I loved this class. Professor Mankekar is so sweet. She was very clear about the fact that she wanted this class to be low-stress and was super accommodating. She made the final optional! My TA Jananie was also really sweet and a good grader. I took this class in the online format and really the only work to submit was three papers, each around 4-5 pages and spaced 2 weeks apart, responding to a prompt on the course content and synthesizing materials from lectures, readings, and films. They each took me quite a long time but they are not very difficult; I got an A on all of them. There's asynch lectures to watch, readings (often long but close reading isn't crucial), and a few films. You also have to show up to discussion and participate as a part of your grade.

One thing to be aware of before taking this class is that it's not simply about the history of Asian American women. It's more about "using gender as an analytic" and has a lot do with understanding and analyzing how things like race, gender, labor, and geopolitics shaped the lives of Asian immigrant women. That kind of sociological/analytical/whatever type stuff did not come naturally to me so it took a bit of BSing at first. Definitely something to keep in mind if that's not you. However, I still liked the class regardless; it really opened my eyes! If you are looking for an easy GE/diversity req, it's a great option.

I am currently taking this class and I love it! It's asynchronous, so we can work at our own pace. The group presentation of discussion questions was feasible and not difficult in comparison to other classes. The essays seem hard at first, but after you become comfortable using gender as an analytic, it becomes easier! Overall a great class and easy GE!

This class was mainly taught by the T.A. I did not watch any of the lectures at all and was able to get a very good grade in the class. The class is mainly composed of two essays and a group project. Due to COVID, the exam is optional if you are content with your grade.

Great class! I especially love when professors provide documentaries and films for students to watch, and the ones we watched in this class were some of the most interesting ones I have seen.

Joseph Tsuboi, my TA, was really kind, knowledgable, and accommodating. They made my experience in the class awesome!

Don't even need to watch lectures, I just skimmed over readings every now and then, half the time I didnt even read them. We have 2 essays and a group project, for these, I would recommend watching the assigned group projects and lectures to complete the assignments. Easy class, I would take it again for sure. Essays are only 3-4 pages and easy to write.

This was a great GE to take, it was genuinely interesting and super easy. The professor was super accommodating and friendly, and the TAs were also very helpful.

All you are graded on are two essays. There is extra credit for the professor reviews.

***This review is for Anthro135S, Sex, Race, and Difference in Transnational Film with professor Mankekar; Bruinwalk is being weird about this for some reason but hopefully it'll get fixed***

Love love love this class, it was such an interesting topic and introduced me to such great movies.

Grading:
3 essays - 75% (25% each, but the TAs are pretty easy graders)
Discussion section participation - 10% (my TA just did it based on attendance rather than talking)
Group presentation - 15% (pretty easy and I don't think anyone got under 15/15, and not everyone has to speak if they don't want to)

Professor Mankekar seems like a pretty nice person, but I don't think her lectures were that clear. She often didn't elaborate on topics or when she did it did not help my understanding. I didn't watch many of the lectures or readings though, unless they'd help me with the two papers and 1 group discussion presentation.

I got a C- because I didn't turn in one of the papers, but I'd take this class if you plan on doing all your assignments because it was really interesting and pretty easy if you did the work. She also made the final optional because COVID causes difficult times, which was super kind of her, but I feel that kinda backfired on me because it made me unmotivated to learn the material. She also gave 2% extra credit if you did the course evaluation at the end of the quarter. Overall, you should take this class if you want to learn about cool ethnic studies concepts like intersectionality, gender being a relational concept, and transnationalism.

Um why was this class soooooo much work. only good thing is no midterm or final but like fuck, my TA graded so hard I had to switch this to p/np because i was so worried. they pawn it off as a really fun class but it is lowkey so hard for no reason. take any other class if you can, but if not this will suffice