Professor
Vinay Lal
2 of 5
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Most Helpful Review
I would not recommend any course taught by Vinay Lal. His lectures cover interesting material, but it is very easy to get lost since he does not slow down or attempt to engage with the students. The worst part of having taken his class is his grader. He had a graduate student named Brandon who wrote crazy illegible notes over everyone's papers with absolutely no constructive or positive feedback. I'm about to graduate UCLA with several honors and an overall GPA of 3.95. I made an A- in this class and that was with completing an extra credit essay to increase my final grade by 1/3 of a letter grade. This grading is unfair and unrealistic. I read every novel, every journal that consisted of 100+ pages every week and attended every single lecture. Part of the final grade was to include 20% for attendance, yet he did not take roll. My grade did not increase and several other students who never missed class did not have a higher grade for doing the extra essay or having perfect attendance. The history department has much better classes with great professors and TA's without a grind to axe. Choose wisely.
I would not recommend any course taught by Vinay Lal. His lectures cover interesting material, but it is very easy to get lost since he does not slow down or attempt to engage with the students. The worst part of having taken his class is his grader. He had a graduate student named Brandon who wrote crazy illegible notes over everyone's papers with absolutely no constructive or positive feedback. I'm about to graduate UCLA with several honors and an overall GPA of 3.95. I made an A- in this class and that was with completing an extra credit essay to increase my final grade by 1/3 of a letter grade. This grading is unfair and unrealistic. I read every novel, every journal that consisted of 100+ pages every week and attended every single lecture. Part of the final grade was to include 20% for attendance, yet he did not take roll. My grade did not increase and several other students who never missed class did not have a higher grade for doing the extra essay or having perfect attendance. The history department has much better classes with great professors and TA's without a grind to axe. Choose wisely.
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2021 - Prof Lal is very intense but is also genuine and concerned about student learning. There's a bit of reading, like 150 or so pages a week. Lectures are pretty interesting, but focus on ideas and concepts with very little concrete discussion of Indian history. Exams aren't especially difficult and are take-home.
Spring 2021 - Prof Lal is very intense but is also genuine and concerned about student learning. There's a bit of reading, like 150 or so pages a week. Lectures are pretty interesting, but focus on ideas and concepts with very little concrete discussion of Indian history. Exams aren't especially difficult and are take-home.
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2019 - I am a grad student who attended this class on the recommendation of a friend and enrolled immediately after the first lecture. I admit to generally being uninterested in history, yet this class is one of the best that I have taken hands down. The lectures were always engaging, often challenged/changed my opinion on beliefs I previously held, and every argument made by prof. Lal held solid ground. I would recommend it for anyone who is interested in South Asia or is of South Asian descent as the class sheds light on a lot of intertwined history and culture that makes the region, and its people, what it is today.
Spring 2019 - I am a grad student who attended this class on the recommendation of a friend and enrolled immediately after the first lecture. I admit to generally being uninterested in history, yet this class is one of the best that I have taken hands down. The lectures were always engaging, often challenged/changed my opinion on beliefs I previously held, and every argument made by prof. Lal held solid ground. I would recommend it for anyone who is interested in South Asia or is of South Asian descent as the class sheds light on a lot of intertwined history and culture that makes the region, and its people, what it is today.
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2023 - I took HIST175C: Hindu-Muslim Interactions in Pre-modern and Modern India with Professor Lal in Winter 2023, and I had an incredible experience. Professor Lal is the most engaging lecturer I've had during my time at UCLA; he doesn't use slides, but his energy, speaking style, and diversity of content made class very engrossing. I never felt bored or distracted during lecture. His passion and depth of knowledge for the subject matter was clear in every class, and I always feel I learn better when an instructor's care is so evident. The course covers several centuries of Hindu-Muslim relations, from the pre-modern period, through the colonial era, through present-day. Though I'm not a History major, I felt grounded in the material, and I particularly appreciated how the professor connected historical events to India's current political climate. This course feels very relevant and important to understanding the rise of Hindu nationalism in India today. The workload is manageable: weekly readings, 3-4 short written responses over the course of the quarter, a group project, and an 8-10 page final paper. No exams, which I appreciated. I highly recommend this course to anyone interested in Indian history!
Winter 2023 - I took HIST175C: Hindu-Muslim Interactions in Pre-modern and Modern India with Professor Lal in Winter 2023, and I had an incredible experience. Professor Lal is the most engaging lecturer I've had during my time at UCLA; he doesn't use slides, but his energy, speaking style, and diversity of content made class very engrossing. I never felt bored or distracted during lecture. His passion and depth of knowledge for the subject matter was clear in every class, and I always feel I learn better when an instructor's care is so evident. The course covers several centuries of Hindu-Muslim relations, from the pre-modern period, through the colonial era, through present-day. Though I'm not a History major, I felt grounded in the material, and I particularly appreciated how the professor connected historical events to India's current political climate. This course feels very relevant and important to understanding the rise of Hindu nationalism in India today. The workload is manageable: weekly readings, 3-4 short written responses over the course of the quarter, a group project, and an 8-10 page final paper. No exams, which I appreciated. I highly recommend this course to anyone interested in Indian history!
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2 of 5
