This class was my favorite from this entire quarter and I am a math major gosh darn it. The class was very insightful and I found it very insightful to the history of Latin America. While the lectures were not always the most interesting I was never tired in the class, but maybe that was just me. It is very easy to tell that Prof. Calderon was very knowledgeable of the subject criteria. Her tests are fair and simple. Homework consists of short readings of which she provides PDFs of them all so you don't need to buy anything.

This class was really reasonable. If you are looking for an easy GE, this is it. Also, if you need this class for your major, this class is extremely fair. There is a good amount of reading at the beginning, but the amount starts to decrease through the quarter. Presentations are very detailed so even if you missed something during lecture, you can go back to the slides and reread them. She gives A LOT of extra credit which is awesome. Each extra credit you complete counts for 1% of your grade and I think she ended up having around 5 opportunities (so an easy 5% boost to your grade). 1 Midterm 35% of your grade and 1 Final 35% of your grade. Final was not cumulative. 2 film reviews which are pretty easy, watch a film from her provided list and write between 500-1000 words (3 pages double spaced) on your thoughts on it, and how it relates to the topics in the class. Each film review is worth 5% of your grade. Participation and attendance to discussion are each 10% of your grade. Professor Calderon does a great job explaining what is on her slides. 10/10 would take again.

I absolutely loved this class and having P. Arroyo-Calderon as a professor alongside P.A. Thomas as my TA. The class can get a little long sometimes but if you want to understand the readings lectures are something you can count on for doing so. She highlights everything about Latin American culture-- from precolonial L.A to current day L.A, helping us better understand why L.A is the way it is today-- and is welcoming to students who are struggling to go to her office hours. The course load was not as easy but it definitely is bearable. She gives 6 quizzes, throughout the entirety of the quarter that are only 2 points each (and she'll drop the lowest grade), two film reviews that are due on week 4 and finals week, and her exams are literally what we read/ go over during lecture. It's a very straightforward class, with exams that aren't too back-breaking, that makes you reflect on how Latin America and it's current dilemmas, past revolutions, and overall history impact us all. I loved this class and having Prof Arroyo as my instructor.

Good class, but I wouldn't say this was an "easy GE." There is a worksheet every week and you have to complete at least 6 of them. However, the TA's graded the worksheet every harshly and the worksheet took a lot of time and effort because the TA's were very particular about even the smallest details. We were lucky to have the TA strike this quarter which meant that the worksheets after week 5 were graded on completion (thank fuck), but it was still a lot of work trying to answer every worksheet question (around 7 question but you with a bunch of parts and you have to define a term and explain what it is, describe a picture in full detail, watch a documentary and answer like 8 questions, etc.) Grading structure: 40% worksheets (6 of them), 5% discussion attendance, 15% discussion board replies (8 of them), and 40% final project. Up to 10% of extra credit, 5% for attending 75% of lectures and 1% for extra credit reports (1pg report for going to the Getty, watching a movie, going to a book review, etc) Overall, good medium-easy GE, but if you're only taking this class for GE or diversity credit, I would recommend you to look for other easier options. PLEASE NOTE: This is NOT an super duper easy class now that it is in person and there aren't as many accommodations, so be careful. It's easy to get an A in this class if you put in some effort, but if you're taking 5-6 classes like me, it's not the easy GE (like musclg 5 where i never even went to lecture or discussion) you were hoping for when you read the other reviews lol

I'm a STEM major and took this class because I might want to do a Spanish minor, but it's also a fairly easy GE if that's what you're looking for. I'd been exposed a little bit to Latin American cultures from high school Spanish, but I learned a lot from this course and found it really interesting. Prof Calderon is a good lecturer and has really detailed slides; lectures weren't recorded, but the content on the slides covered perhaps 80% of it. Admittedly, there was a not insignificant number of times I was falling asleep in class, but I'd attribute that to the class being in the evening time. Attendance to lectures is optional but gets you extra credit, and attendance is required and taken at discussion section, as well as participation (and there are plenty of opportunities to participate in discussion as long as you're familiar with the week's content). There are also optional events she promotes throughout the quarter that I didn't go to, but they provide you with generous amounts of extra credit if you need it.

