This was a cool class. Not too difficult, not too boring. Professor Thein is extremely passionate and a good lecturer. I thought the content was really interesting, although a lot of it is about her and her own studies (makes sense but feel like it would have been cool to learn about other topics at times). The assignments include four response papers to a set of prompts you can choose from and a final group project. They're not very difficult and I tended to just go through the slides and video recordings of the lectures to knock them out pretty fast. This is definitely a manageable course, with lots of extra credit too! Would recommend this professor.

Professor Thein-Lemelson centered her Study of Culture course on political imprisonment. I am very glad I took her course. I found value in every single lecture. Professor Thein's passion shines through in her lectures. She included many stories from her research on political prisoners in Burma and her own life experiences, and invited fantastic guest speakers. Lecture slides and recordings were usually posted. Guest lecture attendance was graded but otherwise attendance was usually not taken, though I recommend you attend. Our assignments consisted of four response papers over the quarter (with the lowest paper score dropped), and a final group presentation about a topic related to political imprisonment of our choice. Extra credit was generously offered throughout the course as well! Definitely recommend her. You will likely walk away with new perspectives.

I love Dr. Thein so much. I believe she is a newer professor which is why she has no reviews yet. Last year I took her all 3 quarters, Anthro 130, Anthro 149, and Anthro 169. I'd take her 3 more times if I could. The classes were all formatted a little differently but all consisted of: a few response papers, a group project, 3-4 in class assignments, etc. (no exams!!!) She is a very lenient grader and offers much extra credit to those who may need it but I dont think many needed it. I finished all 3 of her classes with over a 95%. She is very clear in her grading and leaves a lot of feedback on papers as well. Plus, she is married to Dr. Robert Lemelson who is very loved in the department. I took both of their classes and their lectures somewhat overlap so it's nice to take them together for additional content clarity. I recommend her to everyone who is looked for a laid back class whether its a major requirement or an elective for those who aren't anthro majors.