HIST 10B
History of Africa, 1800 to Present
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, two hours. Not open for credit to students with credit for course 10BH or 10BW. Survey of social, economic, and political developments in Africa since 1800, with focus on slave trade, imperialism and colonialism, and nationalism and independence. Attention to different ideologies (nationalism, socialism, apartheid), rural/urban tensions, changing role of women. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2024 - To preface I am a history major. In class she is strict about the use of phones in class and she will call you out if you are not engaged. Weekly in-class quizzes that require lockdown browser and password so attendance is essential. The class was very interesting to me. The professor was also very lenient about assignments and attendance due to the encampment and campus closure. Lectures consisted of slides with mostly excerpts and or pictures and she would describe them and connected them to the main topic of the lesson, so most of the info you get will be directly from her speaking. I would take this class again.
Spring 2024 - To preface I am a history major. In class she is strict about the use of phones in class and she will call you out if you are not engaged. Weekly in-class quizzes that require lockdown browser and password so attendance is essential. The class was very interesting to me. The professor was also very lenient about assignments and attendance due to the encampment and campus closure. Lectures consisted of slides with mostly excerpts and or pictures and she would describe them and connected them to the main topic of the lesson, so most of the info you get will be directly from her speaking. I would take this class again.
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Most Helpful Review
Prof. Lydon was the worst teacher I have ever had at UCLA. Though the class itself is not that difficult(I'm a science major and I did well without too much effort), it is painful in the extreme to sit through. She refuses to post her slides, though people asked her to do so throughout the quarter, and yet she speaks quickly and goes through the slides ridiculously quickly. She won't tell you this, but she wants you to focus on what she is saying rather than what's on the slides so if you really want to learn bring a recorder and learn to type very fast. We had 2 papers 6-7 pages each, they were not that bad, and the midterm was just memorization - she gives you a large list of people/issues to know and tests you on that. The map part of the test was not too bad either, just memorize all African countries and major areas. The annoying thing is that she speaks in random African languages that no one knows except two or three students and plays really awful music (I listen to some African artists and they're really good - Lydon just tries to find the worst and oddest music she can to play in class). Do NOT contradict her, she will say stupid things like "Africa is at the center of the world because of the Big Bang" (which almost made me walk out - she is completely science illiterate!) but if you talk to her politely after class she will bite your head off for having an opinion and not taking her word as the 'ultimate truth'. If you can stand the pain, take her for a GE. Oh, have Reem as your TA, she's wonderful.
Prof. Lydon was the worst teacher I have ever had at UCLA. Though the class itself is not that difficult(I'm a science major and I did well without too much effort), it is painful in the extreme to sit through. She refuses to post her slides, though people asked her to do so throughout the quarter, and yet she speaks quickly and goes through the slides ridiculously quickly. She won't tell you this, but she wants you to focus on what she is saying rather than what's on the slides so if you really want to learn bring a recorder and learn to type very fast. We had 2 papers 6-7 pages each, they were not that bad, and the midterm was just memorization - she gives you a large list of people/issues to know and tests you on that. The map part of the test was not too bad either, just memorize all African countries and major areas. The annoying thing is that she speaks in random African languages that no one knows except two or three students and plays really awful music (I listen to some African artists and they're really good - Lydon just tries to find the worst and oddest music she can to play in class). Do NOT contradict her, she will say stupid things like "Africa is at the center of the world because of the Big Bang" (which almost made me walk out - she is completely science illiterate!) but if you talk to her politely after class she will bite your head off for having an opinion and not taking her word as the 'ultimate truth'. If you can stand the pain, take her for a GE. Oh, have Reem as your TA, she's wonderful.