Professor
J Marturano
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2019 - Professor Marturano is by FAR my favorite Spanish professor at UCLA. Every reading he picked was super interesting and we discussed them in class in a way I had never thought about when I first read it! like these are stories I would have definitely liked to read outside the scope of this class as well. His midterm and finals are very fair and he genuinely loves what he is teaching. I 100% recommend taking him for any class you can at some point while you're at UCLA!
Fall 2019 - Professor Marturano is by FAR my favorite Spanish professor at UCLA. Every reading he picked was super interesting and we discussed them in class in a way I had never thought about when I first read it! like these are stories I would have definitely liked to read outside the scope of this class as well. His midterm and finals are very fair and he genuinely loves what he is teaching. I 100% recommend taking him for any class you can at some point while you're at UCLA!
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Most Helpful Review
He's not as good as previous comments would lead you to believe. I've taken 3 upper division Spanish classes here and all the other professors have been significantly better, including Roberta Johnson, Francesca Denegri, and Torrecilla (Denegri was outstanding). The content of his lectures isn't comparable to Denegri or Johnson and the grading is similar (granted these are both guest professors, says something about UCLA I think). I fell asleep in almost all his lectures, he tends to make much ado about nothing.
He's not as good as previous comments would lead you to believe. I've taken 3 upper division Spanish classes here and all the other professors have been significantly better, including Roberta Johnson, Francesca Denegri, and Torrecilla (Denegri was outstanding). The content of his lectures isn't comparable to Denegri or Johnson and the grading is similar (granted these are both guest professors, says something about UCLA I think). I fell asleep in almost all his lectures, he tends to make much ado about nothing.
Most Helpful Review
Professor Marturano is an okay professor. I really enjoyed the readings he chose for our class, but it was hard to stay awake in his class. He does not utilize a power point he stands and lectures for a whole hour and a half. I personally learned more from our discussion section and my TA. He basically retold all the main points the professor discussed in class and helped us be analytic of each reading. I feel professor Marturano said the same thing over and over again for the whole lecture. (Or sometimes would talk about something else; repeat the same thing many different ways) Overall, it's an okay class. It would be better if he had a power point or something to help us follow him. I do, however, like the structure of the course. It was a midterm and a final but he gives you the format ahead of time so it's easy to prepare for it. As long as you're analytical you'll do well on both.
Professor Marturano is an okay professor. I really enjoyed the readings he chose for our class, but it was hard to stay awake in his class. He does not utilize a power point he stands and lectures for a whole hour and a half. I personally learned more from our discussion section and my TA. He basically retold all the main points the professor discussed in class and helped us be analytic of each reading. I feel professor Marturano said the same thing over and over again for the whole lecture. (Or sometimes would talk about something else; repeat the same thing many different ways) Overall, it's an okay class. It would be better if he had a power point or something to help us follow him. I do, however, like the structure of the course. It was a midterm and a final but he gives you the format ahead of time so it's easy to prepare for it. As long as you're analytical you'll do well on both.
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2017 - Professor Marturano does a great job at keeping his lectures interesting - he is a great entertainer. The most challenging part of the class is understanding the readings - they are definitely not the easiest. Even if you do not understand the full reading, make sure you can speak to at least one part you found interesting or grabbed your attention and you will be fine. Professor Marturano dissects each of the readings thoroughly in class. The workload is somewhat on the heavier side - there is a reflection due once a week, a 5-6 page essay (midterm) and a 6-8 page essay (final). I would definitely recommend this class for anyone looking for a Spanish upper division class.
Winter 2017 - Professor Marturano does a great job at keeping his lectures interesting - he is a great entertainer. The most challenging part of the class is understanding the readings - they are definitely not the easiest. Even if you do not understand the full reading, make sure you can speak to at least one part you found interesting or grabbed your attention and you will be fine. Professor Marturano dissects each of the readings thoroughly in class. The workload is somewhat on the heavier side - there is a reflection due once a week, a 5-6 page essay (midterm) and a 6-8 page essay (final). I would definitely recommend this class for anyone looking for a Spanish upper division class.