Dr. Fong is the BEST professor I've had at UCLA! She is the most accommodating professor and an amazing lecturer. Even though this class was online, Dr. Fong made this class super engaging and offered a space for students to connect with each other. She also posted her lecture slides and lecture recordings. Her lectures were well-organized and the readings go hand in hand with the lectures.

For the homework, we had readings before each lecture and weekly discussion posts. Each week, there was a discussion prompt and we had to respond to the prompt and reply to 2 of our classmates' posts. Some of the prompts involved a ton of creativity such as creating a short comic or writing a poem. And, we had a journal assignment (300-400 words) every 3 weeks and discussed current events or our life during the pandemic.

For discussion sections, we formed groups, and each week, a group presented a summary of the main points of the readings and lead a discussion either in breakout rooms or in the main room. My TA Emily was super kind and very helpful! Also, we were put into small groups to work on the community newspaper, where we focus on events that happened within the Asian American Movement.

For the midterm, we had to write 2 essays: 1 short response and 1 long response. We were given 2 days to complete the midterm. Before the midterm, the TAs helped created a study guide, which was super useful for writing. Make sure to be really specific when referring back to the readings. I definitely suggest discussing with other people in the class what to write about!

For the final, we were given 2 options: receive the same score as our midterm or do the final, which can only improve your grade. I chose to receive the same midterm score, but there was also an extra credit opportunity for those who chose to do the final.

Overall, I absolutely loved this class and Dr. Fong is so amazing and super accommodating!! If you need a GE, take it with Dr. Fong!!!! :)

the class is point-based with most of the points coming from the midterm/final and the oral history research paper assignment that you work on for the entire quarter. our final for fall 2020 ended up being optional (you could opt to have your midterm score count twice) so it was relatively easy class. there are many extra credit opportunities throughout the quarter which are attending webinars or watching videos and writing a short reflection. would recommend this class with ta emiko if she’s teaching again!!!

I took this for my writing II requirement and as a bonus it fulfilled the diversity requirement as well! As with any writing II class, there is a final research paper (8 pgs) but it wasn't very long or difficult. You have weekly short discussion posts and because of the pandemic, she had us write biweekly 350 word informal journal entries talking about what has happened within the past 2 weeks, which gave us a space to discuss anything that has been on our minds, etc. It was worth 10% of our grade and it was easy points! Plus, if you turned it in a little late, both Dr. Fong and the TAs were extremely understanding and would still accept it. The midterm was a short answer question and a long answer question, and she gave us a couple days to complete our tests - both the midterm and final. She's super caring and is very flexible, and she even let us double our midterm score in lieu of the final exam if we wanted! Also, the paper isn't difficult, and she has check points throughout the quarter so you don't get too far behind (which is really helpful for a procrastinator like me). She also spends a couple minutes during the beginning of class for students to talk about anything they'd like (if you want to), and she's very approachable and always offers to help. Overall, I highly recommend the course and Dr. Fong!

Grading:
Discussion section - 15%
Weekly discussion assignment - 15%
Journal - 10%
Midterm Exam - 15%
Final Exam - 15%
Research paper - 30%

Honestly one of the most meaningful classes I've taken at UCLA. Dr. Fong makes the material personal and relevant and I even know of some people who sat in her lectures - without being officially enrolled - just to learn about Asian American history.

Yes, as mentioned below, discussions tend to sway towards the liberal side but that's not unreasonable considering the topic of the class. Be sure to invest time in your final paper and go to office hours with your TA since they are usually awesome resources and tend to be the ones doing most of the grading.

Definitely not difficult to get a good grade if you put in the work too!

This is my first time writing a Bruinwalk review and it's because I LOVE PROFESSOR FONG. She is the best professor I've had at UCLA thus far, and I've been here for three years now. She took such care to convert her class to an online format that was organized and well thought out so that students were never confused about their responsibilities or expectations for the course. Though the class was online, she was able to connect with her students and provided a space for us to connect with each other. She has such a mastery of the subject matter she teaches, and explains extremely complex issues with incredible clarity. Beyond that, she did extra work to connect course material to current events that helped me to understand the underlying issues much better than I would have been able to on my own.

I got an A- in this class because I didn't use my office hours to go talk to my TA about my essays. I think that if I did, I would've ended up with an A. This class has a good amount of weekly readings and Professor Fong is a great lecturer, so if you are just on top of your readings and go to class, you will be fine. The midterm and final are both short-answer and long-answer essay tests and are not too difficult.

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This class consists of participation (which includes leading a group discussion and briefing of weekly chapters), research journals, 3 module assignments, and a group research paper.

Participation points can be achieved by attending class, actively contributing to discussions, and posting to biweekly discussion forum prompts. You are also required to co-host an in class discussion facilitation about weekly readings (super chill and about 20-30 minutes).

Every week, Dr. Fong has you submit a research journal which is about 2-3 pages on your progress with your research paper, questions you have, improvements and goals you have, and a discussion of the most impactful reading of the week.

