Professor
Karen Orren
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Most Helpful Review
For 145E course: Do not take this class. Save yourself the burden. There is alot of reading and unless you have a cool TA (Gilda) then you will not do well in the class. Don't try to approach her or raise your hand in class because she will belittle you and make you regret any question you have asked. The class is pretty funny at times, especially when she forgets something or just plainly, is her old granny self. She gets off tangent alot too in class. Bring you laptop, if you don't want all your notes to be scattered. Also, Wikipedia will be your best friend, since most of you will not have time to read all your cases. So, good luck if you are dying to take this course. Other than that, stay away.
For 145E course: Do not take this class. Save yourself the burden. There is alot of reading and unless you have a cool TA (Gilda) then you will not do well in the class. Don't try to approach her or raise your hand in class because she will belittle you and make you regret any question you have asked. The class is pretty funny at times, especially when she forgets something or just plainly, is her old granny self. She gets off tangent alot too in class. Bring you laptop, if you don't want all your notes to be scattered. Also, Wikipedia will be your best friend, since most of you will not have time to read all your cases. So, good luck if you are dying to take this course. Other than that, stay away.
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2024 - Do not take this class. There is little to no organization other than the case assignments. Professor Orren assigns 5 cases a week for review and there is a quiz on 5 cases during the discussion period. Professor Orren has no slides and no recordings, she stands at a podium and just talks, sometimes it is related to the cases, other times it is not. If you are looking for any sort of guidance from her or the TA, do not. No hate to Professor Orren but she must retire.
Winter 2024 - Do not take this class. There is little to no organization other than the case assignments. Professor Orren assigns 5 cases a week for review and there is a quiz on 5 cases during the discussion period. Professor Orren has no slides and no recordings, she stands at a podium and just talks, sometimes it is related to the cases, other times it is not. If you are looking for any sort of guidance from her or the TA, do not. No hate to Professor Orren but she must retire.
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2020 - Midterm and final. Quizzes and participation in section. 5 cases a week. 15 pages or less per case. Not too bad if you’ve taken another undergraduate law class. Interesting lectures. But disorganized. Not a bad thing, just something to expect. Nicest TA. Very helpful. B.M. Read the cases. Take lecture notes. Go to section. Not too bad. Would recommend.
Winter 2020 - Midterm and final. Quizzes and participation in section. 5 cases a week. 15 pages or less per case. Not too bad if you’ve taken another undergraduate law class. Interesting lectures. But disorganized. Not a bad thing, just something to expect. Nicest TA. Very helpful. B.M. Read the cases. Take lecture notes. Go to section. Not too bad. Would recommend.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2023 - I love Karen Orren. She is a gem in the department and truly a historical genius. A lot of political science classes at UCLA neglect the importance of historical analysis - Professor Orren fills that gap. Some of her arguments are complex and take a bit of energy to discern, but with attendance and relative attention to the assigned reading you will have a delightful intellectual journey. You have to read, you have to listen to her slide-less lectures, and you have to memorize a handful of important cases/policies/historical events. BUT the intellectual outcome is really worth it if you are curious about American politics, polarization, nationalism, and democratic development. I would not reccomend Ryan as a TA though - they were not very helpful.
Fall 2023 - I love Karen Orren. She is a gem in the department and truly a historical genius. A lot of political science classes at UCLA neglect the importance of historical analysis - Professor Orren fills that gap. Some of her arguments are complex and take a bit of energy to discern, but with attendance and relative attention to the assigned reading you will have a delightful intellectual journey. You have to read, you have to listen to her slide-less lectures, and you have to memorize a handful of important cases/policies/historical events. BUT the intellectual outcome is really worth it if you are curious about American politics, polarization, nationalism, and democratic development. I would not reccomend Ryan as a TA though - they were not very helpful.
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Most Helpful Review
Professor Orren's class was very disorganized and not a very pleasant experience. She made students sometimes stay over the allowed time. It was mostly rambling and very boring discussion. The good thing about it was the amount of work involved. It was not very intense but it was extremely boring. Since my class was a seminar and very small it also depended on the students who were also boring and devoid of any intelligent and entertaining argument. So I qualify the class as boring maybe Orren would have been more entertaining and appealing in a different setting.
Professor Orren's class was very disorganized and not a very pleasant experience. She made students sometimes stay over the allowed time. It was mostly rambling and very boring discussion. The good thing about it was the amount of work involved. It was not very intense but it was extremely boring. Since my class was a seminar and very small it also depended on the students who were also boring and devoid of any intelligent and entertaining argument. So I qualify the class as boring maybe Orren would have been more entertaining and appealing in a different setting.
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