Professor Potts is great! She doesn't use that many words in her powerpoint but I think that helps her lectures be more engaging because it forces you to listen. Not everything she says is going to be on the tests but a lot of it is. She gives study guides which are just a list of key terms, but if you took good notes in lecture it's not that big of a deal to piece it together. The tests were all free-response. Your TA grades pretty much everything you turn in, so you better hope they like you. Overall, I think the class was great and very interesting and Potts is a great professor for it; I highly recommend taking her class!

Professor Potts is absolutely amazing and the most passionate professor I've had at UCLA. She confirmed my interest in adding Global Studies as my second major, and I have so much respect for her. The lectures are very organized and engaging, and you can really tell how intelligent and kind she is. I was blown away. The tests are fair because if you study, you can do well. Don't spend too much time on the short response questions because some people felt there wasn't enough time on the essay portion, but Potts compensated for that by adding extra points. The TAs care a lot and provide feedback on your papers, so the key to doing well is by running your ideas through them before writing the whole thing. Your writing should be comprehensive because this is a Global Studies class where most people are good at writing. This is a class where about half get an A/A-, but you can "easily" get an A IF you put in the work to study and write strong papers. Effort is the key, and it is more than fair considering how much Potts and the TAs care about your learning. I wished the slides had more in-depth information, but I think Potts structures it this way to encourage people to come to class and participate. Discussion is mandatory, but they were productive and allowed me to understand the material better. Potts balances empathy and logic very well; she wants to be fair but is also willing to accommodate you. Take this class with an amazing professor!

Best class at UCLA by far. Dr. Potts is engaging and lovely to work with. I learned so much from this class that stuck with me during my entire time at UCLA. You will not regret it! Be aware that her quizzes are kind of hard but the final was super easy and she lets you know what she will test on beforehand. If you are looking for a class that teaches you a lot and opens your third eye, definitely check this out.

Spotts is amazing! Her lectures are very clear. This is obviously a very general class that covers a lot of different concepts, but everything is super relevant and interesting. Tests are relatively easy and paper is also pretty simple. I would recommend recording lectures to go back and listen to everything she says because she does a really good job of summarizing the readings in lecture. Will totally take Spotts again if I have the chance! This women KNOWS.

Professsor Potts is great. She is incredibly knowledgeable and thorough. She gave weekly reading responses (100-200 pages of reading a week) that needed to be 1-2 pages single spaced. She really read for quality. So these weekly responses took a very long time! As long as she saw you improve, she gave you a good overall grade at the end of the quarter. Learned a lot in this class and ended up with a good grade, but just be aware, the workload for this class is a lot!

This is definitely a great class to learn more about globalization. It teaches you to look at globalization critically. If you are thinking about minoring in global studies, this is a good class to start. Plus, it counts as a GE too. The workload is not too heavy. There are weekly readings, but the professor does a really good job summarizing those readings. Participation in discussions is required. Overall, I had a good experience taking this class with Professor Potts. I would recommend taking this class with her if you want to learn more about globalization in general.

Lectures neither super interesting nor super boring. Huge class full of sophomores and freshmen; cross your fingers you get a good TA.

I found this class extremely easy. Professor Potts is very clear in her lectures. You can get away with just solely watching the lecture rather than doing the readings since she goes over the most important ones. I'm not going to lie, some of the lectures were very boring while others were very interesting. The class grade itself consisted of weekly reading quizzes, a midterm (mix of MC questions and short answer, a paper, and a group podcast project. The podcast was a pain in the ass. I much would've preferred a final exam since Professor Potts doesn't ask questions about the little details, but rather the overarching themes. I would retake this class again. I had John as a TA and he was extremely helpful in clarifying any readings/concepts that were confusing!

I had Professor Potts and TA Andrew this past fall quarter (online). She is very clear, composed, and compassionate, as well as extremely knowledgeable in geography and global studies. I found her class very thought-provoking and interesting, and I would definitely recommend this class to determine if you want global studies as your major/minor or as a GE. Lectures frequently let out early, but were definitely long. I usually took 6 pages of notes in about an hour, although I knew people who didn't take notes at all and still did fine. Notes will only work in your favor on quizzes/essays/exams though, and my notes were really useful later on in the course, so I would personally recommend taking notes. There are weekly readings (~60 pages) that usually took me 3-4 hours to get through. I would recommend doing the readings before the week's lectures and discussions. Don't do them too far in advance, though, because depending on current events or class pace, some may be removed or altered. The weekly quizzes are easy, the midterm was straight off the study guide, and the group project final was definitely doable (while a bit tricky depending on your group, but that's expected lol). The class also includes two papers, one based on the international institute's lectures (this quarter they were on Black Lives Matter) and one based on a documentary/movie out of an assigned list of 3-4. I found the prompts very interesting, and doing well on these essays will be a huge leg up in the class and make you much more relaxed and confident (put some time in). The discussion is also graded on participation, but that's easy points. If you have an insightful and helpful TA like I did, it will be a breeze. Other points: go to discussion, go to office hours or stay after lecture if you have questions, pay attention to the author's perspective in assigned readings/podcasts, and be sure you clearly know the difference between similar concepts. Have fun, and good luck!

Writing this years later but I remember really enjoying this class and that it genuinely changed my thinking. Would recommend!