the midterm and final were both ridiculous. you had to read every word of the 400 page textbook to have a chance at getting a B. a very good professor, but her tests are extremely difficult. DONT TAKE IT

Kennedy knows what she is talking about. She is one of those professors at UCLA where in addition to lecturing a bunch of unappreciative, GE-taking, undergrad non-majors (such as myself), she is also one of the nation's leading academics in the field. That said, her lectures are not always exactly stimulating, but if you stay with it, it's not hard to understand the concepts of the material and then the classes will become much more enjoyable. Exams are tricky with a lot of confusing multiple choice questions on vocabulary. This is why you should take the option to write the paper instead of taking the midterm. You can write it on whatever you want basically, so take advantage. The textbook is unnecessary, but lectures are not. If you get a chance to talk with Kennedy in person, she is a bit standoffish at first, but she really loves this topic so she seems to have a strong desire to be helpful to her students.

This was a manageable class. The grading is a little weird but if you don't do so well on the midterm, writing the paper can definately save you. Initially the lectures are boring but once you get past pre-evolutionary thinkers the class gets a little more interesting. The tests are entirely based on lecture so I wouldn't suggest buying the book because you won't need it. As long as you memorize those lecture slides and with a little luck you can do fine on the test. They were pretty tricky and some of the questions asked about topics which she didn't cover. Definately do the extra credit. And you have to go to lecture.....

I'm a third-year and I just took this class as a GE. I generally get good marks -- about a 3.4 overall and an upward trend my last two years. I haven't received a C since winter quarter of my first year and well, I just received another one after completing A12 this past fall with Kennedy. . . so my trend gets broken. Her lectures are pretty clear. I would ignore the textbook altogether and just memorize the slides and whatever she posts. I absolutely hate rote memorization - I'm an English major. So this was a total nightmare for me. The material is easy to follow - it's just the evolutionary biology stuff you've had to learn since 8th grade . .. just here it's a lot of memorization. I'm really upset since I got great marks in all of my other classes. Huge regret. She's a nice professor - exams are very tricky (multiple-choice). Class is curved. 88% was the highest score on the midterm. Go figure.

Kennedy is by far my favorite professor at UCLA so far. Her lectures are fascinating, but you do need to attend them all to do well in her class. But seriously, I took 12 with her last year and sought her out again this year for my 120 requirement because I learned so much in Anthro 12. The material is hard, but the tests are focused completely on lecture, so if you can't get to all of the reading it's generally okay. I always ask her questions after class and she is really patient and eager to hear my feedback. She is so knowledgeable about everything she teaches so if you are interested in the subject of her class, I guarantee you will like her and all the studying will be worth it. Her tests are really hard, so just be prepared for that and study your notes and the slides. Any word she writes on the board will probably be on the test. If you are an anthro major though, you should definitely take her at some point before you graduate.

I don't recommend Kennedy. Her lectures were unclear, and the TA's had no idea what was going on, so the only way to study for tests was to read the book and go through all of her lecture slides. This class was HARD. I got a good grade after I pulled 2 all-nighters before the final. Not enjoyable or recommendable.

Kennedy is an awesome professor. The class is very easy if you do it right. The same goes for practically all classes. Her lecturers are extremely interesting, and she is a very nice lady, who is always open to explain things better if you need her to. You need to go to every lecture, and take notes. Tests come from lecture notes and section. There really is only a couple of concepts every lecture that she goes over in detail. The information is not bad at all. The reading for section is very minimal, and the class overall is very laidback -- as long as you go to lecture and take notes. There is an option to take the midterm or the paper or a mixture of both. Do the paper -- you'll get a better grade. For the final, spend a full day making flash cards, and spend two studying them. Your set for the final. The TAs for the class know everything, use them!!!

Kennedy's really hard, but she's a great teacher. Her lectures are interesting and the material isn't bad. I am an anthro major, though. I wouldn't reccommend taking this class for a GE, but through the majority of the quarter it's pretty chill. It's just during finals that it gets really hard. She has an option of either writing a 10 page research paper due at the end of the quarter or taking the midterm, which is kinda nice.

This is a class on the principles of human evolution so I was appalled when I heard the professor giving incorrect information on what evolution and natural selection are in lecture. These are the basis of the class! I would have hoped the professor would get these correct. As an evolutionary biology major I approached her about this and she told me that the correct definitions were just other biologists "takes" on evolution and that her way was more concise, but the same thing-- despite that they were completely different. She is a very dry and dull lecturer, but regardless of teaching style I cannot recommend any class in which the professor is teaching incorrect information. I am very disappointed as human evolution is a very fascinating subject. I hope that the students that have taken and will have to take this class with Dr. Kennedy get the chance to learn correct information at some point in their academic careers.

I'm an Anthro B.S. major so that's probably why I really enjoyed the class (even though I got a B+). No matter how simple the material is, you have to get an A on the midterm (35%) and the final (65%) to get an A in the class. I got a A on my midterm, but B+ on my final, hence the class grade. The final ques are VERY specific,but "fair." Test material is off her lectures, so the book was a waste of money; discussions are useless unless your TA actually knows what she's talking about (e.g. doesn't say "I will ask the professor everytime u ask her a ques") and attendance is not part of your grade. Kennedy is extremely approacheable and really wants you to understand the material. In summary, great teacher, great material learned; not so great of a TA, terrible grading policy.