Do NOT take this class with Schaberg for a GE dawg. I've invested more time into this than in some of my STEM classes and I'm still struggling. But if you're actually passionate about Chinese history and want to read EXTENSIVE texts on Chinese history and take ABSURDLY SPECIFIC, quizzes then go ahead. The discussions are enjoyable though.

Many people are saying if you wan't an easy GE don't take this one. I will one up you--if you want a MANAGEABLE GE, don't take this one. This course covers a massive swath of Chinese History, which in fairness is interesting. However, Professor Schabergs lectures are entirely incoherent. He rambles on and on and on about the most microscopic irrelevant details, which would be fine in other circumstances but is just ridiculous considering how quickly we are supposed to be moving through thousands of years of history, and ridiculous considering this is an entry level GE and thus most students first extensive introduction to Chinese history. Not only does he hyper fixate on largely irrelevant topics (burial practices or pottery), but throughout his lectures he jumps back and forth through time and dynasty over and over again in very incoherent and incomprehensible ways. His lectures are largely confusing. He demands a lot from his class: the midterm and in class quizzes once again are extremely demanding and difficult with ambiguous wording once again on the most obscure topics yet he can't even give us the grace of grading these things in a timely manner. This is the longest I have ever waited for a midterm to be graded--and it's simply offensive to students who spend weeks and weeks preparing for your disproportionately difficult class. As other students have mentioned, this is quite literally the most difficult class I have taken at UCLA, which in itself is not even the problem. I am all for an academic challenge, but when the Professor does not want students to succeed and is an incompetent instructor, it's incredibly difficult to feel motivated to tackle that academic challenge.

If you do not have substantial background knowledge in the topic or are not wildly passionate about it, DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. This is not the class to nurture a new passion or academic interest as you will just be discouraged as the class is equally disorganized as it is demanding. I wish I would have waited another quarter to fulfill my philosophical and linguistic analysis GE because now I fear my GPA is going to take a massive hit despite the herculean efforts I have given towards the course and learning this history.

Professor Schaberg is very disorganized and unfair. He does not assign any homework assignments or give any extra credit. Your whole grade is dependent on the 10 random quizzes and the midterm, project, and final. He purposely puts random stuff on his quiz that are not important or barely mentioned in any of the texts provided so you can get the answers wrong. He does not want people to succeed in his class. Do not take this if you want an easy GE, only if you are really interested in this topic or it is your major. It is not worth it because it most likely will drop your GPA. His lectures are also not organized at all. He jumps back and forth between very different topics. This class takes up more time then my major classes and its supposed to be a GE!! The professor talks about how since its a UCLA course, the class is supposed to be difficult, it is, but only because he will focus on the most unimportant facts or people in the dynasties on purpose to throw us off and make us miss problems. His midterm and quizzes have 5-10 problems max so you can't even afford to get one wrong. Although the topic is interesting, this class takes up so much of my time and stresses me out so much because of how the professor formatted this class. Not worth it to take, especially if its for a GE.