As an Honors History major and Professional Writing minor 4th-year student at UCLA, this is by far the worst class I've ever taken. Professor Paul is kind but her T.A is what made this class a nightmare. The T.A (Chloe Wilson) grading criteria was so unclear, and her feedback was contradictory and ambiguous. Her comments were so vague, making unproductive comments such as "I just did not like your voice in this assignment." After meeting with her during office hours and emailing her, I always felt like I had no clue what she was looking for, and it left me very insecure when completing assignments. I know I am not entitled to any grade, but I consider myself to be a successful student and this T.A made it very clear she was not an advocate for our grades. This made me disinterested from the course content all together. The assignments were remedial and juvenile yet the grading criteria was very unstructured. Professor Paul is kind person and I would want to recommend, but hopefully, she'll have a different. T.A. Overall, the instruction was unclear and I felt disconnected from what the true expectations of the writing assignments were. All in all, there are much better classes in UCLA's History department, and I would stay away after my experience.

This class made me dislike history. The TA for this class, Chloe, was the worst TA I have ever had. The rubrics for this class were so vague, yet the grading was extremely harsh. I was getting penalized for stuff in my essays that I had not been penalized for since elementary school. A single contraction in my essay, WHICH WAS FROM A QUOTE I WAS USING, should not be something that can mark someone even a percentage down on a paper. This felt less like a history class and more like a writing critique class. I started hating the material in this class because I was so hyperfocused on my writing to the point where I couldn't even get a single paragraph out without feeling insecure. I had such high hopes for this class but ultimately is not worth the stress and hassle.

TAKE THIS CLASS!!! Don't listen to the older reviews!! Professor Paul listened to all of the feedback and there's no more TA's. It's a fantastic class that is easy but really engaging. I genuinely enjoyed going to this class. Professor Paul is really kind, accommodating, and supportive.

Though the professor itself is a kind individual, the formatting of the class with the style of lectures were incredibly bland and I left the class feeling incredibly unfulfilled. As a fourth year History Major with Latin honors ranking and a background in research and development, I was harshly graded on my three page writing assignment without any semblance of constructive feedback. As I approached the TA (Chloe) with my potential corrections, given I change a majority of my Footnote prompts and work (utilizing a professional footnote template in Chicago form) the only feedback received was “I see no change.” While I can assure you reader, there was change. Overall, there was a lacking of clear guidelines in order to succeed as it seemed as though the small syntax errors outweighed the rhetoric of such research papers. Many of my classmates shared the same issues with me as well.

I'm not sure why other reviews are complaining so much, Prof. Paul and Chloe are literally the most helpful teaching duo ever. The class is very unique and I enjoyed learning about public history (family histories, museums, archives, 1619 project, etc). The discussions, presentations, readings, and field trips were so engaging. I have been recommending this class right and left to all my friends. If you have an extra spot in your schedule, please go ahead and take it. The grading is chill too. Definitely take this class!!! 10/10.

This class is so different than many history courses I have taken both in terms of content and assignments. We study how the public interacts with history through things like museums and documentaries. The class has two papers which you can revise for a better grade. Great professor and TA!!! Take this class. Workload is fine.

I loved this class! I didn’t know too much about public history beforehand and now am very interested in learning more. Some weeks had a lot of reading but it was all very interesting. I really loved the class discussions too! There is a TA with this class, Chloe, and she was also amazing! She helped me so much with my writing which has helped in all my classes. They were both incredibly attentive and very supportive in both the classroom and talking about future student goals. The way the class was structured was great. It uses contract grading which really tales the pressure off and we submit the assignments twice after a revision. This really helped with putting the pressure off grades and helped me take greater risks with my writing. I really recommend this class!

Everyone else leaving reviews here is on something else. Tawny is an awesome professor and Chloe is a great TA. This class is by no means easy. If you want an A, you definitely have to work for it. But, the teaching team gives you every opportunity to succeed. The two short essays are definitely at the core of this class. Chloe places a heavy emphasis on your personal writing style when grading these, and the feedback is incredibly helpful. I have essentially been writing the same way since high school, but this class has made me critically reassess my style and look at the specific choices I make.
In terms of content, I would personally say that this class is designed for history majors, or really anyone who loves history as a concept, not just a certain period. It teaches history lovers how to take their interests and apply them to the real world. This includes those interested in teaching, curating, archiving, and law. I initially took this because my counselor recommended it for grad school, and I do not regret a minute of it.
I would especially recommend this class now because the grading system has been amended to be a lot more fair to students. It's on a contract system, so essentially you can get an A if you can tick a bunch of boxes listed on the syllabus. All assignments are graded P/NP and the essays can be revised for additional credit, whether or not it was a pass. This is the first Bruinwalk review I've written. I'm writing this one because the reviews here nearly intimidated me out of this class, potentially making me miss out on a wonderful opportunity. I hope prospective students are willing to take a chance on Tawny and Chloe and enjoy a laid-back class with a lot of interesting content.

I was scared before I took this class as I had read countless reviews saying that the class was difficult and unfairly graded, however that was so far from the truth. This class has been my favorite history class at UCLA and it truly discusses such important things to the field of history. The multiple discussions held throughout the class are really informative and allow students to come to their own conclusions. The professor is so passionate about what she teaches, and she truly makes every class fun. It is a contract graded class which takes a lot of pressure off of having to get the essay right the first time. I love that we are able to revise our work, and the TA Chloe always provided amazing comments and we would get our grades back just days later. If I ever didn't understand anything I could always reach out to the professor or the ta and receive helpful feedback. and as an added bonus sometimes she brought her dog in :)

nice prof!