This class is conflicting for me. The lectures were fascinating but really didn't add anything. I only listened to the first 10 and then about 14 minutes from random ones for clarity on a thing or two. Ultimately, the workload was not bad for me. I'm coming from a hardcore STEM major so take that with a grain of salt.
My largest set of gripes with this class are all logistical. The final format was confirmed in Week 10, and we were never given a hint it would be an essay, which was frustrating, to say the least. This meant that within about three weeks, a lot of us wrote three essays for this class. An A was >95, which is absurd to me. His grading scheme was kinder to those in the low B to C ranges, but that doesn't mean that being told Wednesday Week 10 that you need a 95 for an A is pleasant. The Prof never sent us an email until Week 10, which was just weird. He didn't release the reading list in a timely manner at the beginning, which meant some people were forced into doing essay options 2 and 3 because their books weren't arriving in time. Some people had alternating TA's grading essays, some had both from either the harder or easier TA, a lack of grading consistency from paper to paper. Just lots of small things that made it hard to feel secure in this class.
The assignment breakdown was to pick 2/3 essays to write and turn in. The final was to pick 10/15 terms to ID with a who, what, when, where, why, and then an essay with no citations required, just make your case type of essay.
I cranked out 1491 and the textbook at the very beginning of the quarter, only taking notes (google doc with pages listed) for the textbook. I think that was invaluable in not needing to spend as much time on essays later in the quarter. I wish I had done the first two essays, but the election derailed those plans. For each essay, I read the relevant book the day before (didn't take great notes as I prefer to paraphrase rather than quote) and then combed through the book while writing my essay from 10 p.m. to about 7 a.m. before the 10 a.m. deadline. This meant that besides the first week, I probably only spent like 14 hours total on each essay, which in my opinion, is pretty low compared to other classes' assignments.
That being said, the grading is a crapshoot. They are sticklers for grammar, but Grammarly premium meant I didn't ever get a grammar comment, so apparently not too picky. My biggest gripe is I got 23/25 on both my essays, but absolutely no comments on how to improve for the next essay. There's no rubric or advice provided, which was frustrating. Not sure it will help, but our TA's were Zavardino and Marissa Jenrich. Everyone said Zav was a very harsh grader, but he treated me well.
The final was fine, with a 50/50 very possible for the terms, but that section took longer than expected. For the essay, I got a 24/25, meaning I scraped an A with not a point to spare.
Given that I had to put comparatively less work into this class, I think it was a win, but I don't know that it was as good as it could have been or that I would recommend it. fascinating

Honestly, this class was pretty doable as long as you did the readings. The lectures were also helpful, but they weren't really required to understand the material because the main textbook (Calloway) covered all of the information needed. There are five books and 3 movies for this class, but he spaces them out so you have enough time to read everything. They were also really interesting and coincided with each week's lecture theme, so the class went by smoothly. There were 3 possible essay prompts given at the beginning of the quarter, and you write 2 (25% each), and the final was 50% of your grade. He gave a study guide for the final a week in advance, so you could prepare your entire exam before the final exam date. Madley also responded to emails within 2 days MAX and was very receptive to student concerns. Overall, the class was well organized and I would recommend taking a class with him.

Madley is a great professor and lecturer. The class is exactly what I hope for in a history class. Madley makes the lectures and materials engaging. He wants to challenge preconceived notions of "American Indian history," both in the mainstream view and in academia. I found the lectures really informative. Although you don't really need to watch them for the essays, Madley promoted the critical thinking that will help when writing the essay. Definitely give them a listen!

Because of the circumstances of this quarter, the final was made optional, so I can't give input on the contents of it.

There are four essay prompts, spaced out every two weeks. You are required to submit 2, and they make up 50% of your grade. Don't do what I did and wait until the last two to start... way too stressful, although its manageable with the amount of material you're given. I felt that my TA was great for grading these. He was clear with the expectations for the essays, and he actually sent back edits and suggestions!

