H Samy Alim
Department of Anthropology
AD
4.5
Overall Rating
Based on 71 Users
Easiness 4.3 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 4.4 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 3.4 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 4.6 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

TOP TAGS

  • Uses Slides
  • Often Funny
  • Would Take Again
GRADE DISTRIBUTIONS
71.4%
59.5%
47.6%
35.7%
23.8%
11.9%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

39.7%
33.1%
26.5%
19.9%
13.2%
6.6%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

49.5%
41.3%
33.0%
24.8%
16.5%
8.3%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

38.6%
32.1%
25.7%
19.3%
12.9%
6.4%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

ENROLLMENT DISTRIBUTIONS
Clear marks

Sorry, no enrollment data is available.

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Reviews (60)

1 of 6
1 of 6
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Quarter: Fall 2022
Grade: A+
Feb. 23, 2023

Professor Alim is one of my favorite professors. He is extremely helpful, passionate, and want all his students to do really well. The exams were all asynchronous and online on Canva, and the 2 essays were quite easy. The workload is very manageable, because there is only 1 discussion post every week. The readings are very option (I barely did them) and still did very well on the test because he summarizes the readings during the lectures. I would highly recommend this class with Alim.

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Quarter: Fall 2022
Grade: A+
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Jan. 20, 2023

This was a really great class, he did it asynchronously during my quarter (as a commuter I loved this). I would recommend attending lectures at the very least, as he goes over all the material that will be on the tests and they are not recorded. The reading is a bit heavy, but he says to do the reading after the lectures to know what to focus on. He explains everything that is on the test in great detail. However, be warned because some of the test questions are incredibly long and detailed. Make sure you know everything he has mentioned will be on the test. Honestly, if you attend lecture, take notes, and look up what he said you will need for the test you will get an A. The material is very eye opening, it discusses how language is used to discriminate minorities and how we can have better educational pedagogies to fix this.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2021
Grade: A+
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Dec. 20, 2021

This class had lots of interesting material which made the lectures and discussions pretty engaging. If you watch the lectures, pay attention, and do the readings, you will be able to get every question right on the two tests which make up 60% of the grade. He makes sure that every question on them is taught in class, so it's a really fair test. The rest of the course is fairly graded as well, from the essays to the discussion section participation and attendance. There is no extra credit offered. Professor Alim is a really nice guy and cool dude.

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Quarter: Fall 2020
Grade: A+
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Jan. 7, 2021

I took this class online and almost dropped it when I saw the syllabus. It looks like its going to be a ridiculous amount of work but it turns out that you really do not need to do all the readings. He basically goes over all of the important stuff from the readings during the lectures, so the workload is not bad at all. You write 2 essays that are less than 2 pages each and you take a midterm and a final. You also do a weekly submission to your TA that's only a paragraph long. I still did the readings because they are interesting and help with the submission but don't panic if you can't finish all of them (there are like 100 pages assigned a week). Alim is funny and pretty engaging and incredibly helpful with preparing for the exams.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2020
Grade: A+
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Jan. 4, 2021

I took this class first quarter of freshman year during COVID-19 distance learning. Professor Alim is super helpful and super nice, and all of his TA's seemed pretty chill and interactive with the work material. Alim is not very strict (except about certain essay due dates) and likes to maintain a friendly class environment. His passion for the subjects discussed is apparent and really improves the class atmosphere. The coursework is very interesting and analyzes/criticizes relations between White normativity and spoken language. Most of the readings were very interesting, there were only a few that I did not enjoy. Not a difficult class as long as you stay on top of the readings and work with your TA groups. Definitely my favorite class first quarter. (To my understanding, the professor for this class changes every once in a while so if you get a chance to take it with Professor Alim it's definitely worth it!)

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Quarter: Fall 2024
Grade: A+
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Jan. 31, 2025

I love Prof Alim. He's so in tune with the subject and makes you want to know more too. This class was really easy - just come to lecture and pay attention and you'll be fine (i'm not joking, the average on the final was a 98). There are assigned readings, and they are pretty dense, but Alim does a really good job summarizing them and making the concepts stick in your mind anyways. If you're still worried about this class, he also holds office hours right after class on the first lecture of the week. If you have an exam that week, his office hours that week will tell you basically all the concepts you need to know.