The module assignments are spaced out throughout the quarter and are relevant to class discussions and the paper. They were very low maintenance but definitely don't leave them to do at the last minute. There is an interview, self-ethnography, and coding module assignment.

The 18-20 research paper is done in groups of 2-3 and includes a 8-10 minute in class presentation in week 10. It seems like a lot in the beginning but Dr. Fong is always reassuring us of where we should be and addresses our concern in her weekly feedback on our journals.

Overall, I highly recommend this class as Dr. Fong is so intelligent and goes above and beyond the create such meaningful conversations about ethnic studies and empowering research and researchers. This is my second time taking a class with her and she is also so understanding to students and gave extensions readily to show her appreciation for our hard work.

Seeing as there's no other reviews, I will try to be honest and thorough. This class is offered every spring quarter with very limited spots, and if you get the opportunity to take it, I highly recommend!

Takeaways: a broader understanding of Asian American history; if you are Asian American, a greater appreciation of your ethnic background; a lot of GE requirements covered (WII, Foundations of Society and Culture - Historical Analysis, diversity)

Teaching style: engaging lecturer, concise slides, appropriate pauses for questions, emphasizes key ideas very clearly (make sure to write down what she says!), laptops permitted only in the front half of the room (don't text or fall asleep, she will call you out!), lectures are NOT posted online and you are NOT allowed to take photos, so pay attention and take notes!

Workload:
Readings - There is a LOT of assigned readings, the majority were relevant to lecture, but not super necessary for exams. If you are short on time, be sure to at least skim them and grasp the key themes and a few examples that illustrate points from lecture, especially if it discusses a minority population
(Short) Presentations - This varies by TA, but mine had us do a 5 minute presentation on a key historical moment and personal history. My friend's TA had her students lead discussion by presenting questions about the reading. However, this isn't anything to stress about.
Journal Reflections - You will need to complete 1-2 page reflections on the topics in the readings for 4 weeks. Do this as early as possible.
Oral History Paper - You will need to interview a 40+ year old person of Asian descent and use their story as evidence in a 10-page paper that connects it to the overarching course themes (imperialism, immigration, etc.) Be sure to ask Dr. Fong or your TA if you are unsure about any part of the process. Be sure to construct a solid thesis and have body paragraphs that tie back to that thesis. Depending on your person, it may be difficult to flesh out an argument to 10 pages so I advise you to outline thoroughly ahead of time for every paragraph (I ended up having about 11 paragraphs). Keep in mind that this paper is almost half your grade, so allow enough time for revision and feedback.
Midterm/Final:
Since this is a writing class, both are formatted such that there are only writing prompts, with one essay and two shorter responses. The essay is the majority of the points. Be sure to complete the study sheet she provides and really think about how to connect the ideas because that will set you up to do well on the essay. The shorter responses are pretty straightforward, just make sure you study your lecture notes and key ideas from the readings well.
Course breakdown: Discussion (20%), Midterm (20%), Final (20%), Paper (40%)
Good luck!

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I took this class because I had taken two other Asian AM courses with Dr. Fong and this one was just as great as the other two. The class consisted of two journal entries, weekly discussion posts and replies, discussion section presentation, a group project and a midterm and final. This is combined with weekly readings and lectures which seems a lot but the way Dr. Fong spaces and presents everything is very clear and easy to handle. The journal entries are your space to reflect on anything and they're graded on completion. You also have the opportunity to earn upt o 20 extra credit points by attending Asian AM related events and writing a one page reflection page on it (very easy to get out of the way within the first half of the quarter).

The community newspaper is done in groups of 2-3 and I highly recommend not waiting until the last minute to do it. Each person has the option of writing 2 400-500 word articles or create 2 creative pieces and write one article. Then as a group, you collectively write a 250-300 thematic introduction for your newspaper.

The midterm and final are both give to us over a 48 hour period and includes a short response (~2 pages) and an essay (~5 pages). They were both open notes and online this quarter but I don't know how that'll change in the future.

I don't think AA40 is necessarily an easy A course since you have to keep up with the material (Dr. Fong stops sharing recorded lectures after a week of them being posted). However, it's definitely super interesting and great if you need for GE/AAS minor req.

Grade breakdown:
Journals - 100 points
Discussion assignments - 150 points
Community Newspaper - 150 points
Gidra Response - 50 points
Discussion Section - 150 points
Midterm - 200 points
Final - 200 points

Probably by far one of the worst classes I have ever taken. First off, the amount of liberal propaganda (at least in discussion) is rather sickening. The reading is very repetitive and rarely interesting. Her lectures are pretty useless (pretty much just regurgitates the reading) and she doesn’t post the slides. She’s very reluctant to help students to prepare for the exams. The exams are usually one long essay and 2-3 “short” answers (needs at least two paragraphs). The gradings are completely up to your TA’s and could be somewhat arbitrary. The guest lectures were complete wastes of time. You can definitely find a better writing 2 GE to take