This class was an insanely easy elective. The only things that are graded are two 20-question True/False quizzes (one as a midterm and one as a final), one research proposal that’s 2 pages double spaced, and a research paper that’s 5 pages double spaced. Attendance isn’t taken and considering the lectures are extremely boring I wouldn’t recommend going. The quizzes are online take-home so that makes them easier. The research proposal and paper can be on any topic you want within Spanish South America, it doesn’t have to relate to anything taught in class. I seriously only spent probably 10 hours on this class outside of lecture for the whole quarter.

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS OH MY GOD. This is the worst class I honest to god have ever taken and I am a transfer student who went to a pretty mediocre at best community college. The quizzes 20 true or false and incredibly hard. I read the other review that said they are hard but thought it would be fine and I was wrong. He is 1000 years old and it shows. I know I am not the smartest person by any means but the way he writes is so convoluted and truly confusing. The questions are true/false, but multiple sentences and intentionally written to be confusing. I spent several days going over all of the readings, notes, discussion questions, everything I could and the questions were the mot specific random things you can imagine that I couldn’t even find in the readings or remember him having discussed in class. Speaking of class, don’t take it if you have ADHD like me. No slides, no structure, just listening to him ramble the entire time. If you think about emailing him for help, GOOD LUCK. Each time I reached out for help, he was incredibly rude and basically called me stupid for having any problems. I think in his mind he truly believes that he is doing a good job and gives us adequate material but he hear me when i say he does not and DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS.

This was one of the hardest geography classes I have ever taken at UCLA. Despite relatively easy readings, the lectures were hard to catch up with as Prof. Bell had never used the slides. Most of the time, the lectures went on and on, leaving a lot of students confused. This class is based on two quizzes and a paper (a proposal and a final research paper). The tests were true or false, which may seem easy, but they were not easy. They became one of the hardest T/F tests I have ever taken. Prof. Bell changed the grading scheme to be easier to get an A (which was the only reason I stayed in the class), but all the scores you see could give you a heart attack. If you are interested in South America, you should try it out, but this class was not really for me. I recommend you take other electives unless you want to challenge yourself or have no other options.