This class was my favorite from this entire quarter and I am a math major gosh darn it. The class was very insightful and I found it very insightful to the history of Latin America. While the lectures were not always the most interesting I was never tired in the class, but maybe that was just me. It is very easy to tell that Prof. Calderon was very knowledgeable of the subject criteria. Her tests are fair and simple. Homework consists of short readings of which she provides PDFs of them all so you don't need to buy anything.

This class was really reasonable. If you are looking for an easy GE, this is it. Also, if you need this class for your major, this class is extremely fair. There is a good amount of reading at the beginning, but the amount starts to decrease through the quarter. Presentations are very detailed so even if you missed something during lecture, you can go back to the slides and reread them. She gives A LOT of extra credit which is awesome. Each extra credit you complete counts for 1% of your grade and I think she ended up having around 5 opportunities (so an easy 5% boost to your grade). 1 Midterm 35% of your grade and 1 Final 35% of your grade. Final was not cumulative. 2 film reviews which are pretty easy, watch a film from her provided list and write between 500-1000 words (3 pages double spaced) on your thoughts on it, and how it relates to the topics in the class. Each film review is worth 5% of your grade. Participation and attendance to discussion are each 10% of your grade. Professor Calderon does a great job explaining what is on her slides. 10/10 would take again.

I absolutely loved this class and having P. Arroyo-Calderon as a professor alongside P.A. Thomas as my TA. The class can get a little long sometimes but if you want to understand the readings lectures are something you can count on for doing so. She highlights everything about Latin American culture-- from precolonial L.A to current day L.A, helping us better understand why L.A is the way it is today-- and is welcoming to students who are struggling to go to her office hours. The course load was not as easy but it definitely is bearable. She gives 6 quizzes, throughout the entirety of the quarter that are only 2 points each (and she'll drop the lowest grade), two film reviews that are due on week 4 and finals week, and her exams are literally what we read/ go over during lecture. It's a very straightforward class, with exams that aren't too back-breaking, that makes you reflect on how Latin America and it's current dilemmas, past revolutions, and overall history impact us all. I loved this class and having Prof Arroyo as my instructor.

Good class, but I wouldn't say this was an "easy GE." There is a worksheet every week and you have to complete at least 6 of them. However, the TA's graded the worksheet every harshly and the worksheet took a lot of time and effort because the TA's were very particular about even the smallest details. We were lucky to have the TA strike this quarter which meant that the worksheets after week 5 were graded on completion (thank fuck), but it was still a lot of work trying to answer every worksheet question (around 7 question but you with a bunch of parts and you have to define a term and explain what it is, describe a picture in full detail, watch a documentary and answer like 8 questions, etc.) Grading structure: 40% worksheets (6 of them), 5% discussion attendance, 15% discussion board replies (8 of them), and 40% final project. Up to 10% of extra credit, 5% for attending 75% of lectures and 1% for extra credit reports (1pg report for going to the Getty, watching a movie, going to a book review, etc) Overall, good medium-easy GE, but if you're only taking this class for GE or diversity credit, I would recommend you to look for other easier options. PLEASE NOTE: This is NOT an super duper easy class now that it is in person and there aren't as many accommodations, so be careful. It's easy to get an A in this class if you put in some effort, but if you're taking 5-6 classes like me, it's not the easy GE (like musclg 5 where i never even went to lecture or discussion) you were hoping for when you read the other reviews lol

I thoroughly enjoyed Prof. Arroyo Calderon's lectures and her course as a whole. She's fun and engaging, and she's very passionate about the topics she teaches. She is also very accessible and generous with her time during office hours. She also know's a LOT about Latin American history and culture. I would recommend her, but you have to like to read Spanish.

The breakdown of this class is as follows:
30% Midterm
40% Final
30% Attendance and Section

Grade is pretty much determined by the TA since they grade all the tests and they make the pop quizzes for section.

Alli was my TA and she was amazing, would definitely recommend.

Midterm and Final have the same format with one difference:
Multiple Choice
Picture Identification and Significance
People/Term Identification and Significance
Long Essay Based on Broad Topic
Personal Reflection Essay (Final Only)

The tests are SUPER EASY since the professor gives you a study guide, the only things to be wary of are making sure you thoroughly explain the significance and to write about all they ask for.

