Absolutely loved this class. If you are interested in primates, this is definitely the course for you. Professor Perry is very accessible and has office hours all the time, plus informal lunches that are great for discussing primate related things (and things not related to primates at all) with the professor and your classmates. The book was a quick and fun read: think Game of Thrones, with monkeys. Unfortunately, I doubt I'll be getting an A in this class, but that is due to frequent absences for health related reasons and my general inability to take tests. This was a class that I really always looked forward to going to even though it was a morning class. Not a lecture went by without fun and educational anecdotes about various primates (mostly capuchins). The midterm was difficult for me, as I was sleep deprived and stressed out about things unrelated to the class, but the grade was curved so that helped people who didn't do as terribly as I did. In spite of the fact that I am very obsessed with getting a 4.0 and died a little inside when I saw my midterm grade, I don't at all regret taking this class because I've learned so much from it, and isn't that what going to a good school like UCLA is supposed to be about? This class changed my perspective on how human beings fit into the tree of life and the universe (as cheesy as that sounds). 10/10 would recommend this class to anyone with the slightest interest in animals.

Instead of Chimpanzee Politics, she should make The Selfish Gene a course text. The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins is pretty much her entire course, which I'm suspecting she modeled her course from.

Professor Perry's class was enjoyable and I learned a lot about primatology. You are pretty much forced to learn a lot. The lectures cover a lot of material and the course reader readings are kind of intense (other than the text book itself, which perry wrote,and is entertaining). Tests are rough but she curves them and that helps a bunch. Work hard and you will be able to get an A.

The gist of the class is that monkeys have dramas just like WE do. Imagine watching an MTV reality show while taking a basic Evolutionary Biology course. Oowala!, you get 128A. Sure it is interesting at first to see some of the resemblance, but overkill with monotony after the 3rd week. You have to read two books: Chimpanzee Politics and the one that she wrote, Manipulative Monkeys. Much of the contexts of the two books are identical, which is like beating a dead ape by making us read them both. If you're really into Primatology,go for it. If not then spare yourself the monkey chatter. Overall the class is not hard.

The most pointless class I have ever encountered at UCLA. Do NOT take this class unless you feel like being tested on extremely specific irrelevant facts about monkeys. The final project isn't too hard but the grading scale is ridiculous. Don't take this class it sucks and the professor sucks more.

If anyone needs the book and course reader for 128a, please message me at jonathanL*************. I am selling both of them.

If anyone needs the book and course reader 128a, I am selling both of them. Please message me if you are interested.

DO NOT TAKE THIS PROFESSOR! She is a nice person and has a the most wonderful stories about her time in Costa Rica. However, she does not teach well at all. For our final, she tried to 'prevent cheating' and tried to stagger small groups of student to take the final at different times. Between checking every single student in individually and giving them assigned seating, some students had an unfair advantage of having more time for the final. Others were only given 1.5 hours of the 3 given. She is blatantly unconcerned and unwilling to take responsibility for her actions. If you do not need this class, do not take it.

I got an A and I really enjoyed her. This is not an easy class. I worked my butt off. I studied a lot, did all the reading, attended nearly every lecture and got notes for the ones I missed and I visited her in her office hours at least 5 times. That is how you get an A in her class. You can't fake your way through this class. She is very available and it's worth it to go to office hours because she really explains things that can be confusing. You can't ask for a more available prof. I learned a lot and I appreciated her enthusiasm about her work. Im not going to be a primatologist, but this class was worth taking. Learn the specifics of each monkey, not just general ideas if you want to do well on her tests.

Honestly, this class isn't just hard.....it's pointless. Unless you really are into monkeys (specifically Capuchins), then don't bother taking Perry. Her book is all about her research on Capuchins, which would have been fine but I was interested in getting a broader perspective and I didn't. Sucks. I am a good student and Anthro major, but this class was a pain in my neck. She counts attendance in lecture (which consists of over 100 people---ridiculous!) and expects you to participate. That would all be OK , STILL.....if only her lectures weren't as faced-paced and disjointed as they were. She doesn't lecture on a continuous topic, she speaks wayyyyy to fast, and gives tiny details that don't really relate to class that end up on her hard quizzes. I guess I should've sat in the front, kissed her ass, and asked a question everytime I was confused (hmm...would have been every minute of every lecture). But you know I just couldn't care about this class as much as I wanted to, and she didn't make it interesting. Even Section was boring, they don't go over the important things on the quizzes and spent FAR too much time explaining BS and stuff about the Final Project. Take another class.