POL SCI 143C
Politics of American Suburbanization
Description: Lecture, three or four hours; discussion, one hour (when scheduled). Designed for juniors/seniors. Examination of political, social, and economic evolution of American suburbs, particularly in post-WWII era. Dominant themes focus primarily on historical patterns and implications of U.S. racial/ethnic inclusion and exclusion; class conflict and gender roles; classic and contemporary theories of metropolitan governance; and civic/political implications of American suburbanization. Select topics and case studies include housing, schools, and taxes; immigrant and ethnic minority suburbanization; suburban sprawl and uneven growth; suburban decline; and regionalism. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2024 - Professor De La Vega is a great lecturer and a very empathetic human in general. She is so passionate about her research and racial and ethnic politics, and it comes through very clearly when she is lecturing. The class was fun and interesting, as as long as you come to class you won't have to do the participation discussion boards, since she gives us a QR code (no she doesn't put it in the slides and its time stamped). A majority of our assignments were quizzes (best 3 of the 5), and preparation for our final research paper (10-15 pages). She lets us pick the topic within the context of American suburbia, so there's plenty to choose from. Overall, I really enjoyed this course and if I had the chance to take her again I would!
Winter 2024 - Professor De La Vega is a great lecturer and a very empathetic human in general. She is so passionate about her research and racial and ethnic politics, and it comes through very clearly when she is lecturing. The class was fun and interesting, as as long as you come to class you won't have to do the participation discussion boards, since she gives us a QR code (no she doesn't put it in the slides and its time stamped). A majority of our assignments were quizzes (best 3 of the 5), and preparation for our final research paper (10-15 pages). She lets us pick the topic within the context of American suburbia, so there's plenty to choose from. Overall, I really enjoyed this course and if I had the chance to take her again I would!
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2021 - Frasure is a great professor: clear, to the point, no BS filler-work, definitely cares about what she's teaching. You can't say that for the majority of UCLA's tenured political science faculty. The class consists of 2 "pop" quizzes (which are actually announced the lecture before), 2 1-page "reading critiques", a short-response midterm, and a 10-page final. They're all very straightforward. There are no tricks or questions that require you to know some strange, obscure content. I didn't expect to be interested in this class's content at all, but it proved to be very valuable background knowledge. I highly recommend this class.
Fall 2021 - Frasure is a great professor: clear, to the point, no BS filler-work, definitely cares about what she's teaching. You can't say that for the majority of UCLA's tenured political science faculty. The class consists of 2 "pop" quizzes (which are actually announced the lecture before), 2 1-page "reading critiques", a short-response midterm, and a 10-page final. They're all very straightforward. There are no tricks or questions that require you to know some strange, obscure content. I didn't expect to be interested in this class's content at all, but it proved to be very valuable background knowledge. I highly recommend this class.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2019 - Professor Yokley is one of those professors were you actually enjoy the Way she talks and conducts the class lectures. She is funny and the lectures are engaging. Even though the grade distribution for the class is super high does not mean this class is super easy. You have 3 quizzes that you don't have study guides for which was probably my least favorite aspect of the class. Its not that the quizzes were extremely hard, rather not knowing what to study for can be a bit difficult but to be fair Professor Yokley hints majority of the questions therefore it is not impossible to get a high grade. In addition your lowest quiz grade gets dropped. You have a midterm in addition to the quizzes two short one page reflection papers ( again she gives 3 but one is dropped) and one 10-12 page paper. The class involves a lot of work and since there is limited time something is assigned nearly every week but don't be discouraged by the information I am providing, the class is honestly doable. Just communicate with the professor as much as you can but be sure to establish some form of relationship with your TA so you can be guided of what you are doing wrong or right. Minus the fact that this class doesn't have study guides it is an amazing course and Professor Yokley is pretty amazing herself.
Fall 2019 - Professor Yokley is one of those professors were you actually enjoy the Way she talks and conducts the class lectures. She is funny and the lectures are engaging. Even though the grade distribution for the class is super high does not mean this class is super easy. You have 3 quizzes that you don't have study guides for which was probably my least favorite aspect of the class. Its not that the quizzes were extremely hard, rather not knowing what to study for can be a bit difficult but to be fair Professor Yokley hints majority of the questions therefore it is not impossible to get a high grade. In addition your lowest quiz grade gets dropped. You have a midterm in addition to the quizzes two short one page reflection papers ( again she gives 3 but one is dropped) and one 10-12 page paper. The class involves a lot of work and since there is limited time something is assigned nearly every week but don't be discouraged by the information I am providing, the class is honestly doable. Just communicate with the professor as much as you can but be sure to establish some form of relationship with your TA so you can be guided of what you are doing wrong or right. Minus the fact that this class doesn't have study guides it is an amazing course and Professor Yokley is pretty amazing herself.