Professor C.K. Lee really knows and loves this subject. She presents fascinating sociological concepts and equips students with the paradigm to critically analyze and comprehend contemporary China! The workload is manageable and she is inviting during office hours. The material is not easy - so make sure to stay on top of your review and participate in sections!

The class is pretty interesting, but it's quite a lot of work and definitely not easy. There are assignments due every week over readings, as well as section attendance and participation points. The prof will also randomly take attendance in lecture for lecture participation. On top of that there's a group presentation project, AND a final essay, along with two tough exams (midterm and final) with little to no curves. However, Lee gives a lot of opportunities of extra credit (about 5 points) so that helps.

Honestly the TAs were much more helpful in this class. Lee lectures on a ton of information and really means it when she says it's all potentially on the test. Lots of pretty dense slides, but I still managed an A with going to lecture only half the time. It's a doable class... but I stressed out about it a lot.

I really enjoyed this class! The material is very interesting. However this class was definitely not easy. You can not slack off. Everything on the slides is fair game, the exam can be very nit picky because of that. You just need a general understanding of the readings in order to do well on the short essay section. Pay attention in discussion because discussion summarizes the readings so that it is easier to understand. Overall, I don't regret taking this class as it was very fun and interesting. I feel like I've learned a lot from this class. I also loved my TA as well she was super sweet and was always willing to help.

I personally enjoyed this class. The material was interesting for me, we explored topics such as Tiananmen incident, Chinese cheap labor, the Cultural Revolution, etc. Lectures are well-organized--she tries to make every lecture a convincing, inspiring argument. The professor also gives out two extra credit opportunities. However, I have to say that the requirements of this class can be confusing and redundant. The professor asked us to go to a movie screening about the Umbrella Movement, saying that it was mandatory but attendance can earn extra credits. It's like saying it's both mandatory and voluntary. For me, I had a midterm the next day and I did not quite care about the extra credit, but since she said it was mandatory, I had not choice but to go. She is sometimes too demanding as well. She calls out people using electronics in class and did not like people leaving early or sitting in the back. Besides, the workload is not light. She took lecture attendance twice, and there were two in-class exercises as well. A midterm, a group presentation, a final AND a 7-page final paper.
Take it with Ashelee Yang, she is a an amazing TA and helped me a lot.
Great class if you are interested in Chinese society or history. It can be pretty easy if you already knew a lot about China. If not, just try to memorize the concepts and jargons. Totally doable.

I took this class as a non-sociology major, with no prior knowledge of Chinese history or politics. After taking this class, I know that I can confidently hold a conversation about the state and history of China or how capitalism works in a communist country.

The materials covered are pretty light and you don't have to spend a dime on books. Prof. Lee recently started trying out open book exams, but the questions will be not too straight-forward but are not too hard either. She does drop hints before the exams, so make sure to attend lectures. Speaking of lectures, they are very well-organized and are engaging if you actually pay attention. I did not really find the need to study much for the exams or papers because I just attended the lectures and paid attention. Do that and you can do pretty well in class.

Prof. Lee can come off as a little intimidating but I promise she is the nicest person, and actually cares about your learning. Just make sure to go for her office hours at least once and you will realize. I definitely recommend taking this class, but just make sure to attend lectures and you will breeze through the class.

On a side note, Prof. Lee reminded me of Michelle Yeoh from Crazy Rich Asians. lol.

I really wish I had have taken this Pas/No pass. The professor is great but the TA's ruin your gpa for no reason at all...

Sooo much work. We had a 1600-2000 word essay every other week. These essays were assigned on Thursdays and due on Sunday nights, which meant that we were basically forced to do them on the weekends, which kind of sucked because it meant you can't really go out or do anything on the weekend. The essays required you to draw on the readings, which were super long, so that meant an even heavier workload. On the bright side, all these essays meant no exams, so if you prefer essays to tests, you're in luck.
The class itself, though, was really interesting, so if you're willing to deal with all the work that it requires, then I definitely recommend it, because it really opened my eye to all the stuff China is doing around the world. The professor did a really good job of taking unbiased stances toward controversial issues in order to teach them to us in the best possible way, which I really appreciated.