Makes students feel very welcome in having a discussion during class and posing arguments; he talks a little fast, but lectures are a pretty good pace; definitely knows what he's talking about; some of the readings were missing a page or so and some of them were uploaded out of order which made things very confusing, but the reading materials themselves were good; really good professor; helpful; concerned with student learning; definitely go into office hours— he's a professor you want to get to know; good lectures; must do readings because pop-quizzes, reading material is uploaded so you don’t have to purchase anything

A good professor, an interesting class, about 3 2 question quizzes that come out during the quarter randomly so its important to look over the readings at least. The exams were multiple choice and some questions are one-sentence answers. Final project include a 10-page paper about an urban planning issue that I urge others not to procrastinate on like me lmao! I also suggest going to the TA's for advice or at least a look through on your topic if you do take this class and have to do this paper. Professor is cool and lecture slides were posted online. Not too many readings, they're mostly news articles and excerpts from books. Overall a light and fun class, highly recommended to go to lectures.

I took this course during my first quarter here, because it sounded like an interesting GE to take.

The exact scope of the course is difficult to define. Every lecture (and the readings that accompany it) is focused on a specific abstract concept and its relation to architecture. The readings are highly diverse and can get quite abstract; this is where the lectures come in. Professor Osman is a tremendous lecturer, equal parts insightful and humorous. More than once I was befuddled by a reading only to have it perfectly explained by Osman in the next lecture.

Each week, you will have to write a brief (approximately one page) reading response. I found these slightly arduous, and they require you to be very concise, but they became easier as the quarter went on.

The midterm and final are very straightforward. If you understand the concepts introduced in the lectures, you are unlikely to run into trouble.

Overall, this is an interesting GE to take. The readings can seem quite confusing and dense at times, and they are not typically quick. But Osman’s tremendous lectures clear it all up and make for a fun course.

Took this as a GE after dropping out of two other classes (so i joined this class after two weeks) but i loved the decision. Professor Osman is a very engaging, caring, interactive, fun lecturer. Although there is a lot of reading to do in this class, eventually you learn how to skim and read and note only the important stuff. Sometimes he would go off topic (which wasn't always a bad thing) and if that meant he rushed through the last few slides, he ensured to brief them the next lecture. I would highly recommend anyone who id ready to put in a little effort to take this class. His midterm and final is not very difficult if you know your main important slides. He is not bent on failing students, rather will make sure he picks the most important, lengthy discussed slide so everyone has some idea even if they blank out.
His midterm and final cover completely different portions so even if the first half of the class is a little difficult, you can easily catch up in the second half. we have to submit weekly reading reviews that need not be very long (my TA wanted exactly one page,double spaces, point 12) and is not very difficult. you also dont HAVE to do all.

overall the only thing not satisfactory about this class was that sometimes the readings were posted a little late (especially at the end of the class near thanksgiving break) so i could not go through them when i has planned to earlier in the week. Other than that, make sure you have a good understanding with your TA and it is an amazing class.

There are a lot of readings! Plus, it's really confusing...at the start. It took a while to get use to the material, but once I started to take notes on each reading and lecture in my own words, everything started to make sense. Looking at the grade spread, I can't believe that in Fall of 2015 I was 1 of like 2/3 who got an A+. That's why I want to help my fellow bruins and sell copies of my notes that I used to ace the class. I am selling them for $20, and you can text me at **********. The class, overall, is very interesting but I spent so many hours trying to comprehend the different concepts. So trust me when I say my notes are going to save you probably dozens of hours trying to understand this class.

Great lecturer, one who cares about the subject.

About 10 hours of reading per week. The readings are philosophical and difficult to understand sometimes but the lectures help!

It was helpful to read prior to lectures or a day afterwards to solidify understanding of weekly themes and remember them in the long-run. Recalling things from readings will be necessary on the midterm and final so it's good to have a strong understanding of the readings.

I kept up with the readings for the most part and reviewed my lecture notes/connected weekly themes a couple days before the midterm/final.

My advice is to keep up with the readings, cramming before the final because falling behind even on a couple readings was a stress fest 10th week.

Also, his final is 10th week so it can be good (focus on other finals 11th week) or bad (less time to study).

Final grade: A-

This class provides you an insight to the discipline of architecture. Some of the materials are really challenging and takes a lot of time to fully comprehend, if you are really interested in the subject. Otherwise you can just understand the key ideas of each reading (and the title, author and the architectural concepts), plus paying 100% attention to the lectures. You need to write a reading response every week, plus a midterm and a final.
In order to get good grades, there're a lot of memorization and it was kind of overwhelming. The prof will ask you to write very specific details of a work from many many works you've learned (like the year of a work, or its relation with another one)
I can be your TUTOR and point out which concepts you actually need to memorize for exams, and also help with the reading responses, help with the reading. I got near perfect score from this class and still memorizes the class very well, so A PLUS is GUARANTEED ! Text me at ********** (Mike)!

There are a lot of readings! Plus, it's really confusing...at the start. It took a while to get use to the material, but once I started to take notes on each reading and lecture in my own words, everything started to make sense. Looking at the grade spread, I can't believe that in Fall of 2015 I was 1 of like 2/3 who got an A+. That's why I want to help my fellow bruins and sell copies of my notes that I used to ace the class. I am selling them for $20, and you can text me at **********. The class, overall, is very interesting but I spent so many hours trying to comprehend the different concepts. So trust me when I say my notes are going to save you probably dozens of hours trying to understand this class.

ARCH&UD 30 is your typical class of lecture slide and readings responses. Professor Michael Osman is very engaged in teaching and he is very passionate about every single details of the class. Sometimes it might feel fragmented as Osman switches topics constantly, but if you like architecture, I can assure that you find no problem to overcome.

The biggest problem with this class is how it is FULLY dependant to your TA, it does not matter how good you are in lecture, if your TA doesn't like your writing style, you are screwed. We submit a reading response weekly which contributes to a large proportion of your grade. Readings varies, interesting or full. Some TAs are more oriented to responses as some are to analysis. Make sure you know what your TA wants.

Reading response is your key to get good at this class, I am selling my reading response for $5 each to let you take reference. You can use them to get a good concept on what the readings are about. Feel free to contact ********** if you are interested.

I should note that I am not an architecture major and have never taken an architecture class before. Dr.Osman was funny, well known on the material, and honestly incredibly helpful. There are weekly reading responses that depend ENTIRELY on your TA. My TA originally gave me a 7 out of 10, which I took to another TA and said she would have given me a 9/10 instead. So be careful with your TA I switched after one week and it was the best decision I could have made. Maryam was an AMAZING TA. The midterm and final are both structured the same way. 1 question will show you two random slides which you have to name the date, who made it, what it is, and be able to analyze them. Another question will give you two paragraphs of separate readings and again you have to name them and analyze them. The last is showing a picture and text. It's quite difficult but at the begining of lecture he goes over the main slides from previous lecture (those tend to be on the exams). There are no textbooks he uploads the readings and you need to do them for your weekly responses. I am selling my notes that I used to study on both the readings and the lecture. I was able to get an A using these notes so let me know if you'd like them **********