This class is essentially just a forum for discussion about current events that loosely relate to Chinese Americans. Professor Kao's role in the class is just to select the discussion topics and provide commentary. Every lecture feels more like a club meeting.

Each class is only as meaningful as your classmates' level of engagement and enthusiasm. If you love to talk, then this class can be really entertaining.

There are weekly readings about Chinese American history. However, those readings are really just meant to give you material for your essay that is due at the end of the quarter.

Almost the entirety of your grade is made of the essay outline and the essay. There was no final exam. Participation is mandatory but loosely graded. Just saying one small thing each class will prevent you from losing participation points.

I don't know, I have ambivalent feelings about this professor.

On one hand, his summer class is really easy. There is only one paper for the entire class, and he doesn't take attendance (hence, class attendance is really low, so it's in your best interest to attend anyway).

On the other hand, everything I've learned has been from the course reader readings, which are really very interesting. However, when you go to class, there is hardly any interaction about the readings. He goes over some concepts, but I honestly feel 70% of the class is spent on tangents. He talks about some personal experiences, and for the first 30 mins of class he goes through the local newspaper for news considering Asian Americans. He claims that our generation doesn't read, so therefore he thinks it's beneficial to go over these headlines with us. I don't know, I feel like the entire session is very dragged-out, and can easily be condensed if he didn't go off topic so often.

Also, class participation is measly. A lot of the students here are international students taking having a UCLA summer experience. Either way, there are very few people in the class who will answer questions (let alone ask questions). Most of the time, the silence frustrates and exasperates him, and he ends up rehashing his opinion that our generation can't think and doesn't have an opinion.

Also, I frankly don't agree with many of his opinions, which confuses me as to what he is trying to teach and what I should be learning, as opposed to what stories/opinions he is trying to share and I should therefore take with a grain of salt. But the class is such that I don't really want to bother speaking up anyway-- I know what I believe and I know what I feel, so what's the use in trying to retaliate it in a class of basically 15 people who won't have substantial arguments in light of your own opinion and who'll change the way you feel/think.

With that said, he is very nice and has the best intentions. He also warms up to his students quite quickly, so much so that he'll divulge personal stories much sooner than we are used to from professors. He also makes a point to remember your name (and he's very good at it)

AWESOME. Honesty, I took Professor Kao during summer 2011. He is a very down to earth person and he actually makes you question your existence and your surroundings! I learned so much from him and i loved his class. I would take his class a million times over.