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.

Professor Tawny Paul was one of the kindest professors I have ever had. Her class was a very interesting approach to public history and the readings taught me a lot of things I had never considered before. There were class field trips and group projects that made the class much more engaging as well. If you complete the work with effort, you will receive a good grade in the class. I truly enjoyed this class and definitely would take her classes again!

Professor Paul is a great teacher who is very enaging and loves to include her students in the topic of conversation She explained how her grading works very clearly and is always open to answering students questions to do assignments right. Her grading is easy (contract based) - just turn in all your work fully completed (she provides word counts on everything) and you'll get an A! There are no tests, just 2 medium-sized papers, a few revisions, 1 group project, and a few reflection papers. Attendance is mandatory because there is a doc to fill out every class however she provides 3 freebies. This class is so doable and I never felt overwhelmed. Professor Paul is super nice and funny which makes it comfortable to ask questions. She also connects what we learn to things happening now which keeps it relevant. The topic itself is very interesting and I enjoyed attending lectures. I would 100% take her again

THIS IS A FANTASTIC CLASS!!! Please don't listen to the older reviews!! Professor Paul is one of my favorite professors ever she actually listens to her students, she's incredibly understanding, and her class is very interesting and engaging. She listened to previous feedback and there's no TA now, Professor Paul teaches the entire class herself. Her class does require participation, don't expect to just sit there and fall asleep during her lectures. It's very easy and engaging and I feel like I left the class with a much deeper appreciation of history.

DO NOT LISTEN TO THE OTHER REVIEWS!!!! This class was amazing! The class is structures around two essays (around 3-5 pages each), essay revisions, reflections and a final project. The class was also structured as a contract course, so your grade depended on how much effort you put in the class. I had the class on Tuesday/Thursday and Tuesdays were lecture, while on Thursdays were workshops led by our TA Chloe. If you put in basic effort you should be good and get an A. Professor Paul was very clear, engaging and encouraged discussion which I loved. And she always made sure to make contemporary connections to the historical subjects that we were talking about. ALSO Chloe was a great TA! I don't understand why the other reviews spoke so badly about her. All her workshops were super helpful (I will definitely be using some of the knowledge and skills I learned in the workshops, for other history classes) and she was always available for office hours. She also provided extensive feedback on our essays, and she was available for office hours to further explain her feedback. If you are interested in museums, archives, or any sort of public history I recommend taking this class! It'll be worth it! (plus you might see Henry, Professor Paul's Dog)

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.