I was really excited to take this class during my first year at UCLA. This was by far the worst decision I've ever made because this class was really heavy and my TA (Chica) was unapproachable. She made sure to brag about how she came from Princeton and would constantly humiliate us as students. My friend took this same class with a different professor (Menjivar) and she seemed to have a positive experience. I highly suggest taking this class because the material is interesting however, I'd highly suggest taking it with a different professor. Whatever you do avoid Chica if you can!!!!

Professor Hernandez Leon is a decent professor. The workload (reading load) is way too much. He typically assigns at least 4-5 readings a week all at which are at minimum 20 pages and is expected to be all read by class meetings. He provides slides in lecture (he does not post them on his website), he speaks pretty fast which did not allow me to write down all bullet points along with footnotes he would say. 20 question quizzes/ short essays alternate each week (all based off of the readings and lecture). He allows up to 5 extra credit opportunities.

I would not take this class nor another class with this professor. If you do decide to take this class I have the books, email me at *************

For everyone saying how difficult this class is, it's really not... Yes it is a lot of reading but we are at a University, and if you are interested in the material than the readings really are not that bad. The quizzes are worded a bit hard, but if you do all the reading then you will be ok. He is a very interesting professor and I was never bored in class. He makes class interesting and he is super passionate about the subject, making class even better. If you do all the readings and come to class and talk to him in office hours an A is very possible. If you are lazy and don't want to read or review notes, than you won't do well. This class was awesome and so is he.

Professor Hernandez-Leon is an expert in immigration studies and his passion makes this class engaging. It is a lot of work though. You have to attend lecture, because he uses power point slides but does not post them online or podcasted. You must do the readings because there is either a reading quiz or a 500 word essay about the material every week. The reading load is quite heavy, but you truly get as much as you put into it. Sections matter.

Professor Hernandez-Leon is the BEST TEACHER EVER! He is so helpful when you have questions, classwork is very manageable I really liked his class. His tests are not hard. Take this class - it is an easy A.

Look, I'm not going to use this space to attack the guy. He's obviously a smart person, and he has accomplished a lot in the field of sociology and immigration studies (check out his CV). HOWEVER, I do feel obligated to take advantage of what BruinWalk is meant for and hopefully provide an objective appraisal of RHL's teaching abilities for future students who are considering his class.

The PROs: First of all, the people who claim that this class is difficult or who claim RHL is racist are probably the same students who I saw every day on FB or doing their online shopping during class.. and most likely the same people who are likely saying the same thing about all their professors who don't give them easy As. RHL is not boring (for the most part) and even tries to be pleasant. Having said that…

The CONs:
1. There is A LOT of reading. Now, I'm not one to normally complain about this for a class since, hello, it IS A UNIVERSITY and we are COLLEGE STUDENTS. But I think it is a valid complaint when A) the professor makes you purchase "required" texts but then never assigns them, and B) he assigns you 100-200 pages of "required" reading per WEEK but never refers back to those same readings in his lectures. Dude, "required" versus "suggested"… look it up.
2. He has 3 surprise pop quizzes which total 30% of your final grade. At first glance, they might not seem difficult (10 pts. each, multiple choice, T/F, short answer) but they are a big pain in the butt because his quizzes are tricky (the questions are vague and the answers ambiguous at times). Oh, and he doesn't give them back, and it is super difficult to go over the results with him or his TA.
3. The FINAL makes up 50% of your grade. Don't expect a lot of assistance from RHL, and you better well pray you get a really helpful TA because you're pretty much on your own for the final paper (which is a 15 page ethnographic thesis paper). If you've done ethnographic studies before you should be fine… and even then it's a long-shot because RHL will deduct points for the smallest thing such as grammatical errors!

Overall: The subject matter is interesting (or at least it was for me but this is my "specialty"), and RHL is definitely an expert in the field. However, despite his expertise, he is not an effective educator. I'm not saying I need someone to hold my hand through the course but I definitely don't need someone to make it harder for me to learn by placing these insane obstacles in front of me and call them "quizzes"... or assign an incredibly complex research paper that takes a lot more time than is given AND have so much of my final grade riding on it.

Bottom line: An A is almost impossible to get in RHL's class. I busted my butt and I got a B. I like a challenge in my studies but this was ridiculous.

I do not recommend RHL.

I would like to say that this class is interesting and challenging at the same time. I read all these reviews and thought i could take up the challenge and prove everyone wrong and be like BAM this class was easy (or something of that sort)....that was my initial plan.

I read everything and did additional research for this class and I ended up with a B+

This class is not easy at all. There are a vast amount of assigned readings and the 3 pop quizzes that are huge pains in the toosh.

That said, the midterm exam seperated in two parts;
part 1 --multiple choice/ True and False and short response
part 2--take home 2-3 pages

this midterm was "easy"
I say easy because I thought it was easy until i received my take home portion of the grade...that was graded sooooo harshly that it makes it impossible to receive an A in the class.

rest assure there are PLENTTYYYY of extra credit opportunities (do them all if you want to pass...I am serious)

now for the main grade/paper
he assigns a research project in parts
Site Location
Ethnographic notes
actual research paper

I implore you to make an appointment with the prof. or your TA if you want to write an excellent paper. If you are solid on your paper, then you are solid in the class.

I recommend you read everything
do the extra credits
go to office hours
talk to your TA about your final paper

this class is not easy so dont take it as a "funsy" class.

I did everything and I got a B+
it is honestly hard to attain an A but it is not impossible. I know there could have been parts were I could have done better.

If you like a challenge take this class, but if you dont want to work for an A...save your time and sign up for another class.