Took this course as an elective, my first quarter at UCLA. There are 6 unannounced quizzes based on assigned readings. Quizzes are straightforward, very short and simple, usually just one question sometimes a very specific question so make sure to read all readings since you never know when she'll give a quiz. She uses super lengthy power-points during lecture like 20+ pages, one midterm and one final. She gives a very long study guide basically telling you to memorize EVERYTHING for midterm and final and doesn't even test you on all of it. The workload to prepare for exams in this course was stressful and gave me anxiety but exams turned out to be not to bad, makes you memorize different periods and time frames.

Exams are structured in the following way:
matching column, select from a series of photos and give description of the photo (time period produced, what does it represent and its importance to Latin American history), select 2 terms or people from a list to also give the same description of, and one essay!!

FYI the essay is worth have the exam grade so the more you know and study the better prepared you'll be for this part. Also, attendance is taken via an App, this app is different than others as you can only check in to the class ONLY if you are within a certain parameter of the classroom. So, attendance is pretty much mandatory and you wont want to miss either because you never know when she'll give a quiz.

I thought this class was pretty tough when it came to the exams because of the workload of material you had to study but it is very possible to get an A as long as you work hard for it. It was not an easy elective in my choice.

I took this class as a way to get extra units and a grade bump since I've taken similar classes before, but I did not realize the workload for the exams in the class. The class had 2 tests, a midterm and a final, and 6 pop quizzes, which sound relatively light in workload but required much reading to do. The pop quizzes required you to do the readings and remember almost all the details because it would test you on the most minute detail i.e how old is one of the characters in this story? this wasn't hard sometimes, but even when I did do the readings I couldn't remember some of the questions she would ask. they weren't a huge part of a grade and she would drop the lowest grade, but it still was nonetheless impactful for the difference between an A and a B. the midterm and the final were both structured the same, 5 matching, 4 short answers on people or events, 4 short answers on a photograph, and a long essay. the tests were a nightmare, I would freak out with the amount of information we had to memorize, the study power points she would give us would be like 20 pages of straight terms and photographs to study. I was freaking out, and the tests would be only on a few terms that she would spend days on in class, which was nice, but frustrating because she gave us so much to study. She takes attendance on some app, which is open up until halfway into the class to sign in which is nice. it does require you to be in the physical classroom though. overall, the professor was really nice and helpful, but her lectures were so drawn out and boring that I would hate going, although I did learn a lot because I was forced to study so much information. if you aren't willing to spend hours to study for the final and midterm and to do the readings, don't expect an easy A.

Patricia was the reason I became a Spanish major. Her class was taught in such an engaging and meaningful way; discussions were insightful and interesting. If you have the opportunity to take her for her Ethnic Otherness: Indigenous class then I would highly recommend. She's such a sweet person, her readings are long but mostly clear and interesting, and she always explains and expands on them. She has useful powerpoints and writes additional/helpful points on the board.

Absolutely love Calderon! She is such a sweet person and really wants you to succeed in her class. Her lectures are super engaging and your learn a lot in such a short period of time. Overall had a great experience in her class. Her midterm and final study guides are scary and they basically tell you to memorize everything but if you just make a timeline of events and people and get most of the general concepts you should be okay! Also she provides extra credit opportunities throughout the class and I highly suggest you do them as they are usually super interesting! Would take again (:

I absolutely love Profesora Calderon, she was such a sweet and kind lady and so incredibly well read on all topics and the information in her class. She taught the class so well and although the lecture could feel long and there was a lot of information and note taking I really enjoyed all of the course content. There are assigned readings for each lecture every week and although they may seem like a lot and yes sometimes they can be lengthy I loved the readings because I thought that I learned a lot from each one and she chose them very well. There are a few quizzes but they are pretty easy if you do the readings and pay attention, there are 2 film reviews which aren't very hard to do and I really enjoyed them because I learned a lot from each of the two films that I watched. Both the midterm and final weren't too difficult, they are just on the content she taught in class so you do need to study the course content but it isn't challenging. Overall she is an amazing teacher and person and if you take her class I suggest engaging with her and talking to her because she has great stories and is overall an amazing person and I really did take away a lot from her class.

