If you're taking this remotely during the pandemic, take Path 1 if you don't care about interacting with the class and professor. imo it's the easiest path with the least work. It's only 20 min. quizzes vs. like an hour session with the prof and class. You don't really need to read the books (but watch the movies, they're fun) to get a good score whereas I'm guessing if you took Path 2 you'd need to know your stuff in case you're called on. The lectures are also pretty interesting and give you most of the info for the quizzes anyway. Basically if you're concerned about the minimal time and effort necessary to get an A, choose Path 1.

There are also 2 essays. The first one is about Hrafnkel's Saga. Just watch the debate and take notes and reformat it into your essay. I did that and got a good score. The final essay was just a two page response to any prompt you want (he'll give them out later). I think it was graded pretty leniently.

As for the debate, you can do it if you want but you won't really need the 5% extra credit in the class since it's pretty easy (especially if you choose Path 1).

This class was SO easy online. I took the asynchronous path, so all I had to do was watch the lectures on my own time and do the weekly readings for the weekly quizzes. So stress free and Professor Wen is so nice. I participated in a mock trial and got 5% extra credit for my team winning, so make sure to sign up for it asap if you are taking the class, it is first come first serve!

I took the asynchronous path and it was really easy. The quizzes were straightforward and if you watch the lectures and read summaries of the texts you'll be fine. The lowest quiz grade is also dropped. You have to write 2 papers, but I think they were graded pretty leniently.

I literally loved this class. Because of covid, you get to choose an asynchronous or synchronous path like other reviews explained. For asynchronous you can find all the assigned texts online for free if you know how to search well but make sure you find the right translation because some people got a question wrong due to spelling mix-ups in Jeppe of the Hill. (you can also go to the ucla library online and rent the texts with the right translation for an hour or more if no one else rents it but it only worked for me bc I don't think anyone else knew about this). You get 20 minutes for 10 questions every Thursday on 2-3 short stories but in all honesty, I stopped reading the texts after the third week and was able to get perfects on all quizzes by taking good notes on the weekly lectures, which are 1-2 hours long. Prof Wen is really passionate about these stories that you'll end up liking them too. I would definitely take this class again if I could!

There are two paths: synchronous and asynchronous. I took synchronous so the class met 2x a week and he would call people on alphabetical order about the readings to analyze/discuss. You get full points for showing up basically as long as you show him you read. He’s super kind and a cool dude!! Would recommend

Path 1 is easy, quizzes are easy, essays are graded lightly.

This class was a super easy GE and it was actually really interesting. Because of COVID, we could choose an asynchronous or synchronous path. The former had quizzes on the readings and prerecorded lectures and the latter had in class discussion. I chose the synchronous version and it was super easy, as long as you read or even read a summary and answered confidently, you got 100%. You only got a 0 for the day if you got called on and you weren't there. You also get one free pass that you can use as long as you email him before lecture. The synchronous path met twice a week on tuesdays and thursdays and you honestly didn't have to pay much attention, i did other work most of the time unless he was getting to my name. The discussion portion was 80% and then two papers, each 10%. Overall it was a super easy class and Wen is really funny and cool so I would highly recommend it for a GE. I'm selling the course reader and the other books necessary for the class, all for $50. Message me at *************

Easiest GE on campus. Just do the readings and brush up on them before the test. They're only 20 questions so if you screw up, you're kinda screwed, but the questions aren't tricky. I think I missed one total from the two tests. There's one essay but it was graded very nicely. I would recommend this to anyone. No work, easy A.

This class was a bunch of fun. First, Professor Patrick Wen offered two "paths" that we could take. The first was a ten question weekly quiz, and the second was just coming to class. Both paths had to do two essays, each worth 10% of the grade. I personally chose the second path because I enjoyed coming to class and discussing the material. Professor Wen gave you a 100% in the discussion if you were there and could answer his simple questions. He often called on us in alphabetical order so it was easy to predict who he would call on and so I could skip lecture that day. He also offered a free pass where you could email him that you didn't want to be called on and he would just skip you.

The first essay was due the end of Week 2 and the prompt was based on an in class trial we held for one of the characters in a story we read. If you were an attorney in the trial, he gave extra credit. The paper was only 3-5 pages long and again only worth 10% of the grade.
The second essay was due at the end of week 10 and could be about any of the materials we went over during the quarter. The essay was only 2 pages long.

Finally, what this class covered. All of the books/stories are easily found online, but if, like me, you want a paper version of the stories, only the course reader burned a hole in my pocket. We covered a pre-medieval tale, Hans Christian Anderson(the little mermaid, the ugly duckling, etc), some famous plays(A Doll House), three short novels, and a handful of movies. Most of what we covered was entertaining and easy to read/watch, with only a few weird/disturbing ones. His recorded lectures were long, but if you have a chore extension you can just speed them up.

This class did live up to the title of being the easiest GE at UCLA. Take it. You'll have. a lot of fun and read some really interesting things with the safety net of an almost guaranteed A.

I'm selling the course reader for $25
I'm also selling Naive Super, Hunger, The Shadow and other Tales, The Dwarf, and Anecdotes of Destiny (includes Babette's Feast) for $25
If you're interested text me at **********

I didn't know what to expect from this class, but I surprising really enjoyed the actual content of the class, from reading stories to learning about how the time period ties into the analysis of the literature. I took this class online because of COVID, and he gave us 2 options, either to take the class asynchronously or synchronously. Both options had 2 papers, worth 10% of the total grade each, but the first option had a quiz each week, worth 80% of the total grade. Overall, the class was very enjoyable, would definitely take another class with Professor Wen!
Quizzes: extremely easy as long as you watch the lectures and skim over the stories (they were all plot based).
Papers: first one was 3 pages, second was 2 pages. They were graded pretty leniently too.