Best prof I've ever had. Extremely knowledgeable about Native American history and it really shows in his detailed lectures. Out entire grade was based on two papers that were 5 pages each and a final exam. Extra credit was given to papers taken to the writing center. I personally loved the class and thought every lecture was interesting and never boring. Not necessarily the easiest class but I would highly recommend taking it if you're looking for a fantastic professor with great content.

Professor Madley is a gem. He is clearly passionate about Native American History, and his lectures were really interesting and insightful. There are 3 movies and 6 books for the class, each being 100- 350 pages. This is an entirely paper based class, and there is a lot of reading, so you really need to manage your time well in order to get an A. He assigns 4 papers due 2 weeks apart, but you only need to write 2. Each paper is worth 25% of your grade and are out of 25 points. He also gives an extra 2 extra credit points if you take a rough draft of your paper to the History Writing Center. The final is worth 50% of your grade, but it was optional this quarter. Overall, the class is very doable, with the only downside being the reading.

*online version*
Madley is an extremely well articulated professor. While the subject at hand may seem complex, trying to memorize all the different names of the tribes and understanding the different relationships, Madley makes the subject incredibly easy to follow and understand. The class is graded on 2 (4 options offered every two weeks, choose 2) papers, and a final (which became optional, given the circumstances). Although Madley may come off as dry and hard to reach, once you get to talk to him, you really see how passionate he is over understanding Native American history, and his book detailing Native American genocide in California. Overall, relatively easy course, not too quick paced, and if you stay on track with the lectures, you should be good to go!

I took the class asynchronous during Fall '20, so your mileage may vary. I hear he is amazing in person and it's not that he was bad online, but he certainly didn't live up to the hype of the reviews from the previous years. That's my fault though for putting too much faith in reviews that don't even apply to online learning. I did have a problem with the communication in the class, though, primarily from the TAs. Asynchronous is not synonymous with "never send out more than one or two emails throughout the quarter."

Readings were doable and actually incredibly interesting. I typically find US history super boring but the material never ceased to amaze me. In that sense, the class extremely eye-opening. You just have to make sure to get ahead if you like to really pick apart what you read because you'd typically get two weeks to read each book (anywhere from 150-250 pages total). You'd then write two essays (out of three prompt options) which were five pages each. I know people only read the books applicable to their essays, and while it's possible, I wouldn't recommend doing it looking back because content from all four books was on the final.

The lectures are a bit of a different story. I really love the way he lectures, but I'm not entirely sure how useful they are beyond just consolidating what you read in the textbook and required readings. If your eyes glaze over and you have trouble retaining information in denser literature, then the lectures are perfect. But don't expect your knowledge of the course material to be derived from the lectures. You'll mostly learn from the readings.

I took this class in Fall 2020, and although it was interesting, the TA's and professor were not much help as they never held one single class for us to meet and discuss the material. This class is all self-taught. The class required 2 5-page essays and 1 final, which consisted of 10-15 ID terms and a last-minute, surprise 5-page essay. He gave us a study guide with 100 key terms, making it unnecessarily difficult to study for the final. He also requires 5 books in total which I think is a bit excessive. His lectures were extremely boring and monotone and seemed recycled. We never got to meet him even once, even after requests for one. Overall, my reading and studying for hours got me an A- because an A in his class was a minimum of 95%, which is too high. The grading was inconsistent, as one TA gave me a 23/25 with lots of feedback and the second TA gave me 22/25 with no comments on how to improve. This same TA gave me a 46/50 on the final with no comments either. Overall, it seems like no one in this class can get an A+, let alone an A.

Where to start with this class...what a rollercoaster. Prof Madley's lectures are fine, but I feel like you could probably get all the content you need for the papers without even watching them, since you can't cite them in your essays anyway. The class consists of reading 6 books (one of which was written by him and is really good), 2 essays & 1 final in which you're given 2 essay prompts and get to pick one + some ID terms to define. The content of the class can actually be really interesting, and this is coming from somebody who usually HATES history. Some of the books were also really good & I recommended them to some friends and again, can't stress this enough, I HATE history. Definitely learned a lot. Your grade depends on the TA who grades your essay each time & let me just say this: Christian is a king, Javier will wreck your life. Overall though, I definitely recommend this class.

Professor Madley is an amazing lecturer and is very insightful in his field. The books and movies that we were required to read and watch were, for the most part, very pleasant to engage with. There were 3 essays, which you could pick 2 to do, which would account for half of your grade. The other half of the grade was a final which was one 5 page paper and ID's. The paper topic was given a week in advance before it was due, which made the final incredibly easy to knock out. I would take the class again, but only would wish that the lectures were not just slides that you had to download.

