Took this as a GE and as the other reviews say it was a super easy A, and a really enjoyable class overall. If you are thinking of studying abroad in Spain I would highly reccomend taking this because it's basically the entire history of Spain and I think it would be really interesting to know all of the culture before spending a quarter there. Prof Javier was super funny and sweet, he definitely wanted all of us to succeed and my TA Jose was the same as well. I definitely was overwhelmed by the readings at first but they get easier as the quarter goes on, so try your best to stay on top of them. You also get to turn 2 homework assignments in late. I really appreciated the incorporation of queer history in this class, and I still remember a lot of fun facts from this class. Even if you don't care about Iberian history you'll find this class interesting and engaging. We had one homework assignment a week where you have to read articles and respond to prompts about them. Attendance wasn't mandatory but they said they'll round up or down your grade based on attendance. Lectures are recorded, discussion participation determines participation grade (you get to miss 2 discussions), 1 in person midterm (ours was online/in person because of the storm), and 1 in person final.

I have never felt so genuinely motivated to invest my maximum effort into this class. He gives study guides that cover anything that could appear in the exams, which have been extremely helpful. I would recommend anyone who takes this class to start filling in the study guides' questions on Word/Google docs on the very first lecture alongside the sides. Please continue to do so during every single lecture and discussion session, especially while your memory about the topics' details are still fresh. It is definitely the most effective way to extract the most important information to ace the exam than just taking notes without a clear direction. I stopped taking any notes after the first two days of class and focused on the study guides for the exams.

You also have short essays (400-500 words) of different readings to turn in every week. Although he allows students to turn in 2 reading assignments late without penalizations, try to finish them by the due date regardless. Parts of the assigned readings are usually included in the lecture slides, it is very important that you acquire the basic ideas of these readings to understand the lecture thoroughly.

Legendary professor

My expectations for this class were absolutely exceeded. I came into this class with no previous knowledge of Spanish history and little desire to learn about it (I took it as a GE). However, Professor Patino Loira's passion for the subject and his students is contagious. His organizational skills and professionalism throughout the course were by far the best I've seen of any professor at UCLA thus far. Though the course was content-heavy, Professor always made time for insightful, collaborative conversation and lifted the mood by throwing in funny examples and jokes. The weekly readings and essays were often long but extremely interesting and applicable to the course. The exams (short-answer and essay questions) were not difficult as long as you knew the basics of the topics on the study guide. I would highly recommend this professor and class to anyone needing to fulfill a GE or major requirement, even if Spanish history doesn't sound interesting to you!

I took SPAN42 with Professor Patino Loira in the Winter of 2023 in person. SPAN42 was such a fun class, I definitely learned so much in this class. This class is not difficult whatsoever, simply pay attention during lectures and take good notes (attendance is not mandatory but he does track it with an app), do your weekly short papers (you can turn 2 in late w/o penalty), and use his study guides for the midterm and final exam! Professor Patino Loira is very funny, he makes lectures very engaging and you can tell he is passionate about his findings and the course material as well. A very easy lower-division Spanish class. I would take this course again.

Cannot recommend this class enough if you like history! It covers Spanish history and is somewhat content heavy but so interesting. I really enjoyed all the lectures, though they are two hours and can sometimes drag on. Lecture attendance is not mandatory, but it very beneficial especially for assessments. The lectures were also recorded and slides are posted online.

There is 1 Midterm and 1 Final both of which have short and long answer questions. I didn’t think the tests were hard, especially if you used the study guide and went to lecture. However since they are write-in answers you do need to know what you’re talking about. Homework was readings and one 500 word essay a week. Readings could be long and confusing at times, but the essays were graded with that in mind. My TA was Eduardo and he was very fair in his grading of essays and tests. The essays are more about your own opinions and ideas rather than getting something right or wrong.

Overall I definitely recommend this class, especially if you like history. It covers a lot of content but was graded fairly and definitely maintained my interest. It might not be for someone who hates writing and historical readings though. Its a nice GE class that wont stress you out too much.