Professor
Keith Camacho
Most Helpful Review
I took AAS10. One of the hardest classes ever. The TA's grade super hard and are in complete and total control of your grade. In addition,they are super slow at returning back your quizzes and papers. Going into the final, I had NO IDEA where I was standing in the class because I hadn't received two big things back! Camacho reads off a paper EVERY lecture and it is VERY hard to get everything he says. There are almost no powerpoint slides and when he reads, he's not very clear either. DO NOT TAKE.
I took AAS10. One of the hardest classes ever. The TA's grade super hard and are in complete and total control of your grade. In addition,they are super slow at returning back your quizzes and papers. Going into the final, I had NO IDEA where I was standing in the class because I hadn't received two big things back! Camacho reads off a paper EVERY lecture and it is VERY hard to get everything he says. There are almost no powerpoint slides and when he reads, he's not very clear either. DO NOT TAKE.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2021 - Professor Camacho is such an engaging and kind professor. He has a very relaxed attitude and you can tell he cares about students' perspectives. The course material of this class was so interesting. When I enrolled for this course I wasn't sure what to expect but the material was very refreshing and explored history from a non-eurocentric perspective. I took this class the first quarter of my freshmen year and I enjoyed every lecture I went to. The only downside of this class is that the professor deleted the audio recordings the week of the lecture so when I skipped lecture and procrastinated I ended up losing a lot of key information. The course included three papers (each paper got longer and the prompts more complex) which drew from readings not explicitly related to lecture and a final which was a written essay on the lecture material. The class grade primary consists of the essay grades, which were graded first as rough drafts and then as a final draft. My TA was Fareen and I felt that she graded fairly and gave good feedback on the essays. I have always loved to read and write so all of the essays and readings were very manageable. A peer of mine struggles more in writing and had a different TA and had a really tough time in this class.
Fall 2021 - Professor Camacho is such an engaging and kind professor. He has a very relaxed attitude and you can tell he cares about students' perspectives. The course material of this class was so interesting. When I enrolled for this course I wasn't sure what to expect but the material was very refreshing and explored history from a non-eurocentric perspective. I took this class the first quarter of my freshmen year and I enjoyed every lecture I went to. The only downside of this class is that the professor deleted the audio recordings the week of the lecture so when I skipped lecture and procrastinated I ended up losing a lot of key information. The course included three papers (each paper got longer and the prompts more complex) which drew from readings not explicitly related to lecture and a final which was a written essay on the lecture material. The class grade primary consists of the essay grades, which were graded first as rough drafts and then as a final draft. My TA was Fareen and I felt that she graded fairly and gave good feedback on the essays. I have always loved to read and write so all of the essays and readings were very manageable. A peer of mine struggles more in writing and had a different TA and had a really tough time in this class.
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2021 - I took the fiat lux called indigenous art, service, & justice. I don't think the seminar subjects stay the same, but if Camacho is teaching a fiat lux and you're considering it, TAKE IT!! He's so funny and chill and just so welcoming and makes you feel comfortable, which is saying something because I took the class online. The workload for my class involved biweekly readings + one page reflections, a group presentation, and an (pretty informal) essay at the end of the quarter. It was definitely more work than my previous fiat lux but it was so worth it, the conversations I had in this class never missed and the guest speakers were phenomenal. If you have a chance to take a class with Camacho 10/10 recommend.
Spring 2021 - I took the fiat lux called indigenous art, service, & justice. I don't think the seminar subjects stay the same, but if Camacho is teaching a fiat lux and you're considering it, TAKE IT!! He's so funny and chill and just so welcoming and makes you feel comfortable, which is saying something because I took the class online. The workload for my class involved biweekly readings + one page reflections, a group presentation, and an (pretty informal) essay at the end of the quarter. It was definitely more work than my previous fiat lux but it was so worth it, the conversations I had in this class never missed and the guest speakers were phenomenal. If you have a chance to take a class with Camacho 10/10 recommend.
