I enjoyed this class a lot. A super chill upper div class about food that has multiple video screening lecture that show movies about food. I would take this class again for sure.

This class is a mix of pros and cons.

The lectures were difficult to follow as Prof Gupta would usually just read off a script in a soft voice. There were some interesting topics covered, but I think it just wasn't conveyed most effectively due to the way these ideas were delivered through lecture.

However, one big advantage of his class is that you only have to take either the midterm or the final and not both. Both the midterm and final consist of a multiple choice and free response section. He does grade on a curve for some reason, though. You also get to choose two out of four papers to complete throughout the quarter, and which papers you complete is up to you! Each paper has a different deadline, so you get to choose them based on which deadlines work best for your schedule.

Overall, I would say to take this course if you'd like a flexible workload.

This class has a structure that is really nice for students. If you take the midterm, you don't have to take the final, which basically means you don't have to really attend the lectures and do the readings except for when you need to for the one exercise you gotta do after the midterm. For that reason, the workload is light. Due to the extra credit he gives and the curve on the tests, the class is pretty easy to get an A or A+ on, even though the tests themselves are actually very difficult imo. Professor Gupta is a very kind and accommodating person as well. Take this class.

I found the class to be very interesting. The workload is A LOT but after the first two articles, the material itself is easy to understand. You don't have to attend lectures but you NEED to go to discussion because you receive a participation grade. End of quarter survey gave me 4% EC even though he says he doesn't give out extra credit and curving is in your favor. His English is not the best and that translates on his tests through tricky questions. Both the midterm and the final had 6 answer options (4 regular and the other two were all of the above or none of the above). Just do all the readings and you can get an A. I didn't study for any of the tests but I never fell behind on the readings.
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I took Anthropology of Food when he first offered it.

I enjoyed the class as he gave better than average lectures for an Anthropology professor and one that comes from an engineering background. He also integrated movies to further validated his points which gave a break to the traditional classroom

What I didn't like was his avoidance to deal with grades. He has a policy that I respect where you don't question final grades. But I didn't like how he handled the final. He left during the Finals Week, and had proctors.

I had 95% going into the final, but ended up with a B, because the proctors did nothing when people were texting answers on their phones obviously. This totally screwed the curve, even though he gives 50% A's and 40% B's,

It was really bogus. I should have gotten an A

Do not take Gupta if possible.

He cares so little about teaching or students. He told us he would not respond to questions via email.

The only grades are the midterm and the final, and the class is curved. This may sound good to a lot of people, but in reality the questions were deliberately designed to trick you - with choices such as "A, B, C, A & B, A & C". The questions were often framed in an unclear manner, but you are not allowed to ask clarifying questions.

He is a completely ineffective teacher and does not implement any student - focuses teaching methods.

Anthropology of Food was an interesting subject matter, and Professor Gupta incorporated popular movies and books into the class material. I enjoyed his lectures, and he presented the information clearly while highlighting the important material. He stressed key concepts in lectures and on the exams. There was a midterm and final with the midterm weighted at 40% of your grade and the final at 60%. The midterm consisted of 20 multiple choice questions and the final of 22 multiple choice questions and two short answers. If you go to class and pay attention, both tests will be easy. He grades the class on a curve, as well - giving around 30 to 40% of the class A's. Take this class! His accent makes lectures a little difficult to understand, but I would still recommend this class.

I had Gupta for the Anthropology of Food. I regret taking this class. I thought it was going to be a fun, interesting class, but it turned out to be boring and pointless. I ended up with a decent grade, so this isn't a rant because I didn't get the grade I wanted. His lectures were boring at best, he repeated himself a lot, and talked either about very broad concepts or very minute details, with no regard to connecting them. The material was unorganized, as he would assign readings for one day, and not talk about it until the next week, we would never finish movies in order, it would be half of one here, half of another one there. He doesn't take ANY regrade requests. So if your scantron is messed up, you're screwed. He was originally an engineer, and now teaches anthropology. Your entire grade depends on 40 multiple choice questions, and two short answer questions spread over two tests. Also, the final is cumulative, which wouldn't be an issue if the material built upon itself. Instead, it was a waste of time to go back to look over old material that was only loosely connected to the current readings. Also, half of the test questions started of as "according to prof. Gupta..." or "prof. Gupta mentioned in class..." so it's not about know the material as much as it is knowing his opinion on the readings and movies.

I've had two classes with Gupta [Anthro of Food and Developmental Anthro] and I have to say I absolutely love him! His classes are easy. He curves all the grades, giving almost half the class As and most of the rest Bs, you have to have not gone to class at all to fail his classes.

Anthro of Food
The readings aren't very necessary, he tells you what you need from the readings in class. For studying you just need to review your lecture notes. As for the post about his test questions saying "according to Prof. Gupta . . . " thats because he tests off his lectures. The tests were mostly multiple choice with a few short answers. I thought this class was very interesting, it started off boring but he eventually moves into current day things: fast food,corruption, etc. We even watched Supersize Me. My only complaint is that he focused a lot on India and Japan and not too many other places.

Developmental Anthro
This was the first time he taught this class it was interesting but not really my thing. The readings were more necessary because there is a discussion with participation grade. The tests were very slightly harder because the TAs made up some of the questions. It was interesting but there was a lot of theory at the end, and he gets some of his info [mostly stats] from wikipedia.

Overall he's a really good professor and pretty easy classes. People tend to be afraid to take him because he doesn't do regrades. But the tests are multiple choice with 2 or 3 shorts answers that are usually regurgitating a list or definition. Just watch out for the "none of the above" on the tests he loves those.

Grade: A

I took Anthro 133F (Anthropology of Food) with Gupta and all I can say is wow. Hands down one of the best, most interesting classes I have ever taken at UCLA. Gupta is a kind, well articulated professor who loves what he does and has a great deal of knowledge about it. If you're looking for that easy A, this may or may not be your class. All you need to get a good grade is go to lecture (or listen to the podcast) and read the readings/view the films. He incorporates the readings and movies (which are actually good movies) into class lectures effectively. This class forever changed my conception and understanding of food/culture in a very positive way. Most importantly, he is not monotone and his lectures are actually interesting. I highly recommend taking this class to anyone who values learning something that isn't just going to be an easy A, but might actually teach you something that is useful and entertaining.