Professor
Greg Schachner
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2020 - Okay, so Schachner's class is pretty easy, one quiz every other week, and two papers make up 90% of your grade. The other 10% are attendance if you have him in-person, but for online Spring 2020 it was usually just very short assignments on some reading material. He also drops your lowest quiz and your lowest paper, so I got lucky and got to finish the class by Week 8. (besides a couple participation assignments) The quizzes are usually pretty straightforward, I would just transcribe the shit out of his lectures and if your quizzes aren't open-note, just try to memorize it to the best of your ability. If it is open-note, go ham on the command-F lmao. I'm not a very good writer but I'd say the papers were relatively straightforward, most people I know got an A/A- which was good enough for the class. While the class is somewhat easy, it comes at the price of being quite dry (at least for myself). That may be my fault for not picking a GE that I found interesting and instead one that wouldn't cause me too much stress but I found a lot of the lectures kind of boring. It may have also been because for Spring 2020, all lectures were recorded and there were no live lectures at all, but I found it hard to be interested in the material. Doing work for the class just involved rolling up my sleeves and gritting my teeth through it. Would recommend if you have a heavy schedule and want to knock out a chill GE though...
Spring 2020 - Okay, so Schachner's class is pretty easy, one quiz every other week, and two papers make up 90% of your grade. The other 10% are attendance if you have him in-person, but for online Spring 2020 it was usually just very short assignments on some reading material. He also drops your lowest quiz and your lowest paper, so I got lucky and got to finish the class by Week 8. (besides a couple participation assignments) The quizzes are usually pretty straightforward, I would just transcribe the shit out of his lectures and if your quizzes aren't open-note, just try to memorize it to the best of your ability. If it is open-note, go ham on the command-F lmao. I'm not a very good writer but I'd say the papers were relatively straightforward, most people I know got an A/A- which was good enough for the class. While the class is somewhat easy, it comes at the price of being quite dry (at least for myself). That may be my fault for not picking a GE that I found interesting and instead one that wouldn't cause me too much stress but I found a lot of the lectures kind of boring. It may have also been because for Spring 2020, all lectures were recorded and there were no live lectures at all, but I found it hard to be interested in the material. Doing work for the class just involved rolling up my sleeves and gritting my teeth through it. Would recommend if you have a heavy schedule and want to knock out a chill GE though...
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Most Helpful Review
One of the best professors I've had at UCLA. He's very articulate and does a good job of presenting technical, somewhat abstract concepts in ways that are easy to understand. You won't be able to slack off, but it's definitely not the hardest class I've taken. I took Anthro 8 and 110P. Readings: Readings aren't super necessary, especially in Anthro 8. A bit more so in 110P, but I skimmed the chapters and got an A. Tests: I had to make up my midterm and final due to scheduling conflicts in Anthro 8 and he was very understanding and flexible. Tests in Anthro 8 are multiple choice, in 110P they are essay based and very fair. He gives you a list of review questions, and the ones on the actual tests are very similar, if not the same. He'll give you a list of 6-7 and you have to pick 4 or so to write, so you do have some choice. He's more concerned with general concepts rather than specifics, so you don't need to waste time memorizing sites. Other assignments: He gives a few short (ie. 1 page) papers in 110P and drops the lowest grade. You definitely have to think about the material, but it's not too hard to get to the main idea.
One of the best professors I've had at UCLA. He's very articulate and does a good job of presenting technical, somewhat abstract concepts in ways that are easy to understand. You won't be able to slack off, but it's definitely not the hardest class I've taken. I took Anthro 8 and 110P. Readings: Readings aren't super necessary, especially in Anthro 8. A bit more so in 110P, but I skimmed the chapters and got an A. Tests: I had to make up my midterm and final due to scheduling conflicts in Anthro 8 and he was very understanding and flexible. Tests in Anthro 8 are multiple choice, in 110P they are essay based and very fair. He gives you a list of review questions, and the ones on the actual tests are very similar, if not the same. He'll give you a list of 6-7 and you have to pick 4 or so to write, so you do have some choice. He's more concerned with general concepts rather than specifics, so you don't need to waste time memorizing sites. Other assignments: He gives a few short (ie. 1 page) papers in 110P and drops the lowest grade. You definitely have to think about the material, but it's not too hard to get to the main idea.
Most Helpful Review
He is a very knowledgeable professor and very cute! The things you have to do in this class to get an A. 1. Attend Class and take notes, he has power points online but he has said himself those are there to help him! 2. Memorize sites on a map, they will be on the exam. He has two papers for his class, both are two pagers. Really easy in my opinion. He will have you summarize two articles he picks and have you synthesis them in a cohesive well written manner. Just don't be lazy and write them a night before. His exams aren't that difficult it is just a lot you have to memorize. I stopped reading the book after 4th week, but sometimes if you are stuck on a concept the book will help.
He is a very knowledgeable professor and very cute! The things you have to do in this class to get an A. 1. Attend Class and take notes, he has power points online but he has said himself those are there to help him! 2. Memorize sites on a map, they will be on the exam. He has two papers for his class, both are two pagers. Really easy in my opinion. He will have you summarize two articles he picks and have you synthesis them in a cohesive well written manner. Just don't be lazy and write them a night before. His exams aren't that difficult it is just a lot you have to memorize. I stopped reading the book after 4th week, but sometimes if you are stuck on a concept the book will help.
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His class, "The Politics of Past" has been one of my favorite classes at UCLA so far. If you think you are considering a profession in archaeology, this class is a must. Not only did I learn a lot about museums, collecting, NAGPRA, etc., but you learn so much about how archaeology really gets done -- and how so much of the field really isn't about just the science of it. This class has a decent amount of reading each week, but its not too dry. Class is structured as a "seminar" of sorts. Generally, Professor Schachner lectures or shares stories for part of the class. Then the class usually breaks up into groups to discuss, or there is just a general class discussion. Overall, class wasn't too boring, and was sometimes pretty entertaining. Your grade in the class is based off of participation, a take home midterm, a museum project, and a final paper. None of these were overly difficult. The Professor always responded to my e-mails in a timely manner, even on Saturdays, and gave great feedback on papers. He cares a lot about writing, and that shows in his grading. However, he recognizes hard work and improvement. I got an A in his class and I definitely recommend this class to others!
His class, "The Politics of Past" has been one of my favorite classes at UCLA so far. If you think you are considering a profession in archaeology, this class is a must. Not only did I learn a lot about museums, collecting, NAGPRA, etc., but you learn so much about how archaeology really gets done -- and how so much of the field really isn't about just the science of it. This class has a decent amount of reading each week, but its not too dry. Class is structured as a "seminar" of sorts. Generally, Professor Schachner lectures or shares stories for part of the class. Then the class usually breaks up into groups to discuss, or there is just a general class discussion. Overall, class wasn't too boring, and was sometimes pretty entertaining. Your grade in the class is based off of participation, a take home midterm, a museum project, and a final paper. None of these were overly difficult. The Professor always responded to my e-mails in a timely manner, even on Saturdays, and gave great feedback on papers. He cares a lot about writing, and that shows in his grading. However, he recognizes hard work and improvement. I got an A in his class and I definitely recommend this class to others!
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