This class is very interesting and both the professor and the TA are very knowledgeable in the subject (impressively so, I would say),
There is a written memo required every two weeks (1200-1500 words) for which you are pretty much only allowed to draw from class readings (which are rather long and sometimes very confusing) and lectures, which tend to tie into each other. If you take this class, I recommend starting your memos early!
Attendance and participation are also heavily emphasized.
Overall a decent class!

This is a fantastic class! I genuinely learned so much valuable information about the history of China and the country’s journey to where it is today on the global stage. Professor Lee does a great job of showing the different sides of issues and encourages students to develop their own opinions. I’m someone that has trouble staying engaged during lectures, but I was interested in this class until the end. All this being said, I suggest you don’t take this class if you don’t want to do a significant amount of reading and writing. For reference, I’m an English major, and I had to do more writing for this class than any of my English courses. But the good thing is that there are no exams, so you don’t need to spend hours memorizing the—very heavy—material.

I think Professor Lee can seem harsh to some people, but she genuinely cares about students’ learning and wants to know what you think. She’s a believer in hard work and rewarding hard work. It was great to learn from an expert who doesn’t just like to hear herself talk. It was honestly an honor to take a course with her!

Here are some key things about the class:
- Attendance counts!! There is a physical sign up sheet that goes around the lecture hall. The TA takes attendance in section.
- group project (not too much work if you have a good group)
- a 1200-1500 word reading memo every 2 weeks (FIVE total) —> discussion sections are extremely helpful for these
- there are extra credit opportunities if you ever need to make up a few points!

awesome class!

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.

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...

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.

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.

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!