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0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2024
Grade: A+
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Jan. 26, 2025

I would definitely take this class again. Professor Alim is kind and funny, likes trader joe’s, and appreciates a good boba. Lecture isn’t mandatory to attend, but definitely recommend attending if you want to get that easy A, as the readings are long and he often summarizes them in ways that are easier to understand and remember. There are two papers in this class, which a both pretty easy to write, and also a midterm and final, both of which are online, which are a breeze if you attend lecture.

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Quarter: Fall 2024
Grade: N/A
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Jan. 14, 2025

Highly recommend this course. The professor is really entertaining and makes the lectures interesting even if some of the concepts are dense. There are long readings but your TA goes over the main ideas and all you need to know, so don’t really have to do them. The midterm and final were multiple choice on Canvas and the average for the final was like a 98.

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Quarter: Fall 2024
Grade: A
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Dec. 26, 2024

Professor Alim is a fantastic professor. He is so passionate, knowledgable, and enthusiastic. He is such an engaging lecturer. Attendance isn't recorded in lecture but lecture isn't recorded either. He doesn't post the lecture slides which are necessary for the exams, so I recommend going to lecture. He calls his exams "celebrations of knowledge." There are two celebrations which are both weighed 30%, online, and MCQ. These were extremely easy. As long as you go to lecture and write notes on the slides, you will get 100%. There is no studying needed. This class is very reading heavy as there are many articles. However, you don't need to read the articles to do well on the celebrations. The only work was 2 short papers which were weighed 10% each. The content of the class was very interesting as well, and I learned a lot. Attendance was mandatory in discussion and was 10% of your grade. The other 10% was participation in discussion. I never spoke a word in discussion and still got 100% on attendance and participation. Overall, easy A class with an amazing professor.

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0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2024
Grade: A+
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Dec. 24, 2024

Great professor, excellent lectures, everyone applauded at the final lecture. Very easy class with little work, two essays that aren't graded strictly at all and weekly readings which are gone over in class. "Celebrations of Knowledge" (final and midterm) are basically open note. Definitely would recommend as a GE. I personally did not find the content extremely interesting or impactful, this course actually dissuaded me from taking more courses in anthropology. The course is very much centered around Alim's research and interests which focus on Black, Latino, and gay communities and South Africa. If you are part of or interested in these communities you will love the class. If not, it's great to learn about others and at least the class is easy and Alim is funny and truly gives great lectures.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2022
Grade: A+
Feb. 23, 2023

Professor Alim is one of my favorite professors. He is extremely helpful, passionate, and want all his students to do really well. The exams were all asynchronous and online on Canva, and the 2 essays were quite easy. The workload is very manageable, because there is only 1 discussion post every week. The readings are very option (I barely did them) and still did very well on the test because he summarizes the readings during the lectures. I would highly recommend this class with Alim.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Fall 2022
Grade: A+
Jan. 20, 2023

This was a really great class, he did it asynchronously during my quarter (as a commuter I loved this). I would recommend attending lectures at the very least, as he goes over all the material that will be on the tests and they are not recorded. The reading is a bit heavy, but he says to do the reading after the lectures to know what to focus on. He explains everything that is on the test in great detail. However, be warned because some of the test questions are incredibly long and detailed. Make sure you know everything he has mentioned will be on the test. Honestly, if you attend lecture, take notes, and look up what he said you will need for the test you will get an A. The material is very eye opening, it discusses how language is used to discriminate minorities and how we can have better educational pedagogies to fix this.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Fall 2021
Grade: A+
Dec. 20, 2021

This class had lots of interesting material which made the lectures and discussions pretty engaging. If you watch the lectures, pay attention, and do the readings, you will be able to get every question right on the two tests which make up 60% of the grade. He makes sure that every question on them is taught in class, so it's a really fair test. The rest of the course is fairly graded as well, from the essays to the discussion section participation and attendance. There is no extra credit offered. Professor Alim is a really nice guy and cool dude.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Quarter: Fall 2020
Grade: A+
Jan. 7, 2021

