I was really looking forward to taking a fairly easy GE and this class seemed like it would be very interesting, but I was disappointed. Kim gives unclear, boring lectures. Quiz questions are not straightforward or based directly off of the reading or work you complete. Although there are many intriguing books and films out there on the Holocaust, the ones selected to be analyzed in this class are extremely boring and difficult to get through. Do not recommend this class.

Professor Kim took a really interesting concept and completely ruined it. He is easily the worst lecturer I've had. Everything he says sounds like he's trying so hard to make things as complex and philosophical as possible. He doesn't curve and he doesn't give extra credit. Your grade is made up of 3 multiple choice quizzes, participation, two essays and one final. You have to get a natural 95 in the class to receive a solid A, which just became discouraging throughout the quarter. DO NOT take this class if you are looking for a GE. You will regret it.

Avoid this class at all costs. The professor is extremely anal and demands a straight scale 95 in order to get an A, and yet at the same time is ridiculous and very quick to take off points on your tests and essays. My TA was exceptional and was clearly trying to digest the class to make it as enjoyable as possible without being too much of a burden and stress on grades, and yet the professor seemed to be completely against this mission (which is ironic since he said many times he didn't want us to worry about grades in his class). Perhaps German 59 is an easy and interesting GE normally, but avoid it at all costs when he's lecturing it. Worst professor I've had during my entire time at UCLA.

This was the least enjoyable class I have taken at UCLA. I am interested in the time period of World War II, and also interested in literature and filmmaking. Instead of looking at how specific books or films reimagined the Holocaust, Professor Kim spent a majority of the time on high level philosophical analysis of the Holocaust and its place in history. Obviously the biggest issue was that the course description was totally misleading. The class consists of 3 section quizzes (Not hard material just very poorly worded and ambiguous multiple choice questions), 2 papers (got a 95 on the first one and an 85 on the second) with multiple options to choose from, and a final exam. On the topic of the papers; The only reason I received such a good grade on the first one was because I had a lot of experience in film analysis. Overall, they gave little to no guidance on the papers. The lectures were really difficult to follow as professor kim is not a very good speaker. He tends to talk in circles and unless you write down everything he says than decipher it later you're completely lost when it comes to what to take notes on. His slides are useless too so you're kind of stuck.

The review given by the second person on March 12, 2016 very accurately describes the workload of German 59. BTW, the grade is posted on March 26, 2016. So, reviews giving grades prior to this date are inaccurate, and some are malicious.

Background: English as a second language, hard science major.

Grades: A (quiz: 42/45, two essays: 195/200, final: 92/100, participation: 100/100) -> 95.2%

I haven't conversed with my friends yet about grades, although I'm sure they are doing pretty well. In order to nail this class, one is expected to do all the reading for the minimum. I would like to give several suggestions to tackle each of the assignments throughout the course:

Papers: One is recommended to strictly follow the grading rubric. No sharp argument or analytical analysis is expected from my TA. I wrote my essay only using arguments and examples from the class.

Quiz: I didn't study for the quiz too much because I finished all my reading beforehand. All I did was to review my lecture notes.

Final: I was surprised that I didn't get above 95+. What I did was to read Kluger during the weekend before the final and spend around two hours on reviewing all my lecture notes.

Overall, I have a great experience throughout this class. Professor Kim is very knowledge and eloquent. He uses very sophisticated arguments and words to analyze the Holocaust literature. He is also very approachable after class. He is willing to give students insight into issues such as historical and contemporary German domestic migration. This class is amazingly enjoyable and educational, especially considering the fact that it is Professor Kim's first time to teach such a huge class.

It's a huge GE covering a broad topic, you get what you'd expect. Kim is clearly new to having a large class, and tends to way overestimate how interested his audience is in his lectures. Dry and boring, lots of academic references that you never actually get tested on. Not a good choice for an easy A.

This class was extremely analytic in the sense that you cover so many different works and points of view related to the Holocaust (and topics related thereof like trauma and guilt). The class had a significant amount of reading, which was difficult to keep up with at times (but still manageable for the most part). Seeking out Professor Kim during office hours was probably one of the best decisions I made. Not only does he clarify topic that may have been unclear during lecture, but he wants to hear your feedback and takes it into account in subsequent lectures. Also helpful was going in to talk about the essay topics (which were pretty hard). He would give me a good starting point as I often felt stuck and caught up in the course material.

There were 3 section quizzes (not hard), 2 essays (relatively hard essays; each 5-6 pages) 4 required novel, and 2 films.

I would recommend this class and professor Kim. Just keep up with the readings and try to be engaged as possible in lecture (was hard in the latter half of the quarter).

I took this class as a GE outside my major and found it to be the most challenging of all my courses this quarter. Professor Kim's lectures were very boring, but you can't afford to miss them because his lecture slides have little detail. The quiz questions were often based on very specific facts, which made it hard to get good grades. I was very interested in the subject matter before the course, but he hasn't made it very interesting to learn more about.