First of all, besides the class, Professor Alim is a genuinely interesting and charismatic man who is obviously incredibly smart, but not in the way where professors forget that they are an expert in their field and their students are not. I recommend going to office hours or talking to him before / after class, even if it’s not course related, because he is very welcoming and listens to his students’ feedback and opinions. Anthro 4 was overall a very easy course - the two tests were online and open note, and the questions don’t try to trick you. The two essays (although paper #2 was cancelled due to strikes / protests / cancellations) were very short and to the point, and really helped you to actually understand main course ideas. His lectures are very dynamic - he uses slides, but doesn’t post recordings or the slides onto BruinLearn, so if you want to learn, you’ll actually have to go to lectures and take notes. He also expands on written slide ideas and will tell you aloud which things will be on the exams. The topics were very interesting and made me think a lot about my own role as a speaker in social settings, so this course is something I will take with me for the rest of my life. I would seriously recommend this class, it was probably the least stressful class I’ve taken so far at UCLA, the Professor is amazing, and the content actually matters.

TAKE THIS CLASS! Anthro4, especially with Professor Alim, has been one of the most interesting, thought-provoking, engaging, and easy classes I have taken thus far at UCLA. It delves into conversations about the overlap between language, race, and gender, and opens conversations about how these dynamics play out in Hip Hop, rap, and even politics. Lecture attendance is pretty mandatory, as slides are not posted after lecture nor are they recorded... but that being said, going to lecture is really fun! Professor Alim is funny and informative -- and he tells you exactly what is going to be on the midterm and final exams (which he calls "celebrations of knowledge"). These exams are online and multiple-choice, and if you go to lecture and understand the topics covered, you will have no issue getting an AMAZING grade. There are also 2 essays in this course which require some quotes from the assigned readings. These weekly readings are pretty heavy - I did all of the readings, but some of my classmates never did them and got by just fine. There are also weekly assignments called 321s, in which you write 3 things you learned from the readings, 2 discussion questions, and 1 critique of the readings. Super awesome! I loved this class and could not recommend it enough.

Overall, I really enjoyed this class and found it really enriching. Professor Alim is a great professor but also a great person. He was always helpful and passionate, and genuinely cares for his students' success. After class or during office hours he was always available if anyone ever had a question or just wanted to chat. He was also really adamant about getting students who were on the waitlist into his class.

The class is structured so that there is your first “celebration of knowledge” (midterm), midterm paper, second “celebration”, and final paper. The papers were both very manageable, and Alim and the TAs covered all the material that was on the “celebrations”. He makes it a point during class to specifically point out important content that will be tested. Based on the title of the course alone which is “Culture and Communication” I initially thought that the course would be a more communications-centered class. However, the course explores a lot of diverse and interesting topics, especially pertaining to race and marginalized groups as they relate to communication. Although some of the readings were a little dense and confusing, the professor and TAs are really helpful at clarifying concepts. I took this class for my major, but this is a great course as an easy GE where you also gain knowledge about a really interesting subject. SIDENOTE do NOT purchase the textbook. The professor provides a pdf of the online version, and the UCLA store currently will NOT buy the textbook back.

Professor Alim was an amazing professor to start the year off with. His lectures were interactive and he always had something knew for us to learn. We watched a movie in class and a Netflix Original where the producers came and answered all of our questions. The tests are multiple choice online and there were two essays that were due. Apart from that my TA was great, he was super well spoken and made everything clear. I will say there are a lot of readings and vocab to learn which is important to study. Professor Alim loves to interact with his students which made the lecture feel like a discussion. Overall, I recommend this class for anyone looking for a good starter class at UCLA.

Professor Alim was an amazing professor to start the year off with. His lectures were interactive and he always had something knew for us to learn. We watched a movie in class and a Netflix Original where the producers came and answered all of our questions. The tests are multiple choice online and there were two essays that were due. Apart from that my TA was great, he was super well spoken and made everything clear. I will say there are a lot of readings and vocab to learn which is important to study. Professor Alim loves to interact with his students which made the lecture feel like a discussion. Overall, I recommend this class for anyone looking for a good starter class at UCLA.

This was the best intro survey course I've ever taken at UCLA. Professor Alim is clearly dedicated to his students' success. He explains concepts clearly, introduces multimedia content into lecture, and provides review guides for each and every exam. His office hours are extremely helpful, and the TAs also review lecture in section so be sure to attend if you are confused. The weekly readings are often dense.

