AF AMER M158B
Introduction to Afro-American History
Description: (Same as History M150B.) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour (when scheduled). Designed for juniors/seniors. Survey of Afro-American experience, with emphasis on three great transitions of Afro-American life: transition from Africa to New World slavery, transition from slavery to freedom, and transition from rural to urban milieus. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2022 - Robin could improve a lot on helping me learn effectively. Due to a pre-existing health condition, I could not go to class in person. After going back to in-person, the lectures only recorded the audio, not the slide show. Although he provided the slide show, it was very hard to follow along. I eventually gave up listening to lectures because they were not helpful. The grade is based on two things and two things only: one midterm essay and one group project. Each was worth fifty percent of the grade. If I needed to do the final essay, each part would be worth 33.3 percent of the grade. The essay question was thought provoking, but the grading was wildly inconsistent and seemingly arbitrary. In other words, it seemed like students earned their essay grade based on the mood of the TA, the person grading the essays. However, the group project is a completely different story. It was so much worse! The group project consisted of seven members that Robin randomly assigned. There was no clear rubric for the group project, so it seemed very open ended. Robin even said that the group project would only help, not harm, everyone's grade. Well, this was a blatant lie! Since there was no clear rubric, we turned in a pamphlet, something recommended on the syllabus. According to google, a pamphlet is usually only a page, front and back. However, he said my group's project was "thin" and gave us a B+! Thankfully my midterm essay was good enough so that I do not have to write the final, but still! Please provide a clear rubric if you are going to be so critical. The professor was not accommodating in any way. Just no, no way in hell. He was FORCED to be flexible during the beginning of the quarter because everything was online. However, his decision to go back in person, along with recording the lectures in such a poor way, made me feel like I was being punished. I would either have to risk my health and possibly my life to attend class, or just rely on poor audio recordings. He tried blaming this on the room's technology for only allowing audio recordings. But come on, that excuse will not work on me! He could have been more forceful about choosing a different room with better technology. If this did not work, he could have continued lecturing online. But obviously he did not care enough to do this. So sad. He did put students in groups for the group project, but half the group did nothing at all. I am not a snitch, so I will not say which group I am in. However, I will say I contributed more than I should have. He removed the participation grade from the grading rubric, something I really do not understand why. He should have left it because half the students in my group did nothing! According to the TA, if we report a group member for doing nothing, that team member's grade would be lowered. But what about the remaining students in the group! Nothing! We made a "thin" project ("thin" is from Robin) because half the members did nothing. Were we supposed to do just as much as groups with seven contributing members? So damn infuriating. I would never take a class with Robin ever again. Everything seems so arbitrary and performance in this class is only based on the personalities of the TA that grades the essays and the group members who work on the group project. My traumatic experience in this class is even making me hesitant to take another history class at UCLA. Before this class, I was seriously considering getting a minor in history. I did not really care for this TA. I have had better. In my opinion, Rory's saving grace is that she is a very slow grader. It took Rory around a month to finish grading everyone's midterm. Everyone turned in the essay around week 6 and everyone got it back around week 10. Ridiculous, am I right? However, this was actually a good thing because I am pretty sure Rory's grading habits made the final essay optional. This totally saved me because I stopped reading the required texts and going to lectures after the first midterm. I would have done so poorly if I had to write the final essay, but now I got an A. I have to thank God for this. It was truly a miracle. God is good. God is great. Amen!
