Very interesting class, Professor Slyomovics is very knowledgeable about the subject matter and I learned a lot from her. She is not good at all with computers though and will definitely need someone to help her most lectures. The grader, Professor Farley, is a really cool, great guy. His lecture was very enjoyable and interesting. Grading breakdown: 20% oral presentation, 30% midterm, 50% final. The part that scares everyone the most is the oral presentation - It is just a retelling of the part of 1001 Nights that was assigned for the lecture. She randomly picks people every time. This isn't lecture and the stories are easy reads so just do your reading and you should be fine. You aren't really graded on quality of storytelling, just don't go up there and say you don't know it. The papers are doable, they are just two and a half page essays that you can pick the prompt for. 4 essays for the midterm and 6 for the final. Also she doesn't use slides so just write down what's on the board and all the discussion in class to help with the essays.

It was a pretty easy class if you're a good writer. Slyomovics may come off as sometimes unapproachable but she's actually very concerned about her student's learning, and is very smart. The reading is pretty heavy, but the way her exams are structured, you can choose which readings you want to focus on, so you can skim other readings. I believe she is a great professor, and even though I didn't necessarily find the material interesting at first, I was engaged in her lectures because she is a good lecturer. I would definitely suggest taking this class, either if you want to learn more about visual anthropology, or if you're looking for a class that isn't too difficult.

If you want to waste a quarter at UCLA, do not take this class. The professor assigns both the final paper and a final exam in the same week. The class is absolutely not worth it and you leave class feeling as though you learned absolutely nothing. Waste of a class.

Highly recommend this class. I took it the first quarter it was offered and even completely virtual the class was super engaging and interesting. Since it's a cluster you spend a year focusing on Islam from a variety of different perspectives from some of the most knowledgeable and amazing professors on campus, and I have to say it has definitely changed the way I think about the social sciences. As a STEM major, like many others I took this class because it satisfied a lot of my GEs, but I got way more out of this class than that.
To start with, the papers that I've written in this class have been some of the most interesting and unexpected, and I've been able to learn analytical skills both within and outside the social sciences that I don't think I would've learned outside this cluster and that I'll probably continue to apply beyond this class. The professors are so approachable and are always willing to help with research for your papers or your understanding of a topic.
The third quarter of the cluster is also organized into small seminars where you delve into a subtopic with a small group of students and a TA (there are multiple seminars, each on a different topic, which you can chose from). I've had some of the most interesting discussions there and the small class size (it was about 10ish people) made the class way more engaging than your typical GEs. There was also a lot of focus on connections with present day issues, which also made the seminar an awesome opportunity to become more informed and aware of how the subject (and the social sciences more broadly) intersects with contemporary environmentalism, politics, science, etc., and learn things I can take with me beyond this class.
There is a bit of work and reading that comes with the class, but if you stick with it it will be worth it, and you'll be proud of the diversity of what you've learned and of the work that you've produced. It's not the easiest class you'll find, but in a way the challenge made it worth it :D

I mean this so sincerely: run away. This class was so unnecessarily the difficult. The TA (bless his heart) was helpful, kind, and understanding, but the professor left much to be desired.

First, she sets unclear and unrealistic expectations. The first assignment was to analyze a photograph, but we were not allowed to choose a picture somebody else had already chosen-- and we weren't allowed to coordinate amongst ourselves and ensure we were all working on different pictures. A duplicate image was docked 10 points for an assignment worth 15. To not allow any kind of coordination between the students before they put in the time and work on an assignment that they may ultimately have to redo is ridiculous.

Second, her guidelines are unclear, even to the TA. Like I said, no hate to the TA, he was great, but her feedback and answers on certain things would directly contradict his. So either she was not communicating how she should, or he was just as confused as us.

Third, communicating with her outside of class feels like an impossible task. She will ignore parts of your emails and will forget that you have already covered something with her in an earlier email-- even if it is within the same thread. She also assumes that you have not read any part of the syllabus, attended any class, or have reviewed any assignment before reaching out to her.

That being said, fourth, she is incredibly condescending. She has repeatedly mentioned to us in our /mandated office visit/ that we are not anthropologists and our ideas for our projects (which often fall in direct line with her lecture material) are unfounded. She expects the worst in you, and definitely makes that clear in how she communicates with you.

Last, her take-home test clocked out at a minimum of 4000 words and took the class at least 8+ hours to finish, there are way too many readings required for each class, and the final project is daunting. There is not a whole lot that you are graded on, but what you are graded on is exhaustingly difficult.

If none of these things matter to you, or you've had worse, then the class itself can definitely be interesting. It feels more like a history of photography class than a visual anthropology class, but there is something very cool about the former and you will for sure learn some new stuff. And if you have a project idea that prof loves, you'll enjoy the final project. But, if you can't stand being talked down to, being told one thing by the TA and another by the prof, or her constant contradicting herself, then I would opt for literally any other anthro class that will be more in line with anthropological perspective on, literally, anything.

Lovely professor. She is very sweet, thoughtful, and helpful. Very smart. Answers emails quickly!

However, I found it a bit hard to hear her during lecture (the mic would go in and out). I found the lectures to be a little bit boring. Maybe if you really like photography and the history behind photos and styles of photos and the context, you would find the class to be more interesting. I didn't care for the subject matter but I guess it depends on the person.

The class has a very light workload and your whole grade is basically based off of 1-2 assignments, a big final photography paper, and a take home exam. Easy A. I appreciated the format of the class and was allowed to be creative which was fun!