I am a history major, and Professor Ford is perhaps the best teacher in the department. Some students complain that her lectures are dry and boring, but I think it comes with the subject. Ford is very professional in regards to her course, and she is available in office hours or by appointment. Most of her exam questions come from her powerpoints or from the notes she writes on the board. I would highly recommend taking any class she teaches. Received an A in both Hist 1C and Hist 124C

Professor Ford is one of my favorite professors at UCLA. I took her History of France courses, both 19th and 20th century - History 124B and 124A - and received an A- and A respectively. She dresses extremely well and has a wonderfully soft spoken voice that is extremely soothing to listen to. Her lectures are extremely interesting (especially if you're into French or European history) and she is very, very straightforward.

A little bit of advice, write down every single word she writes on the board and know its meaning. These words WILL be on the midterm and final. As for her exams, they're relatively straightforward and mainly cover what she talks about in lecture. You do not necessarily have to read the primary documents and novels she assigns, but they will give you a better understanding of her lecture. I mention this because the primary documents mentions many terms, events, and figures that will never be assigned on the midterm. For instance, one week we had to read a 20 page article on how France became one of the greatest countries in terms of fashion. I mean, seriously? The questions on the midterm and final both dealt with political aspects of France. Nothing on fashion.

Her midterms and finals are like any other upper division history class. 40% midterm (IDs and 1 essay) and 60% (IDs and 1 long essay and 2 short essays). Again, her exams are primarily based off lecture. She will mainly, if not only, use the terms she wrote on the board for her IDs and her essays are generic questions that ask to summarize everything you learned prior to the exam. i.e. "Why was the French Revolution important and how did it affect France?"

Professor Ford is the bomb. She's well-dressed (seriously), articulate and clear, doesn't waste time. There is one midterm (40%) and one final (60%)-- both were very fair, no surprises. The readings were interesting, reinforced class material, and could be used in essays during the exams. One may complain that she takes attendance, but really-- you'll want to go everyday.

Take this professor. She is a pretty easy A-/B+. Don't need to read any of the books, just need to go to lecture and take good notes. There is a paper, an in class midterm and a final which is very similar, in structure, to the in class midterm. The paper may require a little reading out of her books on the history of France, but all in all, it's pretty damn easy. For the midterm and final, take good notes, study them and make sure to know the words she writes on the marker board because she will emphasize those for the exams. Highly recommend her.

The class is very balanced and fair.

There are two essays, both no longer than 5 pages. The midterm and final are both just ID of key terms and essay questions. Not a demanding class at all. Exactly like AP Euro.

Don't buy the textbook. All the editions are the same. Just buy a loose-leaf one.

Hit me up for the loose-leaf for cheap.

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This class was a pretty easy GE. There was a midterm (30%), final (35%) and participation in discussion which included 6 responses (35%). Discussion attendance is mandatory and you do need to participate to some extent. The midterm and final were both take home essays where you had options for prompts so it was pretty easy. Lectures were asynchronous but Professor Ford talks really slow so I watched them all on 2x. I didn't read the textbook, it got to be too much work each week but since I took AP Euro, watching the lectures was enough. Overall it was a pretty easy GE, albeit boring, I had Jack as my TA and he was awesome, highly recommend him! Selling the Western Civilizations textbook (brand new unopened) for $90, contact me at *************

selling textbook in good condition
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Selling textbook for $64.
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I took this class asynchronously and if you put the time in to actually watch & take notes on all of the lectures, you are pretty much set for the rest of the course. You need to be able to take a lot of reading and writing though--if that's not your thing, I don't think you will enjoy this. That being said, as either a History course or a GE, this was not hard at all.

Absolutely loved Professor Ford's 124C course. I became a history because of the French Revolution period, so I was quite intrigued with her presentations and lectures. I personally felt her exams were fine if you studied her presentation slides, assigned readings and videos. Attendance is mandatory.