For the class breakdown: Section attendance is 20%, there are 2 short papers worth 10% each, and each exam is worth 30% (midterm and final). Professor Alim refers to his exams as "celebrations of knowledge" and does his best to alleviate any stress over these exams. Exams are multiple choice and straightforward so a brief review of lecture will review if you've attended every class. If I were looking for an interesting GE to take, I'd choose this one!

This class is a 100% take again! This was my favorite class this quarter. I will say there was a lot of reading involved this quarter so if you don't like to read... lols. But Alim's slides were very helpful and got the overall concepts of the reading. He goes pretty fast during lecture so make sure to have your phone out ready to take pictures. The weekly homework was simple as well, just a summary of the week's reading. The TA Erick, Matus was hands down the best TA! He seems to really care about everyone passing with an A and is so laid back. His discussions were nice to sit through especially when he played videos relating to the concepts we were learning. The midterm and final were take home also! Honestly if you just do the readings and go to lecture this class is an EASY A! 1000% recommend!!

TAKE THIS CLASS! Super interesting and easy GE. Professor Alim is awesome! He is super engaging and clearly wants his students to do well. The course is broken down into attendance to the discussions, weekly discussion posts, 2 short papers, a midterm, and a final. Attendance to the discussions is super easy and free points that make up 10% of your grade. All you have to do is go! My TA was Brienna Johnson-Morris and she was amazing. The weekly discussion posts are also super easy and make up another 10% of your grade. They are called 3-2-1s and only take like 15 minutes but you might have to do some of the reading to complete them. The two short papers each make up 10% of your grade, so 20% in total. I would say they are the "hardest" part of this class but really not challenging at all. You are given very clear prompts and only have to write 2 pages, plus they are graded very easy (at least my TA did). Lastly, the midterm and final each make up 30% of your grade so 60% in total. They are online, multiple choice, and super easy as long as you attend lecture. Also, the final is not cumulative, just based on the content learned since the midterm. Overall, this class is very easy to succeed in as long as you just show up to lecture and discussion because Alim does not post his slides or record his lectures. Professor Alim will tell you the EXACT topics on the midterm and final at the lectures right before them. As long as you attend lectures and take notes, you really don't need to do any of the readings because Professor Alim does a great job summarizing them. I never did the readings and got 100% on both the midterm and final. Seriously take this class if you are looking for an easy GE that is also really interesting.

I found the discussions to be the most important portion in the class, as the lectures can be very long and often can be summarized in a few sentences. Definitely know specific names of certain cases and documentation to do well. However, keeping up with the class overall is not difficult and you should do fine as long as you show up to discussion each week.

TLDR: I recommend this class if you're looking for an easy social analysis GE (or just looking for an interesting class to take)

Class structure:
• Asynchronous lectures (recorded zoom lectures from like 2020) -- bulk of material, helpful in understanding the weekly zoom meetings
• Weekly readings -- imo very long, but not necessary if you watch the lectures
• Weekly zoom meetings/OHs -- should attend because Prof Alim basically gives out the answers to the exams and papers; even though he records them, he doesn't post them for some reason
• In-person discussions -- mandatory

Exams (60%):
• 1 Midterm + 1 Final (called them "celebrations of knowledge"), 30% each
• Super, super easy MCQ exams. Pay attention to his lectures, and you will be completely fine getting at least a low A on each exam. I did the readings in the beginning, but tbh you can get away with not doing them at all.

Discussion (20%):
• Participation (10%), Attendance (10%)
• Please attend your discussions because they are mandatory lol. However, they're not too bad, if not a little boring because it's basically content review. Prof Alim goes over the material already in zoom + recorded lectures
• Participation includes appearing as if you're paying attention to class, as well as weekly 1-2-3 assignments, which are basically reflection on the readings. You can probably just skim each of them and write whatever as long as it's somewhat relevant and coherent.

Papers (20%):
• 2 papers, 10% each
• 1-2 pages long, single-spaced, including citations
• It honestly depends on your TA, but all of the readings and Alim guide you toward an answer, and you can kinda ramble as long as you have a point. This is probably the hardest part of the course, but they're honestly not too bad either.
• It's worth noting that because of the TA strike this quarter, the second paper was optional, so you got extra credit if you wrote it. Normally, he doesn't give extra credit.