I feel like some of these reviews are very harsh and not reflective of Kernell. I think this class was interesting and useful, and the projects were fun. When we had a group member drop out, she was very accommodating in trying to give us extra feedback on our project. That being said, the tests are graded incredibly harshly. You are expected to memorize verbatim lots of small details from readings and be able to cite them, and some questions are pulled out of very minute parts of the reading that were not mentioned in class. I would get an 100% on one question and a 20% on the next question because she was not flexible with partial credit.

However, Kernell is very accommodating if you put in the effort. After sitting in the front, actively participating, and going to extra events that she organized, I was very disappointed with my grade because it was on the cusp of two grades. Although she did not agree to round, she did agree to meet with me months later to discuss the grade and she even went back on a mark I was given about a paper that she authored. I think she really is a kind and good professor who just has a high bar for her students.,which should not take away from her ability as a teacher.

As a political science major, I believe this class was more comprehensive of American government and media affects than any class offered by the political science department. Every lecture was super interesting, although it can be a lot of information to digest at once. There are quizzes due before each class on Bruin Learn, but they were only 3 questions based on the readings assigned for the upcoming lecture. I'd say they were pretty manageable to complete, and honestly helped me comprehend the readings more which really helps for exams! We had a midterm and a final that covered readings, lectures, guest speakers, and supplemental videos/movies. It takes a bit of time to study for the exams, but if you know the information you can finish them pretty quickly, considering they are mainly short answer questions (8-10) that range in length. Additionally, there was a group commercial project which was fun to complete, but just know that the grades for your commercials are split 50% student input/20% TA/30% Professor, so outcomes were interesting. Overall, this class is a decent amount of work but I feel like I am coming away with more knowledge for my major and possibly new career options that I didn't know I had before.