This class is great because it knocks out a whole lot of GE credits. However, this class (though it covered a great deal of consequential content) was progressively more and more boring. Lectures provided students with a whole bunch of information, but they often felt unorganized, as professors would often go off on tangents for a great deal of time. Honestly, if you read the Bad Indians book, and know a couple key details about each social group in society (Chinese Americans, African Americans, Native Americans) then you will be fine. Would not take again though.

The professors are very passionate and involved in this class. The topics and lectures are interesting and relevant. I liked this class overall as it wasn't very difficult and the workload was very manageable.

Professor Ortiz was super knowledgable, and always gave very thoughtful responses to our questions and raised really important issues. This cluster in general I would definitely recommend, because it was the most useful information for general life and being a good citizen that I got from anywhere.

Professor Ortiz is one of the first professors I've had in college. She is so kind and genuinely cares about her students, even though we never got to meet in person.

COIVD EDITION******
LEctures are not mandatory but the discussion is. After each lecture the professor uploads a question based on the lecture that you have to answer. There are only two papers based on the book Bad Indians that they make you purchase. They also have a lot of readings that are used through perusal but I'm not sure if they'll continue you that. The reading is heavy but I would suggest to just read every other week. or take light notes. I would recommend you watch the lecture though cus I had to cram them the last 2 weeks. this class is fairly easy but if you slack on the readings you will fall behind.

Don't take this cluster just bc it is a cluster, take it because you are interested or else you will become very bored. Lectures are entertaining but I found the reading to be SO overwhelming week after week. You spend all this money on two readers and barely use them. Fall quarter you take a midterm and write a paper (no final) and winter quarter you write a big paper and then take a big final. On the bright side, participation (just showing up) makes up a huge part of your grade, which is nice. The best part was spring quarter, where you got 6 units for going to one 3 hour discussion a week with a TA who was usually chill and didnt assign much. The A+ in the 3rd quarter almost makes this class worth it. I was interested in fall, but by spring I was tired of the class.

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The class was okay. Definitely do the readings to get an idea of what they are about, because you will need to recall information from specific readings for the midterm. They come in a course reader, which I heard was upward of $60 if you bought it new. I bought one from someone who took it last year for cheap and just looked up the readings online that it didn't include.
The essays came with seemingly easy prompts, but they stressed me out like crazy because I wasn't 100% sure what the TA wanted. Right after they assign the essays, GO TO YOUR TA'S OFFICE HOURS. Office hours helped me so, so much with writing the essay. Even if you think you're confident on the prompt, GO TO OFFICE HOURS. Show your TA that you're committed and looking to improve your writing. Ask them their opinion on your thesis. Ask them anything you're not fully confident about. Please, just go to office hours. I swear this helps your writing.
As for the course material, it wasn't too boring. I'm interested in interracial dynamics, but I was hoping for more contemporary material that went over current events. What we read so far was pretty historical and shouldn't be too hard to understand if you know basic American history. Some articles were pretty eye-opening, though. I can say that my eyes have been opened, and my perspective on some subjects have been broadened because of the readings. I really liked Bad Indians (the book you read for the first essay). It's a collection of all these different types of texts from different perspectives through time, and it was my favorite thing to read for the class.

Selling Fall 2018 and Winter 2019 course readers, as well as A Writer's Reference and Bad Indians FOR CHEAP! All in great condition. Contact me at ********** or ************* if you're interested.

Fall quarter was better than winter quarter, but still sucked. Lectures were boring. You will find that answer across all boards. I've been in many boring classes, very few were THIS boring! KT Bender was a cool TA, very serious but pretty knowledgeable about the cluster and we actually learned things unlike the other TA I had (Winter quarter). This being said, your grade almost entirely depends on section/your TA. Section participation was 25% I believe, and the TA's also grade your essays/finals which encompass 20% each (20% for participation). Anyway, I wouldn't take the cluster again.... You can have more room for other classes because the cluster takes up 6 of your 10 enrollment units for the first pass (sometimes preventing you from enrolling in other courses) and then the GE's it satisifies can literally be satisfied in other courses.... Workload is annoying. The course reader is FAT!!!! The text of the articles is SOOOO small..... It was such a hassle... But if you aren't taking too manu demanding courses and can focus on the cluster, why not?