Most Helpful Review
I'm sorry I can't remember the course number-it was in 2010 when I had Keith's class. However, I couldn't believe these reviews so I had to write on of my own. Keith was absolutely one of the most interesting professors I had at UCLA. He is very passionate about the subjects he teaches and maybve the two students who posted here could care less about the subject. I had two classes with Keith-both of which were so interesting and fun. Everyone in the class was encouraged to speak up, ask questions, and really think about what it means to be a Pacific Islander. He is very passionate about the subject of empire and colonialism in the pacific and doesn't mince words about how he feels. His lectures are very fact filled and you have to be paying attention-there is no goofing off or sleeping in his lectures or you will suffer on the exams. His was always available at office hours for help and I was bummed out when he left for a year of research because I wanted to continue taking his classes. He is back now-but I have graduated already. Maybe these two students are used to just basically showing up to a class and sleeping through the lecture-but you can't do that in Keiths classes-I would tell anyone interested in AAS or PI studies that his class is a must take!
I'm sorry I can't remember the course number-it was in 2010 when I had Keith's class. However, I couldn't believe these reviews so I had to write on of my own. Keith was absolutely one of the most interesting professors I had at UCLA. He is very passionate about the subjects he teaches and maybve the two students who posted here could care less about the subject. I had two classes with Keith-both of which were so interesting and fun. Everyone in the class was encouraged to speak up, ask questions, and really think about what it means to be a Pacific Islander. He is very passionate about the subject of empire and colonialism in the pacific and doesn't mince words about how he feels. His lectures are very fact filled and you have to be paying attention-there is no goofing off or sleeping in his lectures or you will suffer on the exams. His was always available at office hours for help and I was bummed out when he left for a year of research because I wanted to continue taking his classes. He is back now-but I have graduated already. Maybe these two students are used to just basically showing up to a class and sleeping through the lecture-but you can't do that in Keiths classes-I would tell anyone interested in AAS or PI studies that his class is a must take!
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Most Helpful Review
Took his gender and media in the pacific class, great class! I know most film/media classes seem cool but then you end up watching really boring movies but this one actually wasn't so bad. The movies in the latter half of the quarter were definitely a lot more entertaining and easy to analyze. The readings were definitely not that bad, we had about 2-3 articles a week and they were usually easy reads (except for Judith Butler, that woman is on some other level). He definitely encourages class discussion and participation which I think is a lot easier to do with movies as opposed to discussing readings since people are more likely to not have read. The work was very manageable, we had a 10 page research paper on a Pacific Islander related film, which was our final but it was not that bad seeing as how he made everybody team up to write it, so really you're only writing about 5 pages if you divide the work up evenly. Take the 3 question quizzes seriously, they're usually on the readings, show up to class and contribute to the discussion (which should be easy because Keith is a very talkative guy and loves to hear what you have to say), and you should get an A. Keith is a pretty understanding a very approachable guy, so any concerns or trouble you have he'll definitely accomodate you.
Took his gender and media in the pacific class, great class! I know most film/media classes seem cool but then you end up watching really boring movies but this one actually wasn't so bad. The movies in the latter half of the quarter were definitely a lot more entertaining and easy to analyze. The readings were definitely not that bad, we had about 2-3 articles a week and they were usually easy reads (except for Judith Butler, that woman is on some other level). He definitely encourages class discussion and participation which I think is a lot easier to do with movies as opposed to discussing readings since people are more likely to not have read. The work was very manageable, we had a 10 page research paper on a Pacific Islander related film, which was our final but it was not that bad seeing as how he made everybody team up to write it, so really you're only writing about 5 pages if you divide the work up evenly. Take the 3 question quizzes seriously, they're usually on the readings, show up to class and contribute to the discussion (which should be easy because Keith is a very talkative guy and loves to hear what you have to say), and you should get an A. Keith is a pretty understanding a very approachable guy, so any concerns or trouble you have he'll definitely accomodate you.
Most Helpful Review
Summer 2019 - Keith is the best professor ever! I went on his guam summer travel study and he is the funniest person I ever met. He feels more like an uncle than a professor and he does a lot to cultivate relationships with his students. All of his lectures are so interesting and engaging and he likes to draw on his own personal experiences. I wish I could take every single class with him!!!! He is AMAZING!!
Summer 2019 - Keith is the best professor ever! I went on his guam summer travel study and he is the funniest person I ever met. He feels more like an uncle than a professor and he does a lot to cultivate relationships with his students. All of his lectures are so interesting and engaging and he likes to draw on his own personal experiences. I wish I could take every single class with him!!!! He is AMAZING!!