Professor
Stephen Bell
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2026 - This is my 2nd class with Dr. Bell, and it's the same as all his other classes. Basically, if you're a good writer, this class is so easy. First off, the workload is low: two quizzes in week 5 and week 10, a research topic proposal, and a final research paper. Attendance is not mandatory. The two quizzes are take-home on BruinLearn with 20 true/false questions based on the readings. You are given 40 minutes to do it within a 1-hour window (in this case, the quiz opened at 5pm and closed at 6pm), so definitely make sure you are available when it opens. The research topic proposal is 2 pages while the final research paper is 4-5 pages, so very manageable. You have the opportunity to research anything as long as it's related to food. It was really fun writing the paper since I got to pick a topic I liked! However, I will say the TA was strict on grading (although I heard Dr. Bell makes the TA grade very strictly, so it's not the TA's fault). I found the TA's feedback to be valuable, and the TA held multiple office hours to help with papers (although I did not go and was fine). Fortunately, since the TA was the same TA from the 1st class I took with Dr. Bell, I knew what to expect and ended up getting A's on both the proposal and final paper. The grading scheme of this class is amazing. 96-100% is an A+, 95-85 is an A, 84-80 is an A-, 79-76 is a B+, and so on. I ended with an A+. For me, this class was an easy A since I knew what to expect. If this is the first time taking a class with Dr. Bell, you definitely need to put in a good amount of effort for the papers. Thanks to the forgiving grading scheme, I wouldn't worry.
Spring 2026 - This is my 2nd class with Dr. Bell, and it's the same as all his other classes. Basically, if you're a good writer, this class is so easy. First off, the workload is low: two quizzes in week 5 and week 10, a research topic proposal, and a final research paper. Attendance is not mandatory. The two quizzes are take-home on BruinLearn with 20 true/false questions based on the readings. You are given 40 minutes to do it within a 1-hour window (in this case, the quiz opened at 5pm and closed at 6pm), so definitely make sure you are available when it opens. The research topic proposal is 2 pages while the final research paper is 4-5 pages, so very manageable. You have the opportunity to research anything as long as it's related to food. It was really fun writing the paper since I got to pick a topic I liked! However, I will say the TA was strict on grading (although I heard Dr. Bell makes the TA grade very strictly, so it's not the TA's fault). I found the TA's feedback to be valuable, and the TA held multiple office hours to help with papers (although I did not go and was fine). Fortunately, since the TA was the same TA from the 1st class I took with Dr. Bell, I knew what to expect and ended up getting A's on both the proposal and final paper. The grading scheme of this class is amazing. 96-100% is an A+, 95-85 is an A, 84-80 is an A-, 79-76 is a B+, and so on. I ended with an A+. For me, this class was an easy A since I knew what to expect. If this is the first time taking a class with Dr. Bell, you definitely need to put in a good amount of effort for the papers. Thanks to the forgiving grading scheme, I wouldn't worry.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2024 - Such a boring class, but pretty easy. Theres a few papers where you have to research a bit but the TA is pretty helpful. The professor is a bit older so hes a bit boring but he is pretty knowledgeable about geography, the tests are easy and open note so there shouldnt be a lot of problem of finding the answers. I didn't really show up after midterms and I still got an A, take this class if your looking for something easy, not a big workload.
Fall 2024 - Such a boring class, but pretty easy. Theres a few papers where you have to research a bit but the TA is pretty helpful. The professor is a bit older so hes a bit boring but he is pretty knowledgeable about geography, the tests are easy and open note so there shouldnt be a lot of problem of finding the answers. I didn't really show up after midterms and I still got an A, take this class if your looking for something easy, not a big workload.
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2026 - This class has an insanely low workload. We only had two quizzes, a research topic proposal, and a final research paper. Attendance is not mandatory, and tbh, I never went since I thought the professor's lecture style was not engaging. Still, I managed to do well. The two quizzes are take-home on BruinLearn with 20 true/false questions based on the readings. You are given 40 minutes to do it within a 1-hour window (in this case, the quiz opened at 5pm and closed at 6pm), so definitely make sure you are available when it opens. The research topic proposal is 2 pages while the final research paper is 4-5 pages, so definitely very manageable. You have the opportunity to research anything as long as it's related to Brazil. I really liked how open-ended it was, and I got to write a paper I thoroughly enjoyed doing! However, I will say the TA was strict on grading. Although I did find his feedback to be valuable, and he holds multiple office hours to help with papers (although I did not go and was fine). The grading scheme of this class is a lifesaver as a 96-100% is an A+, 95-85 is an A, 84-80 is an A-, 79-76 is a B+, and so on. While I did well on the quizzes, my grades on the research topic proposal and final research paper were in the high 80s to low 90s. Despite this, I was surprised to see that I received an A+ in this class. I wouldn't necessarily say this class is an easy A as you do need to put in a good amount of effort for the papers. Therefore, I would recommend this class either if you're a strong writer or if you want a class with a low workload. The grading scheme is quite forgiving, and the TA is helpful, so it is very possible to do well in this class.
Winter 2026 - This class has an insanely low workload. We only had two quizzes, a research topic proposal, and a final research paper. Attendance is not mandatory, and tbh, I never went since I thought the professor's lecture style was not engaging. Still, I managed to do well. The two quizzes are take-home on BruinLearn with 20 true/false questions based on the readings. You are given 40 minutes to do it within a 1-hour window (in this case, the quiz opened at 5pm and closed at 6pm), so definitely make sure you are available when it opens. The research topic proposal is 2 pages while the final research paper is 4-5 pages, so definitely very manageable. You have the opportunity to research anything as long as it's related to Brazil. I really liked how open-ended it was, and I got to write a paper I thoroughly enjoyed doing! However, I will say the TA was strict on grading. Although I did find his feedback to be valuable, and he holds multiple office hours to help with papers (although I did not go and was fine). The grading scheme of this class is a lifesaver as a 96-100% is an A+, 95-85 is an A, 84-80 is an A-, 79-76 is a B+, and so on. While I did well on the quizzes, my grades on the research topic proposal and final research paper were in the high 80s to low 90s. Despite this, I was surprised to see that I received an A+ in this class. I wouldn't necessarily say this class is an easy A as you do need to put in a good amount of effort for the papers. Therefore, I would recommend this class either if you're a strong writer or if you want a class with a low workload. The grading scheme is quite forgiving, and the TA is helpful, so it is very possible to do well in this class.
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