Please disregard any positive reviews about this Professor. If you want to save your grades, do not take this class. Just don’t do it. I don’t know how her grade distribution looks good when in reality you will be crying due to stress. If you want to ask her a question, get ready to be called a moron or yelled at. I honestly think Corey has mental issues. Not only are her lectures unbelievably grim to watch, but they do not help you answer the prompts on the midterm/final. Because it is so unclear as to what tf is actually going on, even if you write a perfect essay, her readers or even Corey herself will nitpick the living day-lights out of your paper. So, if I could save even one person from taking this class, don’t do it. Just don’t.

I, like you are now, read the BruinWalk reviews for Dr. Corey and was initially turned off of all of her classes. However, I was encouraged by several friends in years above me to take a class with her, and that she was one of the most interesting lecturers they had ever experienced. Having taken 142D with Corey, I can say that both the reviewers on this site and my encouraging friends were correct.

Dr. Corey is very smart and interesting, and she doesn't beat around the bush when it comes to discussing sensitive topics in the classroom. I believe she said something along the lines of, "If you need a trigger warning, you're in the wrong class," and that really stuck with me. I learned a lot in this class, both about the era in which we discussed but also about what it means to be a historian.

The class is mostly about race, focusing on Black and Jewish contributions to the creation of popular culture in the 19th and 20th centuries. I found the material to be challenging and eye-opening. A previous reviewer stated that she said the n-word in lecture. This doesn't surprise me, since Dr. Corey does not shy away from discussing viewpoints or ideas that have been deemed offensive, if they have historical relevance. However, I would also like to make it clear that she did not utter slurs of any kind in any of the lectures of hers I attended, and I doubt she will in the future.

If you want to do well in the class, GO TO LECTURE. She does not take attendance but the essays you write should be primarily based in the content taught in lecture. This is much more of a "historical analysis" class than a history class, as the dates and events are less important compared to the interactions between different aspects of "culture" during the time period. That all sounds very convoluted but it will make sense if you take the class. She goes off on a lot of tangents. They're often funny.

Only positive thing is there are no other assignments except for a midterm and final. So if you’re taking this for your diversity, you have time to work on stuff that matters to you. Professor is entertaining to listen to and passionate about what she teaches. But most of what she says is opinion stated as fact (some of which is verifiably incorrect by a quick google). She also has her favorite students which is noticeable, but not disruptive (most of the time). She might be a good professor for other courses, but this one definitely not. I was marked off for “not including any quotes from lecture” on my midterm. Mostly because after having gone to every lecture, I realized nothing was useful to quote. I wouldn’t rate so low if she weren’t such a harsh grader as it was still entertaining, albeit kind of pointless.

Please ignore any positive reviews about this professor. If you care about your grades, avoid this class at all costs. Trust me, don't take it. Despite the misleading grade distribution, you'll be overwhelmed with stress. Asking her questions? Prepare to be insulted or yelled at. I genuinely believe Corey has some issues. Her lectures are not only dull but also unhelpful for exams. She rambles in class about the most random stuff that has nothing to do with the lecture. Her reading has nothing to do with the midterm or final essays, as well. Her feedback is so rude and impolite. It's been two weeks since school ended, and she hasn't even grade our final essays...grades haven't even been added to the system. Don't take it her. Just don't.

People usually have very mixed reviews on Prof. Corey but her classes and material are always very interesting. I would not recommend this course to someone who is not a strong writer. However, if you are a strong writer & capable of reading through some material (AND ATTEND LECTURE) then you will be fine. She can certainly be abrasive at times & is not always helpful or approachable so if that doesn't sound like something you're okay with, then I would not take this. This is my second class with her and I would take another one.

I'm definitely going to avoiding Corey's classes from now on. The lectures are disorganized, just a series of pictures as slides and she jumps back and forth through them. The midterm and final are take home essays, but they're a mess and she changes aspects of them and gets angry when she has to clarify something even though most of her changes are incoherent. If you go to her office hours to ask her about something from lecture, she gets mad and says that she already talked about it and that you should know it. Not a fan.

Probably one of the worst professors I have had to endure. She lectures the entire class which feels more like she's just spewing random facts/ her own opinion on you. The slides she does use are all just pictures and so unorganized and not really helpful in any way. Don't be fooled by the fact there are no formal weekly discussions. You will be required to meet with your TA 3 times as well as a review and writing session. This is factored into your grade so it's mandatory you do. The mid term and final are essay responses to prompts that aren't very coherent. If you decided to take class, take very very detailed notes they will be helpful for the essay responses.

Honestly, I sat in class and thought "what the heck is going on"?!
Yes, she is funny and outspoken and I think that is why people rate her well and say she is amazing but they are looking at a class for all the wrong reasons in my opinion. This is my second time taking her and while I got a good grade, I really dislike her class. Again, people seem to LOVE her just because she is funny to them but this is not a history class. Of the both times I took her, I can honestly say I did not learn a single thing. Lectures are her random rants on the subject and notes were just writing down all the random opinions she threw out and you better include a similar POV as her in your papers otherwise you're wrong so that was the only reason I took " notes",
I only read one book all the way and attended lecture, and got an A. I never went to office hours with my TA and she stresses you do so but that is up to you. I think she emphasizes important things in her class like the reading and lectures even though they are all pointless.
There is no learning or deep thinking in this class -- its learning HER "DEEP" THOUGHTS.
I am a person of color and never experienced any form of racism from her so that confused me.
Class is definitely more interesting than some mundane old professor just spewing facts at you but I really wanted to learn things of actual significance because she never went into enough detail it was just "blah blah Kendrick Lamar blah blah"
And people just love her and laugh the entire class and you sit there thinking, "what am I paying money for?!"

Waste of time, I don't care how straightforward or "easy" the class is, I hate her style of teaching and hate that class after class, sheep-like students eat out of her palm as if she has anything useful she is giving us.

GO TO LECTURE. The class is almost entirely lecture-driven and Dr. Corey is an extremely engaging lecturer. Corey is unabashedly liberal and critical of contemporary society, so If you are uncomfortable discussing social issues and racial relations or consider yourself a sensitive conservative do not take this class.

For the midterm, professor Corey mails out 6 prompts of which you choose 2 to answer in 2-3 double-spaced pages each. The final follows the same layout but with 9 prompts to choose from as well as a music assignment and a film assignment. Elle was a great TA and was very prompt in her email replies.

Overall, I would consider this an easy class that requires no great effort to do well in. I barely did half of the assigned reading and never attended office hours but got an A in the class because I attended almost every lecture and took highly detailed notes. TAKE THIS CLASS.

So she's notorious for being borderline racist. Her beliefs are questionable but she's definitely intelligent and gives passionate lectures which feel more like acquiring beautifully scripted trivia than actual knowledge. The key is to answer the questions to the midterm and final which are both take home as directly and clearly as possible. Aka...basically regurgitate the info she has lectured to you. The part I hated most were her little TAs. They felt more like minions.