I can easily say Professor Arroyo was one of the best I've ever had. She makes lectures very engaging and is clear on material as a whole and material that will be on exams. The workload is just right and she offers extra-credit opportunities if need be. She is very welcoming and offers all the resources available to assure that you succeed in her class. Highly recommend this course and specifically if taught by her.

Professor Calderon is a great professor and her passion for the topic comes through! Her lectures can be a little slow at times but overall I think the class was interesting. The pop quizzes were pretty easy (doing the readings is important but you can get by with skimming them before class) but they do mean you have to go to class just in case. Section was helpful as review, and the tests were straightforward. Easy A, just don't forget about the class completely and it helps to get the movie reviews done early.

Spanish44 w/ Professor Calderon was one of the first classes I have taken at UCLA as an incoming freshman. The content is easy to understand, and the professor's lively and passionate lectures were engaging at first, but me and probably half of the class stopped going to class b/c participation didn't matter (technically it sorta did b/c professor said she would bring up a grade by one grade scale if a student had perfect attendance) & the TAs just went over all the content in discussion sections. Also the professor uploads the powerpoints on CCLE (although she doesn't write all the notes you need for certain topics or pictures that are tested). You do need to attend discussion sections b/c the TAs do take attendance & participation. I think there were like 3-5 pop quizzes that were mostly pretty easy if you read the readings but I did struggle for one or two of them b/c the reading was sometimes confusing. I'd say the content is pretty interesting, but as someone who dislikes learning history in general, I gave up trying to understand and learn the course material after my midterm. If I gave more effort to my film review assignment thingy & final, I definitely could've gotten an A. However, this is a very easy GE class that also fulfills your diversity requirement.

Overview:
-I took this class because it fulfilled a GE and also counts towards a Spanish minor, this was the perfect class overall! Since it is ~corona time~ all the lectures were recorded (asynchronous) and you can watch them at your leisure. However, you do not need to watch a single lecture to get an A in the course! The discussion sections were also optional, which you can also skip and still get an A like I did. Super easy class as you only need to do weekly discussion posts (7 posts, 5 replies over the quarter) and weekly worksheets (doing 7 out of the 10 gets you full points). All the worksheets are about 5 or 6 questions and took roughly 2-3 hours max to complete (with distractions/study breaks haha). All the TAs were very accommodating and understanding if you needed to turn in anything late as long as you explained why. ALSO, THERE IS NO MIDTERM EXAM AND NO FINAL EXAM. There is a final project though, but I would take that over an exam any day.

Materials:
-no textbook required
-weekly readings are posted by the professor (which you also do not need to do to get an A)
-everything was digital and submitted through CCLE to your TA

Midterms/Finals:
-no midterm or final exams
-only a final project which was completely open to whatever you want to do (you can do a research paper, short film, song, artwork, or even a Spotify playlist). Whatever form you choose to do the project in needs to be accompanied by a 2-3 page reflection (why did you choose this project? were there any issues? what did you learn?).
-pretty easy and straightforward overall

Weight:
-discussion board- 20%
-weekly worksheets- 40%
-final project- 40%

Final thoughts:
THIS IS AN EASY A. TAKE THIS CLASS. IT FULFILLS A GE. YOU LITERALLY DONT HAVE TO GO TO CLASS AND IS ABOUT 3 HOURS OF WORK MAX PER WEEK. Read that sentence again. 3 hours per WEEK. That's literally nothing. 11/10 class though, definitely would recommend.

Took this class asynchronous during COVID, there are discussions every week that were optional, but were interesting and went over the week's content. There were plenty of opportunities for extra credit. Weekly lectures were posted and 1 worksheet due at the end of each week based on lecture materials. Weekly discussion board. NO midterms or exams, just a final project, which was very flexible and fun to do. TA was very understanding and helpful. Super fun and interesting GE! I loved it and would take it again :)