (I suppose you could make up some of the readings if you miss them, but good luck getting a good grade when your essays/tests are based entirely on your knowledge of source material). Unless you already had a passion for the subject before this class, it certainly won't encourage you to do the required readings on the strength of subject alone. To make up for this though, Terraciano balances the reading with relatively little 'work.' There are 2 essays worth 40% of your grade, and 10% comes from discussion participation, but 50% is based on the midterm/final, and the essay questions on those tests are given out beforehand so you can prepare. Again, if you keep up with the reading and go to class this is a very straightforward task.

The fact that Terraciano can make the subject interesting (Seriously, the man translated many of the sources you'll read, has been to many of the places you'll learn about; he's a master of the subject and it shows) is the best testament to his effectiveness; taking this class with anyone else would be hell and I definitely would not recommend it.

I got an A-, which I'm pretty happy with since the course IS NOT CURVED. I guess I should've assumed that with the inherent subjectivity of essays making a curve ineffective, but it's kind of a pisser nonetheless. This is where the course depends on your TA; I have friends who got A's on the essays because they had an easier-grading TA, while I spent days on end polishing my essays only to get my grade brought down because my TA didn't like the style I wrote with. That's the nature of essays, though, and it doesn't change my positive outlook on the professor or the course.

Bottom line: This class can fit in two different GE categories, it's not tricky, it requires lots of reading, has a good core of TAs and a great professor, and is worth taking even if you don't know anything about Colonial Latin America and don't think you care about it.

Professor Terraciano was the best professor out of the 3 I had my first quarter. He was very engaged in his teaching, always encouraging students to attend his office hours and playing music at the beginning of every class. I myself didn't go to his office hours but I've heard that he's helpful when it comes to the midterm and the final. He gives tips on what's going to be on it so I'd highly suggest it. The class consists of a LOT of reading but it's manageable because even he suggests that you skim through most of it and understand the main points. My TA Claire was especially nice because if a huge chunk of reading was assigned, she broke it down and told us which specific parts to read so that definitely took a load off. I highly recommend Claire as a TA. She's super sweet and very approachable. In the class, you have a midterm, two essays and a final. The midterm and final were relatively easy because he gives you a study guide on what's going to be on it. Love when professors do that. The essays weren't bad either because they're straightforward and you have various essay topics to choose from. Go to your TA's office hours for help on the essays; Claire was very helpful. Overall, I liked the class even though I'm not especially interested in the topic of Colonial Latin America, but it was pretty easy.

This guy is GREAT! He is funny, well organized and passionate about what he teaches. He is very inviting of questions both in and out of class. His lectures involve a general outline that is posted at the beginning of class and then move on to slides (although not always). He usually plays music pertaining to the lecture before class. His workload is reasonable, although once or twice during the quarter there is a lot of reading assigned. His tests are SUPER easy. He gives you a study guide for the midterm and final. As long as you follow your TA's advice there's no reason why you shouldn't get an A in the class.

Amazing professor and his class! I never thought I'd enjoy it so much, being non-Latino. The subject is fascinating, and professor's knowledge and love for the subject make the class so much easier and enjoyable. There is a lot of reading, and two papers to write, so you will stay busy.
I think this is the best class and professor I took at UCLA so far. I highly recommend taking this instructor. And he is very cool to talk to outside the class.
The drawback is that you have to attend discussions, which could be a drag if your TA is lame.

Prof. Terraciano is a great teacher. He knows what he's talking about and he's so passionate about what he teaches. He know so much about indigenous cultures. In this course he gives you the side of History that in high and junior high school was never taught. He gives you the native's perspective on colonialism, which is always interesting! He makes his lectures entertaining and the readings are ok. One of the books was really boring, but in the end were all worth reading.