Professor Calderon is a very clear, passionate teacher although the class can get a bit boring at times if you aren't super passionate about the class like I was. Attendance is measured through an app, but in my quarter there were so many problems with it I think they just gave everyone 100% on attendance.

I'm a little torn as to whether or not I would recommend going to class as slides are posted every week and as long as you just memorize what's on them you'll probably get an A. The thing about going to class, besides that its graded, is that on the test she has pictures which you'll need to be able to identify and explain the significance of. While these pictures do appear in the slides, the significance and things you need to know do not and are verbally said.

READ THE ASSIGNMENTS
Most of the assignments aren't long at all, ie a poem or a song, but some do get superrrrr long. However, they are all necessary since the test requires you to reference class texts.

The subject of the class is interesting but she presents it in such a boring way.

She just reads off the slides the whole 2 hours and sometimes she'll add more to the lecture but its mostly whatever the slides say. Your grade is determined by the TA, I had a nice TA but she was extremely hard on grading. I asked the professor about my final grade and she had no idea on why I got that grade or how it was calculated and that was annoying since she approved it as my overall grade for the course.

The class isn't difficult by any means, you just have to hope your TA isn't a hard grader.

I took this class thinking it was going to be a really boring Spanish history class. I was mistaken. This was probably the best GE I've taken so far. Patricia is very clear and extremely engaging. While there are readings each week that she posted on CCLE, they weren't very difficult or long. She usually summarizes them in class, and the TAs summarize it during discussion as well. We had quizzes every two weeks in discussion. Generally, the TAs reviewed answers right before the quiz so they weren't horrible. Her tests are all free response, but aren't actually that bad. Generally, there are picture section, matching sections, and an essay. I thought grading was pretty lenient. Patricia is also very approachable and understanding.

Took this course as an elective, my first quarter at UCLA. There are 6 unannounced quizzes based on assigned readings. Quizzes are straightforward, very short and simple, usually just one question sometimes a very specific question so make sure to read all readings since you never know when she'll give a quiz. She uses super lengthy power-points during lecture like 20+ pages, one midterm and one final. She gives a very long study guide basically telling you to memorize EVERYTHING for midterm and final and doesn't even test you on all of it. The workload to prepare for exams in this course was stressful and gave me anxiety but exams turned out to be not to bad, makes you memorize different periods and time frames.

Exams are structured in the following way:
matching column, select from a series of photos and give description of the photo (time period produced, what does it represent and its importance to Latin American history), select 2 terms or people from a list to also give the same description of, and one essay!!

FYI the essay is worth have the exam grade so the more you know and study the better prepared you'll be for this part. Also, attendance is taken via an App, this app is different than others as you can only check in to the class ONLY if you are within a certain parameter of the classroom. So, attendance is pretty much mandatory and you wont want to miss either because you never know when she'll give a quiz.

I thought this class was pretty tough when it came to the exams because of the workload of material you had to study but it is very possible to get an A as long as you work hard for it. It was not an easy elective in my choice.

I took this class as a way to get extra units and a grade bump since I've taken similar classes before, but I did not realize the workload for the exams in the class. The class had 2 tests, a midterm and a final, and 6 pop quizzes, which sound relatively light in workload but required much reading to do. The pop quizzes required you to do the readings and remember almost all the details because it would test you on the most minute detail i.e how old is one of the characters in this story? this wasn't hard sometimes, but even when I did do the readings I couldn't remember some of the questions she would ask. they weren't a huge part of a grade and she would drop the lowest grade, but it still was nonetheless impactful for the difference between an A and a B. the midterm and the final were both structured the same, 5 matching, 4 short answers on people or events, 4 short answers on a photograph, and a long essay. the tests were a nightmare, I would freak out with the amount of information we had to memorize, the study power points she would give us would be like 20 pages of straight terms and photographs to study. I was freaking out, and the tests would be only on a few terms that she would spend days on in class, which was nice, but frustrating because she gave us so much to study. She takes attendance on some app, which is open up until halfway into the class to sign in which is nice. it does require you to be in the physical classroom though. overall, the professor was really nice and helpful, but her lectures were so drawn out and boring that I would hate going, although I did learn a lot because I was forced to study so much information. if you aren't willing to spend hours to study for the final and midterm and to do the readings, don't expect an easy A.