The required readings include a textbook and a few books, as well as some documentaries. You need to cite from these readings for the essays. Each essay prompt has the sources you can/need to use, so I found it helpful to read and watch with the intention of doing the essay. Ultimately, if you aren't doing the essay for those sources, you don't need to read the books/chapters for that week, although I found them interesting. I don't know if the final had questions or prompts from each of these, so you might need to do all of them anyways.

I don’t understand how this professor got such positive reviews. I am not sure if this class is worse because we are remote. There is very little clarity on the requirements for the essays. The TAs were unbelievably harsh on the essays. They graded the essays harder than an english class at UCLA in terms of grammar and structure. It felt as if the structure was more important than the content. The class was poorly structured and very unorganized. I understand that everything is tougher since it is remote but I feel Professor Madley could have done more to make this class better structured. This class is not very friendly if you are going for an A. Professor Madley waited until the very end of the course to tell us that 95% is required for an A which I thought was just unfair and way too high. So, definitely keep that mind if you are gunning for an A. He also promised extra credit if we went to the writing center but walked back on that offer and didn’t give anything else to make up for that. Overall, I didn’t like this class and the essays were very painful due to the lack of clarity and effort from the professor and TAs. If you are taking this class for a GE, do yourself a favor and take something else.

this professor was the highlight to my quater.

Amazing professor. Class is extremely organized and exactly what you want from a class. Completely straightforward and clear, he wants you to do well and he gives you all the tools to succeed. Definitely take him.

Dr. Madley is hands down one of my favorite professors at UCLA (I'm a History major). He is a very engaging lecturer and does a great job of explaining the material. Even though he uses slides he lectures from his own notes and does not usually write a lot on the slides themselves so you'll need to take notes. I learned so much about Native Americans that I had never learned in high school and to this day am very interested in the topic because of him. I came out of the class with a different perspective on American history. Wish that this class was required, especially for Californians, because he covers the Native American genocide in California. Class breakdown is two five page papers and a final. Slightly heavy reading but pretty standard for upper division history. Definitely would recommend!

I loved taking this class with Professor Madley. He doesn't post his slides so you have to go to lecture, but his lectures are very interesting. On the first day of class, he'll give 3 essay prompts that will be due later in the quarter. You only have to choose 2 out of the 3. If you go to the history writing center and have them stamp your paper, you get extra points on your paper.

There are a couple of books that you need because you'll use these for the citations in your papers. However they're all on reserve in the libraries, so you don't have to buy all of them if you don't want to.

The final will be 10 identification and a short essay. All of this will be given before the final so you can prepare everything ahead. He'll give you about 50 identification to memorize (who, what, where, when, and why).

Overall great class and I am looking forward to taking another class with him in the spring.

I would take this class again in a heartbeat, because I'd go about it a totally different way. Madley gives the most amazing lectures. They're very thorough and did a wonderful job at introducing me to Native American studies, which was a subject area I previously had very little knowledge of. Detailed as they are, you really don't need to take extensive notes. I wish I didn't; I would have paid closer attention to the actual material. Madley is also very aware that he is a white man lecturing about ethnic studies, and I personally think he demonstrated his expertise with the utmost respect.

There is no midterm, and for the final he will give you a very comprehensive study guide. The two papers are graded very generously. As long as you show that you put effort into research and writing, you will get an A. There is a lot of assigned reading for the course, but if you are short on time I would recommend that you only read the books pertinent to the two essays you choose (out of four total options) that will be provided in the syllabus.

I highly recommend this class! The professor clearly prioritizes your education above all else.

Madley is one of the best professors I have ever had! He makes his lectures not only engaging and genuinely interesting, but is aware many taking his class may have little knowledge of Native American history, and, therefore, is clear in his explanations. He is very generous by giving you a list of all the terms that may come up in the exam and gives you a choice of two essay questions, which you can write up and memorise beforehand. Couldn't recommend him and this class enough!