Professor
Malina Stefanovska
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2018 - Dr. Stefanovska taught straight out of Poèmes, Pièces, Prose while I was her student, with the exception of Alexander Dumas (mixed race author), every single author in that book was a white male. The solitary appendage to our readings from the aforementioned book came in the form of a novel by yet another celebrated white male author. During her office hours, she would make inappropriate comments to me about other students' appearance. I specifically remember when she mentioned that an Asian classmate of mine was obviously from the middle class because of his effeminate appearance; conversely, she claimed, another classmate of mine, a Hispanic male, had a more "masculine" look (her words not mine) and therefore was obviously from the working class; she made these assumptions solely on their appearance. She then had the audacity to ask me from which social class I came from-- I was aghast. She does seem nice and entertaining at first. However, I don't know why she thought it was okay to make those comments to me. I guess because I am not white and would have to just sit there and take it. As a result, I found her to harbor unconsciously biased views of hispanics specifically, and people of color more broadly. I was most disturbed when one day in class she said: "most hispanics are in the working class and some (as she dismissively waved) form part of the middle class." Whether that is true or not, it was not only inappropriate but completely dismissive. Moreover, it has nothing to do with what we were studying at the moment. It appears Dr. Stefanovska feels like she can make racists comments to her non-white students and get away with it. If you are white, you will find her to be amazing. If you are not white, be careful.
Fall 2018 - Dr. Stefanovska taught straight out of Poèmes, Pièces, Prose while I was her student, with the exception of Alexander Dumas (mixed race author), every single author in that book was a white male. The solitary appendage to our readings from the aforementioned book came in the form of a novel by yet another celebrated white male author. During her office hours, she would make inappropriate comments to me about other students' appearance. I specifically remember when she mentioned that an Asian classmate of mine was obviously from the middle class because of his effeminate appearance; conversely, she claimed, another classmate of mine, a Hispanic male, had a more "masculine" look (her words not mine) and therefore was obviously from the working class; she made these assumptions solely on their appearance. She then had the audacity to ask me from which social class I came from-- I was aghast. She does seem nice and entertaining at first. However, I don't know why she thought it was okay to make those comments to me. I guess because I am not white and would have to just sit there and take it. As a result, I found her to harbor unconsciously biased views of hispanics specifically, and people of color more broadly. I was most disturbed when one day in class she said: "most hispanics are in the working class and some (as she dismissively waved) form part of the middle class." Whether that is true or not, it was not only inappropriate but completely dismissive. Moreover, it has nothing to do with what we were studying at the moment. It appears Dr. Stefanovska feels like she can make racists comments to her non-white students and get away with it. If you are white, you will find her to be amazing. If you are not white, be careful.
Most Helpful Review
One of the most interesting classes I've taken at UCLA. The Professor is extremely intelligent, knows her stuff, and demands & expects a lot from her students. She took the time to set up extra office hours for any help I needed. Great Professor ! Take this class. (The previous person probably didn't do too well in the class because he/she wasn't putting in enough effort.) Just like anything in life, YOU GET OUT WHAT YOU PUT IN.
One of the most interesting classes I've taken at UCLA. The Professor is extremely intelligent, knows her stuff, and demands & expects a lot from her students. She took the time to set up extra office hours for any help I needed. Great Professor ! Take this class. (The previous person probably didn't do too well in the class because he/she wasn't putting in enough effort.) Just like anything in life, YOU GET OUT WHAT YOU PUT IN.
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2019 - Her main goal is to really engage the students taking the class. She will always ask for students to speak up about their thoughts and how their thoughts compare to previous reading in order to build upon what you learned. This is NOT a memorization course and nice GE to take. When I took this class we had ~1 midterm, 1 final (Bluebook required) ~1 Group presentation based upon a reading given ~2 Forum posts about 1000 words (Totally doable!) No discussion which is nice since the discussion is mostly done in class. Be mindful that she does tend to be unorganized but this class is by no means difficult. I didn't do like 80% of the reading because they were pretty long, but by paying attention during the lecture you will understand the main ideas and subideas as well. Pros: She's pretty witty and adorable in her own way. Don't take her criticism too harshly, she just wants to better her students understanding. She dresses pretty cute too which is always nice. The books for the class are interesting and would I recommend reading those! **For exams there are Passage identifications but are quotes that stand out and have been discussed in class. (She won't pick a random quote from the reading without having discussed them before.)
Winter 2019 - Her main goal is to really engage the students taking the class. She will always ask for students to speak up about their thoughts and how their thoughts compare to previous reading in order to build upon what you learned. This is NOT a memorization course and nice GE to take. When I took this class we had ~1 midterm, 1 final (Bluebook required) ~1 Group presentation based upon a reading given ~2 Forum posts about 1000 words (Totally doable!) No discussion which is nice since the discussion is mostly done in class. Be mindful that she does tend to be unorganized but this class is by no means difficult. I didn't do like 80% of the reading because they were pretty long, but by paying attention during the lecture you will understand the main ideas and subideas as well. Pros: She's pretty witty and adorable in her own way. Don't take her criticism too harshly, she just wants to better her students understanding. She dresses pretty cute too which is always nice. The books for the class are interesting and would I recommend reading those! **For exams there are Passage identifications but are quotes that stand out and have been discussed in class. (She won't pick a random quote from the reading without having discussed them before.)
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Most Helpful Review
Highly recommended. Prof. Stefanovska is an excellent professor. Her lectures are interesting, interactive and have great depth. She teaches students how to do a close reading of the text. The amount of reading for each class is reasonable. There is a mid-term, final, essay, oral presentation and class participation. If you do the reading before each class and take notes you will be well prepared. Prof. Stefanovska is encouraging and open to helping students during office hours.
Highly recommended. Prof. Stefanovska is an excellent professor. Her lectures are interesting, interactive and have great depth. She teaches students how to do a close reading of the text. The amount of reading for each class is reasonable. There is a mid-term, final, essay, oral presentation and class participation. If you do the reading before each class and take notes you will be well prepared. Prof. Stefanovska is encouraging and open to helping students during office hours.
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