There are readings to do before each class, which she provides on BruinLearn so you don't need to purchase anything, and some of them can be kinda long but nothing too insane. I sometimes missed the readings before each lecture, but as long as you catch up before discussion everything is good. There are people who straight-up don't do the readings and probably get by, though I dunno how their discussion participation grade is impacted (but regardless, don't take this class if you're not interested in putting a good faith effort to engage with the content cos that'd be pretty rude of you). Other than that, the things you get graded on are a weekly discussion board post which is pretty open-ended and completion-based, and five bi-weekly worksheets that go into the content of the past two weeks. The worksheets can get kinda long and require some paragraph responses, but everything draws from lecture, and the stuff you go over in discussion is really, really helpful. It's quite manageable to finish in a day or two if you already know your stuff, but if you go back and read through the slides you'll be able to do it regardless. I think I put a reasonable amount of effort into my responses and got full score on all the worksheets.

There are no tests, but there is a final project worth 40% of your grade for which you submit a proposal around halfway through the quarter. Your TA will provide you with the expectations and guidelines more specifically, but it's overall very open-ended, can be any format/medium of your choice kind of thing that just has to engage with Latin American cultures in some way. It obviously depends on your project, but I think it's a reasonable goal to at least start working on it before Thanksgiving so that it doesn't pile up with your other work. I did not start mine until the beginning of Week 10, a week before it was due, so that was kind of just looming over my head for the entire second half of the quarter, but I was at least was comfortable enough in my other classes such that I could spend the majority of week 10 working on that project. I chose to do something creative which was probably why I put it off for so long, but I was never worried about my grade while making it, had fun with it, and ended up with something I'm pretty happy with.

Overall, I really enjoyed this course.

the easiest A i have ever gotten. there's no exams at all and the 'final' is a project that you can do by yourself or with a group. there's weekly worksheets, but you can miss up to 4 LIKE???? you don't need to attend lecture since the professor posts the slides, so definitely take this class if you need a GPA booster

I thoroughly enjoyed Prof. Arroyo Calderon's lectures and her course as a whole. She's fun and engaging, and she's very passionate about the topics she teaches. She is also very accessible and generous with her time during office hours. She also know's a LOT about Latin American history and culture. I would recommend her, but you have to like to read Spanish.

The breakdown of this class is as follows:
30% Midterm
40% Final
30% Attendance and Section

Grade is pretty much determined by the TA since they grade all the tests and they make the pop quizzes for section.

Alli was my TA and she was amazing, would definitely recommend.

Midterm and Final have the same format with one difference:
Multiple Choice
Picture Identification and Significance
People/Term Identification and Significance
Long Essay Based on Broad Topic
Personal Reflection Essay (Final Only)

The tests are SUPER EASY since the professor gives you a study guide, the only things to be wary of are making sure you thoroughly explain the significance and to write about all they ask for.

Professor Calderon is a very clear, passionate teacher although the class can get a bit boring at times if you aren't super passionate about the class like I was. Attendance is measured through an app, but in my quarter there were so many problems with it I think they just gave everyone 100% on attendance.

I'm a little torn as to whether or not I would recommend going to class as slides are posted every week and as long as you just memorize what's on them you'll probably get an A. The thing about going to class, besides that its graded, is that on the test she has pictures which you'll need to be able to identify and explain the significance of. While these pictures do appear in the slides, the significance and things you need to know do not and are verbally said.

READ THE ASSIGNMENTS
Most of the assignments aren't long at all, ie a poem or a song, but some do get superrrrr long. However, they are all necessary since the test requires you to reference class texts.

The subject of the class is interesting but she presents it in such a boring way.

She just reads off the slides the whole 2 hours and sometimes she'll add more to the lecture but its mostly whatever the slides say. Your grade is determined by the TA, I had a nice TA but she was extremely hard on grading. I asked the professor about my final grade and she had no idea on why I got that grade or how it was calculated and that was annoying since she approved it as my overall grade for the course.

The class isn't difficult by any means, you just have to hope your TA isn't a hard grader.

I took this class thinking it was going to be a really boring Spanish history class. I was mistaken. This was probably the best GE I've taken so far. Patricia is very clear and extremely engaging. While there are readings each week that she posted on CCLE, they weren't very difficult or long. She usually summarizes them in class, and the TAs summarize it during discussion as well. We had quizzes every two weeks in discussion. Generally, the TAs reviewed answers right before the quiz so they weren't horrible. Her tests are all free response, but aren't actually that bad. Generally, there are picture section, matching sections, and an essay. I thought grading was pretty lenient. Patricia is also very approachable and understanding.