This class is probably the most interesting, yet, easiest class I've ever taken. There is no midterm but weekly summaries or notes you took on the readings of the chapters. The final consists of either a paper, physical project, and time capsule, etc. I went to lecture the first two weeks and only showed up to discussion which is mandatory. Her book is well written and if you can just read the assigned chapters (very short book) you can easily get the A.

This is a very easy and interesting GE, so long as you COME TO CLASS. Don't skip class or discussion. They modified this course from prior years so that you can't just skip without it affecting your grade. There are iClicker quizzes usually 1-2 times a week, so plan for that however you wish. There are weekly reading responses which are graded very leniently. Lastly, there is a very open-ended final project, and you have the option to do it in groups of up to 5 people, which I highly recommend forming. You could push it off all the way until the week it's due and complete it by yourself in like a day or two of reasonable effort (just do a time capsule).

This year they tried to make the class less easy by adding lots of participating grade percentage, but the distribution is highly unreasonable. You get 30% for several class pop quizzes which tests your memory on trivial, factual questions, while in the meantime, it remains an easy A.
However, I do recommend this course as a GE because it really affects your way of thinking about activism if you are willing to do so. You don't have to agree with the professor or TAs at all because this is exactly a course on debatable issues. Initially I thought that the professor was too radical on her pan-Africanism by phrasing the modern incarceration as aiming to eliminate minorities, but as I learned more, her words started to make sense --- not that I agree 100% but this theory is scientifically grounded.
Especially it inspired me a lot about navigating through activism, myself having experienced numerous human right inequalities with regards to sexuality and race. I've seen people right in this course being disrespectful to those unprivileged (and yes savage things still happen in the year of 9102), so I would say that this kind of education is imperative for students here.

I highly recommend this class to anyone who is looking to satisfy a GE or needs additional credits as it is super interesting and a relatively easy course. Professor Hernández is an excellent teacher and brings in guest lecturers that also deliver quality content. The course itself is fascinating and rewarding. I ended the quarter with far more knowledge about Jim Crow and the Prison Industrial System than I feel that I would have ever learned. I highly recommend the class.

In terms of the class the grade breakdown is 30% pop quizzes, 30% for a final project, and 40% for discussion participation/weekly reading assignments.

The pop quizzes are usually based off of the lecture that day so if you pay attention in class you'll get 100%/ they are mostly common sense. You'll need an iclicker. The final project is based off of the whole class (including the content from guest lecturers) so make sure you have some notes from each lecture at least. Participation in class is super easy if you do the readings (or at least skim) and the responses are only a page double space due online before discussion.

Overall I again highly recommend the class for its fascinating content, badass professor, and relative easiness. Loved it truly, 10/10.

Cool GE, professor is a real expert on the area, has written a book (pretty much our textbook for the class) and invites guest speakers regularly. Starting this quarter there are quizzes in lecture in addition to weekly page-long write-ups and the final project has a pretty extensive scope and criteria based off the book, lectures and some other stuff. But if you have any interest and are willing to learn about the extensive history of incarceration and its factors and impacts this is a great class to take. I feel that my own views on imprisonment have been refined and somewhat changed and I have a much better understanding and would be able to actually discuss this topic with real basis and evidence. Would recommend this GE but don't take it just because it's easy, cos it was more time-consuming than I had expected to be honest

This is honestly the easiest class I've taken at UCLA. It required no effort, only a one-page double-spaced summary/analysis of the reading due in discussion once a week. Lectures were not mandatory for attendance and the "group project" at the end can be done by yourself. The grading was extremely lenient and easy. Even though I never attended lectures, I still learned a lot and found the discussion section to be engaging! As a bonus, there are a ton of extra credit opportunities available. I would definitely recommend taking this class.

yes good

This class was a joke honestly. I'm a south campus major and I definitely recommend it as a gpa cushion. I stopped going to lecture after week 3 because they're not mandatory, and all the information you need to know is in her book. You submit a super short (half a page double spaced) reading response once a week and there's no midterm. Final is a group project and honestly required little effort lol. Ended up with an A+ haha. She also offers tons of extra credit, though you probably won't need it. Fair warning though, she can be really annoying. The way she talked and wrote her book bothered me so much.

Ok, so I actually took this class with Prof. David Stein but he's not listed on Bruinwalk. However, I'm pretty sure this class is almost the same as Hernandez's from the reviews I've seen. This class is the easiest I have taken at UCLA but also an incredibly interesting one. There is no homework, except for one news story relevant to the class and three short and informal one-page reading reflections that my TA required for discussion. The midterm is hella easy if you use detailed notes that they let you bring, but I probably wouldn't have done well without my notes. Prof. Stein also gives unlimited extra credit by way of a music or journal submission. You get to do anything for your final project as long as it is approved by your TA, and a lot of people did their final project in a group. There was literally nothing in gradebook the whole quarter because we never had assignments- I knew my midterm grade but was never told my final project grade; my TA just said "oh yeah BTW you got an A." I spent a while on my final paper, but other than that you should just skim/loosely read through the required readings before your discussion section so you can get participation points for actually contributing something about the readings, but you really don't have to do the required readings because everything Prof. Stein really wants you to know about the readings are on his slides in class. The class isn't bruincasted but he puts all the lecture slides up on CCLE so going to class is pretty much optional. In addition, this class satisfies the L&S diversity requirement which is great- an easy GE + diversity req + a genuinely interesting class about mass incarceration makes it a totally worthwhile class. I would highly recommend this class as well as Prof. Stein. I can't say anything about Prof. Hernandez, but from the looks of her reviews she seems pretty easy too. Can't recommend highly enough.

Also, selling required books Golden Gulag, History of Mass Incarceration, and From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime- **********

Hist 12A is pretty much the perfect history GE. Not only was it one of the easiest classes I have ever taken at UCLA, but I also learned a ton of interesting things that I wouldn't have been able to pick up anywhere else.
Hernandez is a very personable professor, but she also is a stickler when it comes to phones or laptops being used in class (in other words, no laptops). Her lectures were easy to follow and reflected the material.
The class is graded based on a participation in discussion, a midterm, and a final. However, the midterm is open notes and very basic - she pretty much tells you what's on it. And if you don't like that, go on three field trips and you can skip the midterm. The final is just a project that you design yourself. I spent maybe 3 days working on my final project and ended up with an A.
Discussion section is all based on your TA. You will probably get a quiz each week, so at least skim through the readings. But, for the ridiculous 100+ page readings, just take the L and BS your way through that week's quiz. Your TA will then facilitate some kind of discussion. (Note: If you can get Mark as a TA, do it. He's definitely the best TA and a very interesting guy.)
In the end, this class will also heavily change your perspective on the justice system, the prison system, and the typical viewpoints of American society. Since you can pick up an easy A in the process, I would highly suggest this class.