Fink was definitely one of the better professors in this cluster! I thought the musicology portion of the class was harder to learn than some of the others, but he did a great job keeping lectures interesting, and he was extremely clear and often funny with everything he said. Overall, this cluster is by far the best one you can take, and I'd definitely take a GE class with Fink again in the future.

Okay honestly, compared to other clusters, this cluster is NOT that bad at all. It's perfect for STEM majors that want to knock out 4 GEs (Literary, Visual, Historical, Social) but don't want to be bored to death. Attendance is not required/taken during lecture, but the lectures aren't posted online so I recommend taking the extra step to just go every lecture so that you're not making up for it later. I took this class because it seemed like the fun cluster, with music and politics, but don't forget about the history and English aspects! Professor Decker, who teaches the Literature, Film/TV lectures is so dull, but I'm surprised I haven't fallen asleep alongside my friends. His voice is very monotone and he often goes off on unrelated tangents that stray away from what he is trying to say. He means well, but sometimes it's hard to focus on the words he says when you've just woken up. Professor Reiff is only slightly more interesting because she sometimes discusses interesting topics, but most of the time it's just a bunch of words - like full-on paragraphs - on a lecture slide and before you know it class is over and you have no recollection of what she said. The best Professors are Vavreck and Fink because they like to engage with the class with questions or opinions, they seem excited and awake, and they make jokes as best as they can. There is no final for this class, only a midterm, and the TAs usually prepare their sections pretty well with what to expect. The Literature Paper and Political Science polling paper are designed to be vague and open-ended, so just remember to specify your topic a little bit and make sure you have something to say, theme-wise. Overall, I didn't think I was going to get an A because I'm not that great at papers...and also because they never posted the grades for the assignments online....but anyway it's possible!

Selling all the novels and course readers for both quarters. If anybody is interested, you can email me at *************.

I really enjoyed the cluster as a whole and the 60s one is a lot easier than most of the others. Theres a few papers but other than that it's just a matter of participation in the discussion and midterm so there's not a lot of outside work. There's reading every week that isn't super important for discussions or lectures but it comes into play during the midterm so it's important not to get behind. There's three novels that you read during the quarter but they're pretty short. I only read two of them but they were both interesting. If anyone wants it, I'll send out pdf's of all the novels for free. As a whole, the class is really interesting, but day to day enjoyment depends on who's lecturing that day. Fink and Vavreck were both great lecturers. I would definitely recommend you take this class both because of the subject matter but also simply because it fits so many GE's and it's a lot easier than the other clusters.

I'm selling my course reader for the class (it has all the readings for the whole quarter except for the novels ). I paid $60 for it but I'll sell it for $40. It's in great condition with only a few notes in it throughout.

If you're interested in the course reader or pdf's just email me at *************

He was the best professor that taught in lecture. He is very fun and engaging. Definitely make sure to go to lecture when he is going to speak.

I looooove Fink! I had a great time taking the 60's Cluster because of him! He is so much fun and he always gets so excited about what he's talking about.

Selling course reader for GE 60B,

Text me for more details if you are interested :) **********

Like many other clusters, GECLST60A covers a lot. But you don't have to read all to excel at this course. The midterm is horrible with respect to its range and amount but papers are pleasant and clear-instructed.

Professor Fink is the man! He is probably my favorite lecturer of the ones teaching this cluster. He teaches the music aspect of the 60s and does a very good job at it. His lectures are very straight forward and you must pay attention since some of the songs he plays in his slides will be on the midterm. The music aspect of the 60s is probably my most favorite now, just seeing how it plays a role and is influenced by certain political events at the time. There is great emphasis on African-American music and being "hip". I think Professor Fink is the reason I haven't dropped this cluster, he is the reason I put up with the other boring stuff some of the other professors have us learn. Overall, very fun class, (when Fink lectures). Pay attention to the songs, understand where they come from, and know the names, dates, and titles of the songs.