If you're taking this as a GE, you're probably better off finding an easier one. As people have mentioned, if you take this class, copy down everything from her slides, as she doesn't post them online. There are weekly discussion posts, and participation in discussion section matters. Each exam only covers half the quarter, but they are both extremely comprehensive and include identifying passages from a number of texts that you are required to read. Reading the textbook before the exam really helps you remember all the terms because it puts everything in a sort of storyline.

LMFAO I can't believe I got a C for a GE class! I personally liked the professor but the amount of effort required for this class is kinda ridiculous.

Nina Duthie is a good professor in terms of explaining the course materials. However, there are too many assigned readings every week that it makes it really difficult to keep track of all of them. You will be reading primary sources, textbooks, and pdf stories. This is the worst part. There are also discussion posts every week in regards to the readings that can be a real pain depending on what TA you get. TAs are not helpful, and attendance is mandatory. Now, the midterm/final is really tough because they are all fill-in responses, no multiple-choice (unlike the other Chinese 50 classes). You are required to write 4 short paragraphs, respond to 10 topics/ideas, and analyze 4 pictures and texts, all in 75 minutes. There is also no curve in the class, so what you get is what you get. I highly suggest no taking it with her, it's not an easy GE. It's not her, it's the format of the class that makes it tough.

Overall, Professor Duthie is a great lecturer, as she is genuinely very passionate about the topics she teaches. I also generally enjoyed the content of this class. However, Duthie's expectations for her students are too high. She assigns a lot of reading, expects a certain level of background knowledge, and her tests were too hard (no multiple choice, had to memorize 110+ terms). Unless you have a background or deep interest in Chinese history, I would say that this class is unnecessarily time-consuming. With that being said, if you're willing to spend hours studying, you can and will get an A.

The workload for this class is minimal, but you have to study A LOT for the exams. You have to write 1 paragraph a week, but the paragraph has to be well written. 10s are rarely given out (the average is usually a 9 or high 8), so if you want an A in the class you have to put some thought into it. For the exams (midterm + final, noncumulative, weighted equally), you have to be able to regurgitate as much info from lecture as you can for each question/topic. There is no multiple choice, no fill-in-the blank. You have to know, at the very least, the date/dynasty, context, and significance for EVERY term that she puts on the study guide list. It is a LOT you have to memorize. I ended up making a 40 page study guide for the final. I memorized those 40 pages for the final and did well on it (>97%). So there is no going around it -- EVERYTHING that she puts on lecture related to a term on the study guide, you should have it memorized (thankfully her lectures were recorded). For her exams, focus on lecture material. You can succeed without doing all the readings thoroughly.

As to the class itself, it was well-structured. Professor Duthie's slides are well-organized, her expectations are clear, and the TA's are nice. The discussion sections were chill. (Attendance is worth credit.) We did so poorly on the midterm (the average was in the 60s) that she gave us partial credit and curved it so that average was in the 80s. She also gave out an extra credit assignment.

So most important thing: be prepared to memorize. You should be able to recall date/dynasty, context, significance for each term without any memory aids. It is a fair class, but you will have to work hard!

While Chinese 50 is one of the easy GEs, Duthie made it relatively difficult compared to other professors for this class. There were no multiple choices (which all other professor has!) and instead she had tons of questions for definitions and free responses. Grading was highly subjective so you better hope you get an easy TA. If you are taking this class to satisfy GE requirements, just wait for other professors.

Depending on which TA you get, grading of exams could be highly subjective. To get an A you also have to dedicate a lot of time to the readings assigned weekly, which makes the class not as an easy GE as most people said online.

take your laptop to the class so that you can type everything from the lecture slides. she doesn't give slides to students, but you must memorize everything on it. Do all the readings(4 to 5 readings but not long) and underline the part you think it's important so that you can write weekly posting. Before the midterm and final, MEMORIZE ALL your slide notes. Final is not cumulative, otherwise it would be impossible. For the text identification section of the test, since you already do the readings for each week, just go over them really quickly(the underlined part) when you prepare for the test. I'm pretty sure you'll get A- by doing all these works:)

The course covers Chinese Civilization from mythological era/Zhou dynasty to People's Republic of China (roughly from 1046 B.C.E. to present)
If you are taking this class as an easy GE, do yourself a favor: DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS UNLESS YOU ARE INTERESTED IN CHINESE HISTORY OR HAVE A STRONG FOUNDATION IN CHINESE HISTORY.
The required readings per week are usually 1 chapter from the textbook, 4 (number increases gradually) main sources from the sourcebook, and an additional PDF document (or 2~3 depends on the topic covered) that is boring and long if you are not interested in philosophy. The weekly posting on CCLE is required (based on the sourcebook/PDF readings). Discussion participation is required as well.
The midterm and final are all free response based (3 sections total). The first section is short answer, second is identification, and the last is identifying the author, title, and significance of a text/picture (only given a paragraph from the actual text).
This class, out of all my classes of fall quarter, required the largest amount of effort and time. The most crucial skill needed for this class are note taking (in class for slides and on your own for the readings), time management, and memorization (significant people, events, dynasties, and their significances).
GOOD LUCK!

I got A+ for this class and I really like it. But this class can be quite demanding, requiring lots of memorization and readings. We had one midterm focusing on history from the very beginning of Chinese Civilization to Tang Dynasty. The Final is not cumulative focusing on history from the Song Dynasty to present. So it's bascically two Midterms, each accounts for 35% of the grade. The rest are weekly posting and participation.