I am not a history major, and this class was my second course in the history department at UCLA. Yet, I'm glad I took this course with professor Madley, because I learned so much and he is probably one the best professors I've taken since transferring to UCLA. His course consists of reading six books, two essays, and the final exam. You'll be given three essay prompts, but you only have to choose two. All three essay prompts ask for five page papers. I did the first two since we only had two weeks between each essay and it gave me a grace period during week nine to study for finals. The first essay was due during week five, the second was due week seven, and the third essay was due week nine. In general, your grade consists of the two essays, which are worth twenty-five points each and the final which was worth fifty points. The final was another five page paper worth twenty-five points and the other twenty-five was identifying terms (who, what, when, where, why). The terms took a little more time than usual as he gave us sixty-five terms on the final study sheet and he only chose fifteen to put on the exam. However, you'll only have to identify ten out of those fifteen terms on the exam. This class was a little more reading than I expected, but I'm glad he chose interesting reads as week eight you'll be instructed to read over 350 to 400 pages in a single week. As mentioned, the readings are six books ranging from 100 to 450 pages. Make sure you set aside time in your schedule for the readings. Especially if your other classes have dense reading assignments. It was most helpful to take notes and annotate during the readings for the essays, which helped me from having to continually look back in the books for important points for my essays. All your papers and final are graded by TA's and I would recommend you drop in during their office hours to speak with them to get a general idea of what they'll be looking for in your papers. Our TA's were Zavardino and Munoz. I would say the former was a little more forgiving than the latter, but they are both stringent about how concise your thesis is structured, how you provide backup evidence from the readings in your argument, and the accuracy of your argument. The first paper I did not go to the writing center and I got a 21/25. The second paper, I did go to the writing center and got 23/25. So if you have time it might help to go by the writing center and get a second opinion on your paper. Professor Madley's lectures are some of the best I've encountered from a history professor, both at community college and UCLA. His research is in the study of California Indians, but his general knowledge of American Indians is the most in-depth and impressive. I learned so much more about the American Indian during the American conquest than I originally thought I knew. In all honesty, I'm so disappointed that I did not get to experience this class in person and I'm sure his in-class experience is that much more intellectually gratifying. With that said, I would definitely recommend this course.

I highly recommend Professor Benjamin Madley's seminar on the New History of American Indian Studies to anyone interested in gaining a comprehensive understanding of the histories and historiography surrounding Indigenous peoples in the United States. This class offers a selection of thoughtful and engaging readings that challenge students to critically engage with the contributions made by both Native and non-Native scholars in the field of Indigenous history. By delving into these readings, students will have the opportunity to explore the advancements made in shaping the narratives and understanding of Indigenous peoples throughout history.

This seminar stands out for three compelling reasons:

The seminar encourages thought-provoking dialogue among classmates and the professor. Engaging in these discussions provides valuable insights into how Native peoples are perceived both within and outside the United States. As a Native person from outside the US, I gained a fresh perspective on Indigenous peoples of the US.

Professor Madley goes the extra mile by inviting the actual authors of the readings to engage in discussions with the students. In addition, he includes his own book and gives his own talk during that week. This unique opportunity allows for in-depth conversations about the authors' thoughts, writing processes, and the impact of their work. It offers a deeper appreciation for the creation and reception of books on marginalized histories and peoples, particularly those related to US, Indigenous peoples.

While the focus of the class is on the histories and historiography of American Indians, Professor Madley ensures that the course caters to students' individual interests. This means that students can explore subjects aligned with their own research topics. Additionally, the professor provides professional feedback to help improve writing skills and offers support for those interested in pursuing a career in academia.

In conclusion, regardless of whether the course directly aligns with your core research topics, I highly recommend taking this seminar to learn about the history of Native peoples in the United States. The class not only offers valuable insights but also provides opportunities for personal and professional growth in writing and future academic pursuits. It is a course that I would recommend to both graduate and undergraduate students.

This class is TOUGH and definitely not an easy A. I had to work my but off for this class but it was extremely rewarding. Madley is an excellent lecture and his choice of readings was very good. My TAs were Christian and Javier. Javier is the tougher of the two graders but he was extremely kind and compassionate to me when I was struggling to get through particularly trying time mentally and physically. Madley is also a very reasonable professor because he knew a lot of us were struggling and he was pretty generous when it came to extensions.