Avoid taking huppin at all costs.
Huppin teaches evolutionary psychology, which is sexist, homophobic, and xenophobic. If you are female, an immigrant, and/or gay, you will be offended by him.
On top of that he also bores you to death with his monotone voice, while torturing you with trick questions on MC exams.

One of the best professors I have ever had! He is engaging, down to earth, and very fair. I don't have a particular interest for law but this was still one of my favorite classes! Midterm and final are also pretty easy--he really wants his students to do well.

Huppin clearly knows his stuff. A Stanford law graduate, he's knowledgeable about what he teaches, though his explanations can sometimes use some improvement. One of the only things that bothered me about him is how he answered questions- there were many instances someone would ask a simple clarification question on a powerpoint slide, and he would go off on a 10, sometimes 15 minute explanation that was clearly unnecessary and extraneous, sometimes not even answering the question directly.

That being said, I loved this course- first amendment law. Of course I don't know how the class compared to a real law school class, but Huppin planned the curriculum thoughtful and carried crucial themes along as we went through the weeks. The class was simply a lot of reading- about 70-100 pages of court cases per week. The midterm and final are very fair. I got scored a 88% on the midterm, 99% on the final, and came out of the class with an A. If you're at all interested in first amendment law, I highly recommend this course.

the most boring professor i ever encountered in the the cs dep next to kelly i suppose. his monotone voice will put you to sleep. thankfully, there are more dynamic figures to choose from like fink for example.do not recommend unless u r an insomniac.

Huppin is a great professor. I took 171 and 146 and although the courses are completely different, both classes were very interesting. Two simple papers, midterm and non cumulative final (146- both exams are multiple choice- tricky questions). He is very approachable and helpful, always responds to emails and definitely does not lecture on "murdering step-children, humans are robots, rape is an adaptation.. etc" It is obvious that the student does not fully understand the material and that is unfortunate. Overall, I would definitely recommend Huppin. He invites cool guest speakers, interesting video clips (anything from Finding Nemo to About Last Night). It is not an easy A but the material is very interesting!

I took 171 with Huppin last Spring and am currently taking 146 with him right now. Since all of these reviews are for 146, I wanted to write one about 171, but first I wanted to address the first posting. As is stated numerous times below, the first post regarding 146 is completely off-base. This class is interesting, informative, and does not in any way promote rape, murdering step-children or the other ridiculous claims this student has mistakenly heard. Huppin always presents a unbiased view and makes sure that we know that he isn't trying to preach a certain view. Anyway, just know this is class is a very interesting class, that is quite enjoyable. Two short papers, a multiple choice midterm and final, and interesting class discussions.

So onto 171. I really enjoyed this class. I remember Huppin saying something about how this class was taught like a law school class, but don't let that scare you. He is a very fair grader, usually curves, wants his students to do well, and is always there if you have questions about anything. This class centers on First Amendment Law and Huppin provides a nice variety of court cases that demonstrate some of the more interesting issues concerning freedom of speech and press. We covered free speech issues ranging from movie ratings to porn. The readings consist of court cases and the test are hypothetical situations to which you have to apply your knowledge of the court cases. I liked this class because it made me really think about the material I was learning. There isn't much memorization, he made it clear that he didn't just want students to come to the tests and write everything they had memorized. His tests are short answer so you we able to argue and defend your answers (having taken both his multiple choice and his short answer tests, I have to say I like the short answer better). Along with the midterm and final (which are not cumulative) there are two short papers which tend to be grade boosters. Don't let the law basis of this class scare you, it is still one of my favorite Communication Studies upper divs and I have taken quite a few of them.

Bottom line: take Huppin -- he is a cool professor, is concerned with student learning, makes sure his lectures and are engaging, shows funny clips and movies in class, gets guest speakers to come speak, tells good stories about his family, and is an extremely smart guy.

Hi, I would agree with the majority of people that the class is great!
Multiple-choice is a little bit tricky, but as long as you pay attention you are going to be fine! Two-short papers are easy, you apply the knowledge you learn and read to real life, and they are related to two films
Huppin uses a lot of videos in his presentations, which are very interesting and related to the material! The use of videos is awesome, especially when it is a 2-hour lecture!
Huppin is also very approachable and shows concern for his students!
Moreover, it is one of the classes (and there are not many of them) in which you can apply the knowledge you get to real life. Also, evolutionary psychology helps to explain life situations, you don’t have to live or pray on it :) but the parallels it draws with real life are understandable.
I guess, the main issue here is not religious beliefs (though they may play some role), it is the issues of gender. If you are a strong feminist and is not able to accept some other possible truth of life, then do not take the class!
Personally, I consider myself is somewhere in between… but I really enjoy the class!
Moreover, there is actually a reading on the issues of feminism and evolutionary psychology which says that feminists could use evolutionary psych for their benefits and be more persuasive than creating ridiculous arguments defending women’s rights.

"huppin is a decent professor. i'm not quite so sure why his reviews are so glowing"

To answer this reviewer'a question; it is very simple, Huppin posts a lot of glowing reviews himself, and/or asks students to write good reviews for him. This information comes from a reliable source within the CS department. Bottom line, discard the super positive reviews, because they are fake.

Huppin is an extraordinary professor!
Really, even if you do not possess an interest in law/legal studies you will be motivated by him.
He motivates students to think for themselves and come to rational conclusions with the evidence and knowledge given. Taking his class will be an asset for you in your daily life and the way that you analyze situations.
Really, he is a gleaming professor in the dulling Communications department at UCLA.
I feel as if my experience in his class is a treasure, as he said himself, in the years to come your favorite professors may not remain. Go for a spin!

huppin is a decent professor. i'm not quite so sure why his reviews are so glowing. he's a great person, there's no doubt in my mind about that and he would make a great friend as well. it is also quite clear that he is an intelligent individual. unfortunately, his communication style can be... boring at times. he speaks in a sort of monotone voice that drags on. not exactly exciting to listen to. his tests for 146 are multiple choice only and some of the questions are worded vaguely, which is supposedly meant to make us think more critically. i disagree with this concept however, as the purpose of a multiple choice midterm is more towards seeing whether or not we know the information, not whether or not we can actually interpret what the question is asking. be sure to pay attention to the facts and figures he gives you because you just can't be sure which ones will be asked of you on the tests. i think this class could be a lot better if the tests were short answer format, asking us to discuss the ramifications of the studies we read in class rather than having us memorize minute details that we would forget not long after taking the exam anyway. actually having us think critically would be a far more constructive way of learning concepts in a way that we can apply in real life. i literally took the exam a week ago and i've already forgotten the majority of the material. that doesn't happen when we have to think about a topic in a coherent manner. unfortunately, we were simply asked to regurgitate.