Gelvin was a funny professor to have. I only take this class as a GE but, grew to love his personality. I wasn’t very interested in the Middle East or history in general, but Gelvin made it interesting to the best of his ability. Lectures were very slow and sometimes boring but he would try to crack jokes in the middle to make it more interesting. We had to buy his books for the class along with two other books even though I felt we barely read them. But, after the TA strike, Gelvin really cared about workload and stress so he ended up changing the final to be much easier and stopped all weekly work. Before that the weekly work was some readings from his book and a weekly critique. The critiques are hard to get a grasp of but if you have a good TA, they’ll get better overtime. I’m glad I stumbled upon this class to learn something different.

I took this class because I am Middle-Eastern and wanted to take an enjoyable class. Dr. Gelvin is a very funny professor but I stopped going to lectures a few weeks in because the content wasn't important and I used the textbook for the papers. He also does not use any slides so his lectures consist of him just talking for 50 minutes. There are weekly critiques which weren't hard but there were often readings with 20+ pages. Participation and attendance were required in discussion. The two papers and the final paper were not difficult at all but I wish the topics were more interesting. I was interested in learning more about the Middle East but there was so much information about the West and World Wars that I did not think this class matched its title. Almost all of the content about the Middle East were about the Ottoman and Persian empires and I wish the Gulf and Levant countries were focused on and not just mentioned a few times that I can count on one hand. Overall this was an easy class though and the assignments weren't hard at all.

You don't even need to watch any of the lectures. The only time I watched lectures was for essay materials. This class is relatively easy and the grading for the essays isn't strict. As long as you just answer the questions and have evidence you're fine.
In addition, this course is so weird. The lectures and discussions do NOT coincide; discussions are based on weekly articles that aren't even related to the lecture content. The articles are more contemporary issues regarding the Middle East. So if anything, just focus on discussion material for graded material.

HIST 9D was a great class, however I wish it were in-person and not asynchronous. The lectures were prerecorded and a bit dry. Professor Gelvin is very funny and insightful so I think the class would better if in-person. That being said, the in-person discussion sections were very fun! I would say 60-70% of the class identified as Middle Eastern in some capacity, so it was nice to hear perspectives of others like myself. The workload was a lot. Weekly response papers due before section (1 page on the reading for the week) and two midterm papers (5 pages each) both on books we were required to read. The first was very boring to be honest, but the second was quite short and engaging. The final was an op-ed on virtually any topic of your choosing. That was the most fun. This class is a lot of reading and information, but it is still easy to get an A given you are a decent writer and actually interested in the region. If you want to learn more about the Middle East, especially the modern Middle East, this class is a great one to fulfill your history GE requirement.

This class was a treat and I greatly enjoyed it over the quarter. As with most History and English courses, it is heavily reliant on the TA. I had Ms. Weinman, and her discussions were very helpful and she did a great job on conveying what she wanted us to understand from the readings. We had 2 papers and a short final as well, and as long as you did the work and were thoughtful in your work, you were fine. It helped that I loved the content and the books, An Imam in Paris and The Committee (especially this one), were a treat to read. Professor Gelvin in office hours was fantastic and one of the most interesting professors here at UCLA. Highly recommend taking and am sad that I cannot take this class again.

For Fall '21, the lectures were asynchronous, which was a disappointment, as we did not get to interact with Professor Gelvin much. However, his office hours were a delight every time. He is a very inspiring and knowledgeable professor. The TAs were also amazing, and really took the time to help students with the course material.

Grading this quarter per the syllabus. Assignments were not bad at all, but requires reading every week:
20% Participation in discussion sections
20% 1st Essay
20% 2nd Essay
40% Final

Overall, a very interesting class. Do yourself a favor and expand your knowledge in the Middle East with this class.

I really enjoyed Professor Gelvin's class. During the pandemic, we didn't get many opportunities to meet with him, given that this class was asynchronous. However, I highly recommend going to his office hours. Not only does he help clear things up in a concise manner, but he also cares about his students and the things they find interesting. I will have to admit that he has quite the sense of humor and sometimes it would just be good to see him during office hours. If anything, Professor Gelvin exudes an intelligent, witty, and amiable personality. I never had to overwork myself either. If you just do as you're told, this class will be fine. More than anything, I would come for Professor Gelvin!

Professor Gelvin is organized, clear, and wickedly intelligent. It's a five unit class...so there is a lot of reading and writing. Take good notes of readings and lectures because they will come in handy when the essays start rolling in. I usually put his lectures on 1.5x (sorry Gelvin, my attention span is like a carrot).

Also, please go to his office hours. He ALWAYS has something to say. He wants the best for his students and understands the circumstances we are all in, so do not hesitate to reach out to him.

I enjoyed this class. Even if you have no interest in this class, you will leave the class with at least one takeaway, or have a general idea of what is happening in the Middle East.

As a STEM major, I found the online lectures and reading to be painful but extremely interesting. This class absolutely destroyed my writing hand (I take notes by hand) but it was worth it. I came out of this class feeling very knowledgable about the middle east which, as an American, is difficult in its own right. Yes, the writing assignments were tedious (1 one-pager a week) but their frequency made writing for the two papers (5 pages each)/final op-ed (3 pages) very natural.

With regards to discussion section, make sure you do your reading! My favorite part of this class was going to section (I know this sounds like a blatant lie but I'm serious). It was challenging at times but hearing other people's interpretations/questions was like attending a mini review session every week and was extremely helpful in understanding the material.

If it weren't for the, at times ungodly, amount of work we had to do, I would easily give this class a 10/10. Nonetheless I would still recommend this class to anyone who can fit this into their schedule.

Side Note: When you read professor Gelvin's syllabus, you could easily (wrongly) assume that he is a total a**hole, but that is far from the true. He is actually an extremely knowledgable, caring, and honest professor, and I highly recommend attending his office hours.

Professor Gelvin is easily one of the best professors I've ever had. Take as many of his classes as you can. Personally I think this class was just challenging enough that it pushed me to think differently and didn't bore me, but was not so challenging that I was crying in Powell every night until 2am. If you do the work, you'll be fine. And seriously Professor Gelvin is a GEM, go to office hours as much as you can, just to hear more of his thoughts.