Winter 2022 - Robin could improve a lot on helping me learn effectively. Due to a pre-existing health condition, I could not go to class in person. After going back to in-person, the lectures only recorded the audio, not the slide show. Although he provided the slide show, it was very hard to follow along. I eventually gave up listening to lectures because they were not helpful. The grade is based on two things and two things only: one midterm essay and one group project. Each was worth fifty percent of the grade. If I needed to do the final essay, each part would be worth 33.3 percent of the grade. The essay question was thought provoking, but the grading was wildly inconsistent and seemingly arbitrary. In other words, it seemed like students earned their essay grade based on the mood of the TA, the person grading the essays. However, the group project is a completely different story. It was so much worse! The group project consisted of seven members that Robin randomly assigned. There was no clear rubric for the group project, so it seemed very open ended. Robin even said that the group project would only help, not harm, everyone's grade. Well, this was a blatant lie! Since there was no clear rubric, we turned in a pamphlet, something recommended on the syllabus. According to google, a pamphlet is usually only a page, front and back. However, he said my group's project was "thin" and gave us a B+! Thankfully my midterm essay was good enough so that I do not have to write the final, but still! Please provide a clear rubric if you are going to be so critical. The professor was not accommodating in any way. Just no, no way in hell. He was FORCED to be flexible during the beginning of the quarter because everything was online. However, his decision to go back in person, along with recording the lectures in such a poor way, made me feel like I was being punished. I would either have to risk my health and possibly my life to attend class, or just rely on poor audio recordings. He tried blaming this on the room's technology for only allowing audio recordings. But come on, that excuse will not work on me! He could have been more forceful about choosing a different room with better technology. If this did not work, he could have continued lecturing online. But obviously he did not care enough to do this. So sad. He did put students in groups for the group project, but half the group did nothing at all. I am not a snitch, so I will not say which group I am in. However, I will say I contributed more than I should have. He removed the participation grade from the grading rubric, something I really do not understand why. He should have left it because half the students in my group did nothing! According to the TA, if we report a group member for doing nothing, that team member's grade would be lowered. But what about the remaining students in the group! Nothing! We made a "thin" project ("thin" is from Robin) because half the members did nothing. Were we supposed to do just as much as groups with seven contributing members? So damn infuriating. I would never take a class with Robin ever again. Everything seems so arbitrary and performance in this class is only based on the personalities of the TA that grades the essays and the group members who work on the group project. My traumatic experience in this class is even making me hesitant to take another history class at UCLA. Before this class, I was seriously considering getting a minor in history. I did not really care for this TA. I have had better. In my opinion, Rory's saving grace is that she is a very slow grader. It took Rory around a month to finish grading everyone's midterm. Everyone turned in the essay around week 6 and everyone got it back around week 10. Ridiculous, am I right? However, this was actually a good thing because I am pretty sure Rory's grading habits made the final essay optional. This totally saved me because I stopped reading the required texts and going to lectures after the first midterm. I would have done so poorly if I had to write the final essay, but now I got an A. I have to thank God for this. It was truly a miracle. God is good. God is great. Amen!
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2023 - Stevenson is an incredibly qualified, knowledgeable professor who is very passionate about her subject. I was genuinely engaged in every lecture she gave, as her slides were more of a supplement to the deeper conversations we'd have in class (regarding slavery, modern-day racism, etc.), allowing me to understand her arguments in today's context. Your grade is based on 3 categories: 1) The midterm, 2) the final research paper, and 3) participation. It sucks that participation is required, but honestly, it was worth it to go to class. Her lectures made me feel like I was getting a true UCLA experience if you will. The midterm is pretty daunting, but the grading is pretty chill, and she provides a very helpful study guide (one with all of the potential midterm questions). The test itself consists of definition questions (~5-8 questions, 1 sentence each), short-answer questions (~3-4 questions, 1-2 sentences each), and one essay question (3-4 pages). All of your answers are written in a blue book, so you have to memorize an outline and write the essay by hand in class, which isn't fun. However, the study guide includes all of the essay prompts, so you have the opportunity to prepare well for them. The final paper is a 10-page historical research paper requiring a minimum of 20 sources (10 primary, 10 secondary) written in Chicago style. I don't know if the prompt stays exactly the same quarter-to-quarter, but our prompt was to research the upbringing of an enslaved child in the antebellum Upper South. As you probably figure, the biggest pain for this paper is doing the actual research but writing it is straightforward. You have the entire quarter to complete it, and I definitely wouldn't wait. She removes 5 points per day if the paper is submitted late. Overall, a phenomenal professor with a very helpful TA, but don't underestimate the class assignments. Best of luck to anyone taking this course! :)
Fall 2023 - Stevenson is an incredibly qualified, knowledgeable professor who is very passionate about her subject. I was genuinely engaged in every lecture she gave, as her slides were more of a supplement to the deeper conversations we'd have in class (regarding slavery, modern-day racism, etc.), allowing me to understand her arguments in today's context. Your grade is based on 3 categories: 1) The midterm, 2) the final research paper, and 3) participation. It sucks that participation is required, but honestly, it was worth it to go to class. Her lectures made me feel like I was getting a true UCLA experience if you will. The midterm is pretty daunting, but the grading is pretty chill, and she provides a very helpful study guide (one with all of the potential midterm questions). The test itself consists of definition questions (~5-8 questions, 1 sentence each), short-answer questions (~3-4 questions, 1-2 sentences each), and one essay question (3-4 pages). All of your answers are written in a blue book, so you have to memorize an outline and write the essay by hand in class, which isn't fun. However, the study guide includes all of the essay prompts, so you have the opportunity to prepare well for them. The final paper is a 10-page historical research paper requiring a minimum of 20 sources (10 primary, 10 secondary) written in Chicago style. I don't know if the prompt stays exactly the same quarter-to-quarter, but our prompt was to research the upbringing of an enslaved child in the antebellum Upper South. As you probably figure, the biggest pain for this paper is doing the actual research but writing it is straightforward. You have the entire quarter to complete it, and I definitely wouldn't wait. She removes 5 points per day if the paper is submitted late. Overall, a phenomenal professor with a very helpful TA, but don't underestimate the class assignments. Best of luck to anyone taking this course! :)
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