Breakdown of this class: 2 quizzes, 2 short papers, 1 midterm, 1 final.

I'm a south campus major who took this class, and if you're looking for an easy GE, this is NOT the class to take.

Prof. Camacho, I believe, was the first Pacific Islander to become a UC professor, and while that's highly impressive, his lectures are not. His lectures consist of very few PowerPoints slide, which he goes into further detail by literally reading off of a piece of paper. Thus, you really have to pay attention. I'd say use a laptop to take notes, because I type way faster than writing down notes.

His lectures really center around the Pacific Islands, which I didn't mind, but some of his transitions were weird. In one lecture, he attempted to draw parallels from the Vietnam War and 9/11 attacks. Uh, what? There's no reading in this class except for a new novels which don't really fit in well with the lecture material except to maybe create awareness

The TAs grade very harshly. The quizzes demand a lot of detail (knowing dates). The exams aren't too difficult, but it's basically a lot of regurgitation to get a decent grade, and an "insightful analysis" to get an A.

All in all, I don't recommend taking this class, and I'm sure there are better Asian Am classes out there that are more fulfilling and engaging.

Coming from someone who doesn't like history, I really enjoyed this class! I think having a good professor makes up for classes that may not be as interesting and this was definitely the case with Professor Camacho. He always started class by asking everyone to share anything and I think that eased everyone into class pretty smoothly. Most of the work happens in discussions, because you are expected to participate and give presentations (but it's not too bad if you have a good TA, I liked my TA - Yen Chun). For this class you are expected to read a book the professor edited, though you can absorb the content from discussions and presentations.

For a Writing II class, this class was pretty chill! I think it's because the professor and TA's take good care to chunk down the essays rather than giving overarching deadlines, so they are very manageable. The final was pretty good because the professor provided a study guide; overall, there's work for this class, but everything is fair! And it's clear Professor Camacho is very passionate about what he teaches, I definitely recommend taking this class with him!

Took this class last quarter and enjoyed every bit of it. His lectures go by very fast because of all the interesting information he talks about, and he often repeats himself to make sure people have enough time to write everything down. The assigned readings are great, and the essays, though somewhat unclear, are very manageable. This is one of those classes where effort and attentiveness will get you to actually give a damn about the lecture material. I always looked forward to attending this class (though I missed the Gojira screenings) and honestly wish I could take this class again.

My TA was Christian Gella; try and take it with him if you can!

Keith is, hands down, one of the best professors I have taken at UCLA! At the beginning of class, we take the time to talk about any announcements, birthdays, events happening, how people are doing before going into the actual work for the day. Personally, I loved the collaborative nature of the class. From the beginning, we split off into groups of three and we have to do attend class, turn in reaction papers, and submit the final together! The group work makes the entire class so much more easier. Furthermore, half the class is spent watching a film and then the second half is to talk about the discussion questions we posed in our reaction paper. With meeting once a week and Keith having to cancel a class to go to a conference, we only met eight times. I highly recommend this class for people who want to get to know more about Pacific Islander studies through a cinema!

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!!

I took this class W19, saw it had no reviews and I have to do Keith justice. He's an amazing professor. SO engaging. He took time every single lecture to go around and have people share how their week was going, make any announcements, etc. It was such a supportive academic environment and I really enjoyed going to class and discussion.

From what I can recall:
Participation (in discussion, don't remember how much it was worth)
3 essays (2/3pg, 5/6 pg, and final 12 pg research paper)
Each paper is graded 20% draft and 80% final (although draft is graded on P/NP basis)
Final (multiple choice + essays)

I had Paul Mendoza as my TA. A true king. He was so real, down to earth, and inspired me to become a better writer. I feel like I learned a lot from this class, not only about Asian American history, but about intersectionality and how a lot of these issues are presenting themselves in our lives today. It was a refreshing course, filled with honesty and built-in support. I look forward to taking a class with him again!

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.

Professor Camacho is a very interesting and fun guy! This class was very engaging, but the only downside was that the lectures weren't recorded and Professor Camacho's lectures were mainly based around him talking, rather than notes or something. Overall though, I would recommend everyone to take his class, as the actual subject is super interesting and Prof. Camacho made coming to class worth it! Also shoutout to Emiko! (the best TA ever)

The negative reviews scared me, but a majority are almost 10 years old, and the class has really improved! Professor Camacho structured the class so there were recorded lectures with information needed for the midterm and final, and live sessions with guest speakers about the readings or other stuff related to being Asian American. Lectures were recorded and uploaded on CCLE for a week, but I wish they would have stayed up longer. The content was very interesting and the lectures were really informative. There were also a bunch of Asian American Studies department events that you could earn extra credit for going to (I think like 5-10 points for each event, and there were around 3).

The midterm and final both consisted of a short answer question (approximately half a page) and a longer essay (a page and a half). I was worried about how to answer them, but Professor Camacho provided examples and also gave a study guide.

My TA was Carina and she was super nice and helpful. Discussion was mandatory, but she was understanding if anyone needed to miss or attend a different discussion time. She didn't quiz on the readings, but did have us write a reaction essay for each of them. We also had to write 4 "journals" about anything we wanted that were due by the end of the quarter, and did a short presentation on something related to Asian American history. Carina was very lenient with grading/due dates and everything was graded based on completion/effort.

Overall, a very stress-free class with interesting course material. The AAS department is super approachable and willing to help, so I'd definitely recommend this class.

The class was extremely tough throughout the fall quarter. The class focuses on Pacific Islanders and Natives. Most of the time, the lectures were pretty boring. He does not use slides for his lectures. Instead, you just have to type as fast as he speaks. The content itself isn't difficult, but the speed and grading is harsh.