Professor Stein is one of the best lecturers I've had at UCLA! Her class is extremely engaging and she always manages to link the objects to broader concepts that are useful to understand modern times. Besides the content being super interesting, the readings help to understand different perspectives and add a lot to your general knowledge.

There are 2 papers, the midterm is a scavenger hunt and one final. Highly recommend this class to anyone!

I took this class online during session A of 2019, which I think was the first time it was offered in this format. That being said, it was still the most straightforward, unstressful class that managed to keep me engaged and on pace (which can become problematic when it's online). Prof. Stein had set up the class, which was based on CCLE, with weekly lectures, resources, and assignments (including 3 essays, which was ever 2 weeks with the 6 weeks of summer sessions) that were clearly outlined with specific due dates and expectations, so that all you had to do was manage your time well to accommodate its requirements. If you viewed everything, read everything, and did weekly response discussions with your assigned TA based on the material, you're very much in for an easy A. -- However, by 'easy A,' I refer to the class's structure that enables you as the student to do well. I don't want to make it sound like you should just blow it off and not think deeply while you're in it, because it also covers critical thinking and patterns that are relevant to our current political climate.

That being said, I'd also like to acknowledge how this class addresses the topic of the Holocaust. It is very much a deep, heavyhearted moment in humanity, but Prof. Stein upholds it with a level of respect, objectivity, and detail that makes it not as 'depressing' or 'boring' as what can be connoted by a tragic event in history. . You're very much set up with context and objectives that arm to be able to perceive, break down, and understand what you will learn to be a culmination of several factors and not just one big thing.

Per all the bruinwalk reviews, I do have the textbooks for the class, which were novels: Maus I and II, Ordinary Men, and The Holocaust: a Concise History.
Please contact me if you're interested: ********** ((text))
(These were what's required for the summer online version, which may be different than the irl-quarter version).

I am selling three books required for this class! Houseboy by Ferdinand Oyono, Sea of Regret, and Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. All super cheap!! My phone number is ********** and I live in the dorms (hence, meeting up would be more efficient).
Ps. they have highlights!!!

Took this class over 6 weeks A sesh, here is the rough breakdown:
On odd weeks, you have to write 2-3 paragraphs for 2 questions (usually about a page and a half-two pages). Even in weeks, you have to write a paper (first two are 500-750 words, last is 800-1000 words) as well as a question. I probably spent around 2-3 hours a week watching lectures + doing readings, then another 2-4 hours a week writing responses. The class is pretty easy overall, nothing is graded overly harshly and its all pretty fair. I did well even though I'm not great at writing so take it as you will. Stein is a great professor and her lectures are amazing, great and easy GE to knock out over summer.

Not an easy G.E. whatsoever. You are expected to do lots of reading, sometimes 100-200 pages a week to answer two weekly discussion posts that are graded harshly by TAs. The class is fully online. You are expected to write weekly discussion posts (worth 25% of your grade), two essays (35%) , a midterm (20%), and a final (20%). The content is very interesting but the workload is a lot for a G.E. You are expected to cite readings or lecture videos in your discussions. The professor's lectures are prerecorded, interesting, and clear, which makes them very helpful. I would recommend visiting the Undergraduate Writing Center. Feedback that the TAs give can be short and vague. Sometimes the TAs take away points for not addressing every single possible event regarding the sometimes-confusing prompts or sometimes take away points for not answering a question they did not explicitly ask in the prompt. Your grade is dependent on your TA and completing every single reading/lecture/assignment. Yes, I got an A, but at the cost of any free time.

The workload for this course can get overwhelming at times, but after a few weeks you can find your rhythm in it. I highly recommend spending one day a week just grinding out the week's work. There are two papers (first is during week 3!!) and one midterm (easier than the papers). Much of this class is dependent on your TA (Natalie was alright).

The "Final Solution" committed by Nazi Germany was the most maleficent and cynical genocide ever committed against enemies of the "Aryan" population, and Professor Sarah Abrevaya Stein professionally lectures her class in regards to fully contextualizing and comprehending how the Nazis implemented genocide against Jews, and other minorities despised by Nazi Germany. Here are my pros and cons for this class

Pro: 1.Steins class is VERY interesting and teaches a lot of good lessons for us to understand in regards to the Holocaust and Stein challenges our views of how we perceive the Holocaust and the many shapes and forms the Holocaust took throughout history.

2.The TAs are really easy graders (at least mine was)

3.Steins lectures are very organized and all the material is presented in a very clean manner

4.Some of the readings are really interesting and taught me a lot that I never knew about the Holocaust.

5. Stein seems like a very polite and professional professor.

6. Stein's class is very easy to complete

Cons

1. Some of the readings were hard to comprehend, sometimes the professor would be too professional and taking notes becomes difficult, the captions for some of her videos were incorrect, some exam questions were a bit abstract, and a lot of the material is very emotional (these are all very small cons though)

Overall I heavily recommend taking this class, I did not have a lot to say about this class in regards to my other classes but I did appreciate this class and would love to take another one of Stein's classes.

4.5/5

surprisingly interesting for a class dedicated to a short time period in history. the prof is clearly very educated on and passionate about the subject, which makes this class more enjoyable. I took the class fully online, and there were 3 weekly asynchronous lectures and no discussion section meetings. LOTS of reading and a decent amount of writing, felt like I should've gotten writing 2 credit for this. not an easy GE, but definitely manageable and would recommend to anyone who enjoys history. the grading isn't too harsh either

Professor Stein is an amazing, engaging lecturer and she is really passionate about the matterial she teaches. This reflects in her lectures as she gives amazing insight into the Holocaust in a way that keeps students engaged!

The midterm and final are structured very simply and it does not take too much effort to get a decent grade. There are also two papers in which you can choose between two prompts and answer accordingly.

There are weekly readings that may be a bit much at times but definitely not difficult to handle and very engaging.

This has been my favorite class and I would gladly take it with Professor Stein again.

I LOVED THIS CLASS. Honestly everyone should have to take this class at UCLA. Gives you a whole new perspective and will forever change the way you look at the world. Professor Stein is amazing. She teaches the class so respectfully and cares so much about the subject. She makes it as easy for you as possible to do well, she posts lecture slides online and you are even allowed a cheat sheet on the midterm AND final. You learn extremely valuable material and the readings are really good. 10/10 would recommend