Course Taken: Jewish Studies 10

Her class was my favorite class of the quarter. I thoroughly enjoyed the course, even though I have zero Jewish knowledge or background. I learned a lot, and I enjoyed going to every lecture and discussion. There's a lot of reading, and tons of books to buy. I bought all of them and completed 80-90% of the readings, which was a lot, but I'm glad I did because I gained so much. Take this class if you want to learn, but know that you'll have to put in your fair share of work to get a good grade.

The professor is extremely kind, warm, and compassionate. She remembers your name if you answer a question or go to office hours. You can tell she's really passionate about the subject, and I felt like we learned a whole range of topics in a brief but sufficient way. Go talk to the professor, she's really sweet, and is always talking about eating with her students in Covel. She's one of my favorite professors at UCLA.

Class: Jewish Studies 10

Yeah, her class is overwhelmingly easy, though it comes with a lot of reading. Her study guides almost literally spell out the midterm and final for you; study those and you're bound to get an 'A.' Also, choose Candice Levy as your TA (she knows her shit, is caring, and is lenient).

Professor Bakhos's personality is absolutely enthralling. She's overwhelmingly amiable -- she addresses the class affectionately, as "my friends" -- and you'll find her either absolutely endearing or disgustingly disingenuous. Most assuredly, she isn't the latter; she'll treat you like an old friend, have conversation with you and invite you to dinner -- and if you speak up even slightly in class, she'll remember your name. She's lovely. One student below called her singy-songy; yeah, that admittedly best summarizes her personality, but she's genuine.

As a matter of teaching, her lectures, while compelling, lack organization and are tangential. If you aren't interested in the material, don't go to lecture; if you're only interested in getting an 'A,' you're better off reading the books. The material doesn't need explaining; it's all culture, not concept. She does offer a cornucopia of insightful food for thought, however. Bakhos also presents extremely balanced material -- she instantly follows any assertion that dares to be bold with an alternative or counter perspective with a characteristic "Though one can make the argument that..."

Some have complained that she's extremely biased against non-Jews. Well, that's inevitably inherent to a JEWISH studies class. Moreover, she wasn't offensive in the slightest -- not even inadvertently. If you don't believe me, she herself isn't Jewish; she's a privately professed Catholic. She has admitted to referring to Jews as "we," implying that she herself is Jewish, but she said over dinner that it's often too easy "to get passionately caught up in the moment."

Never have I met a more open-minded and genuine professor. She's brilliant and lovable.

I took JS10 with her in Fall 2007. She is a personable and fun teacher. Her lectures are more interesting than organized. Nonetheless, they're worth going to as she does have really great insight. It is necessary to do the reading in order to understand the material and the chronology of it, but if you're interested in Judaism the readings are appealing. She doesn't baby you (but does provide helpful study guides for tests), she expects you to do the work for the class and come to lecture ready to hear her give it a more human touch. Overall, she is an endearing professor who I would sincerely recommend.