I took this class online and almost dropped it when I saw the syllabus. It looks like its going to be a ridiculous amount of work but it turns out that you really do not need to do all the readings. He basically goes over all of the important stuff from the readings during the lectures, so the workload is not bad at all. You write 2 essays that are less than 2 pages each and you take a midterm and a final. You also do a weekly submission to your TA that's only a paragraph long. I still did the readings because they are interesting and help with the submission but don't panic if you can't finish all of them (there are like 100 pages assigned a week). Alim is funny and pretty engaging and incredibly helpful with preparing for the exams.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Quarter: Fall 2020
Grade: A+
Jan. 4, 2021

I took this class first quarter of freshman year during COVID-19 distance learning. Professor Alim is super helpful and super nice, and all of his TA's seemed pretty chill and interactive with the work material. Alim is not very strict (except about certain essay due dates) and likes to maintain a friendly class environment. His passion for the subjects discussed is apparent and really improves the class atmosphere. The coursework is very interesting and analyzes/criticizes relations between White normativity and spoken language. Most of the readings were very interesting, there were only a few that I did not enjoy. Not a difficult class as long as you stay on top of the readings and work with your TA groups. Definitely my favorite class first quarter. (To my understanding, the professor for this class changes every once in a while so if you get a chance to take it with Professor Alim it's definitely worth it!)

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Fall 2024
Grade: A+
Jan. 31, 2025

I love Prof Alim. He's so in tune with the subject and makes you want to know more too. This class was really easy - just come to lecture and pay attention and you'll be fine (i'm not joking, the average on the final was a 98). There are assigned readings, and they are pretty dense, but Alim does a really good job summarizing them and making the concepts stick in your mind anyways. If you're still worried about this class, he also holds office hours right after class on the first lecture of the week. If you have an exam that week, his office hours that week will tell you basically all the concepts you need to know.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Fall 2024
Grade: A+
Jan. 26, 2025

I would definitely take this class again. Professor Alim is kind and funny, likes trader joe’s, and appreciates a good boba. Lecture isn’t mandatory to attend, but definitely recommend attending if you want to get that easy A, as the readings are long and he often summarizes them in ways that are easier to understand and remember. There are two papers in this class, which a both pretty easy to write, and also a midterm and final, both of which are online, which are a breeze if you attend lecture.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Fall 2024
Grade: N/A
Jan. 14, 2025

Highly recommend this course. The professor is really entertaining and makes the lectures interesting even if some of the concepts are dense. There are long readings but your TA goes over the main ideas and all you need to know, so don’t really have to do them. The midterm and final were multiple choice on Canvas and the average for the final was like a 98.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Fall 2024
Grade: A
Dec. 26, 2024

Professor Alim is a fantastic professor. He is so passionate, knowledgable, and enthusiastic. He is such an engaging lecturer. Attendance isn't recorded in lecture but lecture isn't recorded either. He doesn't post the lecture slides which are necessary for the exams, so I recommend going to lecture. He calls his exams "celebrations of knowledge." There are two celebrations which are both weighed 30%, online, and MCQ. These were extremely easy. As long as you go to lecture and write notes on the slides, you will get 100%. There is no studying needed. This class is very reading heavy as there are many articles. However, you don't need to read the articles to do well on the celebrations. The only work was 2 short papers which were weighed 10% each. The content of the class was very interesting as well, and I learned a lot. Attendance was mandatory in discussion and was 10% of your grade. The other 10% was participation in discussion. I never spoke a word in discussion and still got 100% on attendance and participation. Overall, easy A class with an amazing professor.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Fall 2024
Grade: A+
Dec. 24, 2024

Great professor, excellent lectures, everyone applauded at the final lecture. Very easy class with little work, two essays that aren't graded strictly at all and weekly readings which are gone over in class. "Celebrations of Knowledge" (final and midterm) are basically open note. Definitely would recommend as a GE. I personally did not find the content extremely interesting or impactful, this course actually dissuaded me from taking more courses in anthropology. The course is very much centered around Alim's research and interests which focus on Black, Latino, and gay communities and South Africa. If you are part of or interested in these communities you will love the class. If not, it's great to learn about others and at least the class is easy and Alim is funny and truly gives great lectures.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
1 of 6
4.5
Overall Rating
Based on 71 Users
Easiness 4.3 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 4.4 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 3.4 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 4.6 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

TOP TAGS

  • Uses Slides
    (34)
  • Often Funny
    (32)
  • Would Take Again
    (35)
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