Duranti's class was very easy. Despite the large reading load (which you can just skim over for the most part), it was very easy to get an A in this class . There are 3 projects that are actually kind of interesting and a midterm and final (which are almost identical in format and length). When I took it, he had weekly in-lecutre quizzes but canceled them later because athletes kept having to leave. Duranti is an incredibly nice guy with an adorable sense of humor and genuine concern for students. He hates it when people leave his lectures so if you take any of his classes, try not to! =)

He's a nice guy, decent prof...but rambles a lot. If you want an easy GE with little reading, HE'S NOT THE PROF TO TAKE because there's A LOT OF READING!!! He's fair, but boring in lecture sometimes. hf, gl.

He's nice and funny, but he is horrible at teaching. I mean reaaaaally bad.

Only take this class if you HAVE to.

I thoroughly enjoyed Duranti, not only for the jazz or cultural music he played in class, or amusing videos he showed, but for being such a passionate and enthusiastic man. He enjoys getting emails from students (so much that he reads them in class) and he likes when people participate. There are pop quizzes in class that are fairly easy if you keep up with the reading. Basically, do the reading and everything is all good. Plus, many of the articles are interesting to read. There's a group project which entails going to this whack museum, but the overall the experience was entertaining and better than writing a paper. I highly recommend this class, and yeah you have to work a bit to get an A, but I'd rather learn something new to get that A than wasting my life away in some no brainer G.E.

While his lectures were a bit on the unorganized side, it wasn't impossible to follow. Most of the readings were decent except for the Constructing Panic book which you will learn to dread. The tests were very fair and the assignments weren't hard. Just go to lecture, take notes, pay attention and read. I'm a comm major and some of these concepts actually appeared in other classes...overlap is always a good thing. I wouldn't say this is a fun class by any means, but it's not horrible.

I have never heard anything good about any Anthro class so I was very hesitant to sign up for this one. And I thought it was a great class! The lectures were interesting in many aspects. The readings from his book were also interesting but I hated the Finnegan and the Agoraphobia book. If you know all the questions from his study guide you will get an A on the exams. The quizzes are easy - just look over your notes from the previous lecture before class. The assignments were a lot of work. I never spent so much time studying or writing for a class but I found the assignments pretty straight forward.
He loves it if you come to his office hours!!

I really enjoyed this class. While Duranti is a bit hard to understand at times, he is very passionate about what he is teaching. At the end of the quarter, he took a whole hour just to tell his story and his heart for teaching and this subject. I found the topics covered in this class very interesting. I took it my first quarter at UCLA, and found it to be generally easy. You just have to do the readings and study the review sheet and it's fairly easy to get an A. Over a year after taking the course, I have retained much of the information and, as a comm major, I have found it very useful. I don't completely understand the awfully negative reviews- It is an interesting class, a nice professor and pretty easy class- you just have to do the reading and study.

The one and only anthro class I took at UCLA. He made us by a bunch of his books, and his class was so boring I fell asleep often. I never fall asleep in class. Oh, I had a terrible TA, who, like the professor, was incredibly arrogant, distant and rude. A waste of time, and of your parents' money

Overall, Duranti was a pretty good teacher. Although his lectures were a bit disorganized and he oftentimes went off on tangents, he still presented fascinating information and made you think about the world as a huge web of communication. I found most of the readings to be pretty interesting as well. He tries to "spice up" his lectures with handouts, but we hardly ever got through them. His thoughts seem convoluted and you may not think that lecture is worth going to, but you do walk away with some knowledge; his lectures somehow work their way into your head. And of course, he does have 3 in-class quizzes that you do not want to miss out on, so I would recommend attending class regularly.
The book report and the other short-papers/hw assignments were not too difficult, especially if you met with your TAs. The TAs are pretty open and caring, and do not grade too hard.
The exams were also not too difficult, especially since he gives you a review sheet and the TAs hold review sessions. But you do have to do the readings.
Basically, both the TAs AND the professor just want you to learn and be able to apply what you learned to the real world.

Prof. Duranti is the only reason I questioned my transferring to UCLA. He is a boring lecturer who mumbles and makes a class so hard and uninteresting that everytime you attend you want to slit your wrists before it's over. The tests all rely on the readings so to get a good grade you just have to read the book and attend every 3 lectures because most likely he'll give a pop quiz then that can help improve your grade. If I were you I would not take it but if you MUST (and make sure you MUST) then drink up or something before you go into class. I got a good grade, but frankly, I just wanted to learn.

P.S. Any interest I had for anthropolgy prior to this class have completely dissipated. But you'll learn alot about his wife.