Just because I seemingly did well in this class, it does not mean I enjoyed it at the very least. I agree with the other review that this was the most disorganized class I've ever taken. There was no communication between the professor and the TAs, the syllabus changed often, and each lecture, I came away feeling like I hadn't learned anything new. The course material itself was a bit heavy on the details, and the facts on the slides seemed disconnected from one another. I learned more from the students in my section who presented on the week's readings than from the lectures themselves.

Coursework included: weekly quizzes (online, multiple choice, based on readings, but the answers were pretty word-for-word in the articles), 3-4 responses (1-2 pages), a discussion presentation (group project, based on that week's readings) one midterm (online, multiple choice), a poster presentation (group project where you research an aspect of Southeast Asian archaeology or culture and present it on a Google slide to your discussion section), and the final exam (online, multiple choice). All the online tests allowed two attempts, which was nice.

The professor himself is pretty reasonable guy. If you have any questions, it's probably better to ask him and your TAs after lecture, since they may not see your emails. All in all, if you're looking for an easy class, I would suggest you look elsewhere first, and use this option as a last resort.

First and foremost, this is the most disorganized class I have ever taken at UCLA. I took the class with high hopes because the ratings on bruin walk were pretty good and the grade distribution was nice (to be fair, I think that the class IS an easy A, but that's the only good thing). I understand that the professor was very busy with research so he had to miss the first day of class, but even after that, things did not get much better. I feel like I did not really learn anything of value from lecture. The assignments were frequently changed, but the worst change was that we went from presentations in discussion for readings to an additional poster presentation (which was supposed to replace the discussion presentations). But clearly the communication between the TAs and professor was lacking, because apparently the TAs chose to require the presentations anyway. This was very frustrating. Communication between the professor and students was also bad, as we were given essay prompts not even a week before the due date, and everything kept changing without much notice. The weekly summary prompts were changing format each week, and instructions were incredibly unclear.
That said, tests were very fair and gave each person two attempts which was very helpful. I also really respect the professor as a researcher and it is clear that he is very knowledgeable in his field, it is just that his teaching and organization was lacking this quarter. I assume that other quarters are not as messy as this, but I was nevertheless disappointed. I would not recommend this class to other anthro students.
(I can't even list assignments and whatnot bc things changed so frequently that I can't say for certain that every quarter is like this)

Anthropology 8 is really a typical ge course.
Pros: u don't have to even look at the textbook. u don't have to go to class. u can even cheat if u dare. Exams will be easy if you prepare using the study guide. Taking notes may be useful, but quite irrelevant most of times. Papers take some time, but overall it's easy to get an A.

Cons: this is boring for people who only want to take a GE. He talks a lot about Philippines and few care to learn. Sometimes he himself is not concerned.

If you are looking for an easy GE to fulfill your Foundations of Society and Culture category, look no further. Professor Acabado is a prompt and kind teacher who is very interested in archaeology, particularly passionate about his own research. Even though his powerpoint lectures could be boring, he posted everything on ccle for students to refer to. You don't really have to do the readings from the textbooks, unless your TA is strict about what topics to cover in his/her discussion. I mainly used the textbook a few days before the midterm and final. The easiest part about the class was that Professor Acabado gave study guides for the midterm and final which essentially told exactly what was on the tests. There were no surprises whatsoever. The final was also non-cumulative (an added plus). He even gave extra credit questions on the final which were quite frankly unnecessary since the class was already so easy. The class had two essays which were both manageable and on relatively interesting topics. Overall would highly recommend this class to anyone.

This class includes:
Weekly discussion section 20%
Paper 1 10%
Moodle Quizzes 5%
Mid-term 25%
Paper 2 15%
Final 25%

I got an A+ in the class. Make sure to go to discussion and talk; you'll get major points and it's an easy 20% of your entire grade. The papers were pretty easy, just semi-eloquently answer the questions provided with correct grammar. The midterm and final were cake if you completed the study guides and memorized them. A majority of the multiple choice come from the moodle quizzes, so make sure to do the quizzes. The quizzes were easy too because (1) you could redo the quiz up to 3 times and only the highest grade would count and (2) after the first try, the answers are provided, so you're basically guaranteed 100% if you try. The work does add up, but it's definitely doable. I took 2 other classes and worked over 20 hours a week.
Acabado's lectures are dry and unnecessary, but I went to every lecture anyway, so it may have impacted how well I did. He posts up all the slides, but isn't a good lecturer because he's unorganized and rushes through the topics.

I took both his Anthro 8 and Anthro 118 class. Unlike his Anthro 8 class which can be boring, Dr. Acabado's Anthro 118 class -- archaeology of Southeast Asia -- is a more exciting class as he delves into his specialty of the Philippines and Southeast Asia. He seems disinterested when teaching Anthro 8 (he told me this personally). In his upperdiv class, he knows his students well and there's a fun project at the end. If you're a Filipino/SeAsian who wants to learn more about your culture, take Dr. Acabado! Remember that "balut" unites all Southeast Asian cultures.

This class was a relatively easy GE. Weekly online quizzes are very simple, since they are not timed, and each one can be attempted twice (the first attempt will tell you what the correct answers are). Discussions are mandatory graded on participation and completed lab worksheets-- we worked in groups and the worksheets were generally graded very leniently.
The midterm and final were very fair-- Prof Acabado uploads a study guide for each , and pulls directly from the study guide questions for the actual midterm and final. Both exams also include one or two short essay questions, which can be easily answered if you attend lecture, or do the readings. I would recommend filling out the study guide with another person in the class, or going to Prof Acabado's office hours (some of the quizlet answers are incorrect).
There was also a 4-6 page paper due between the midterm and the final (around week 9 for us). The five prompts were uploaded very early on in the quarter, from which you would choose one. The prompts had very clear topics/questions/instructions, as long as all the requirements were met, you got a decent score. I'd recommend showing the TA a rough draft during office hours.
All in all, the class was very straightforward and manageable, even if you aren't interested in archaeology/anthropology.

Although this class was a relatively easy A, I kind of dreaded going to lectures and discussion sections. Professor Acabado takes attendance using an app called TopHat, which you have to pay for, and he also uses the app to display his lecture slides. The app crashed often, which was annoying and affected checking in for attendance sometimes.
There are weekly quizzes on CCLE, but they are all take-home and online so it should be a guaranteed 100% on each. There are three labs done in discussion, and they are also very easy A's. The midterm and final were very similar to the study guides that Acabado gave out for each of them.
As a lecturer, he tends to be *very* boring, and I'd find myself zoning out often. Honestly, lecture isn't too important other than checking in for attendance.
This was an easy GE class for me, but it was just kind of a hassle because I had to try really hard to be somewhat interested in the lecture material.

This class wasn't even a backup class for me when I was registering during orientation this fall, but somehow I signed up and it was the best decision I could have made for my continuously sinking GPA. Tests are the same as the study guide, labs take place during discussion which is basically free points, and the essay is 5 pages and not hard. Acabado forever.

This was a pretty easy GE. It could be somewhat interesting on certain days. To be honest, just study the study guides he gives. The difficult portion of this class was the essay, but TAs are generally able to help you with any aspects of it.