I am going to keep it real with all of you, there is not one person who I know that took this class and loved it. For all of my LS majors, I am still deciding whether this class is worth the extra GE credits. For other humanities majors I advise against taking this class unless you're really into learning about Islam.

I believe this class has potential but right now it is a little bit of a boring, confusing mess. The faculty involved in Global Islam are all very understanding and are really good at getting back to you. However, I found a lot of their instruction as vague. You are required to do about 3 hours of reading a week which is not fun because they are long and dense, but you have to read them and pay attention in class because you never know what will be asked on the weekly quizzes. The topic is very broad and although the professors try to centralize on the 4 "big themes", a lot of the information is random and doesn't exactly follow a pattern. Although I do like the professors as people, they somehow make the topic extremely boring. The research and writing specialists are nice, but are also not very helpful with the assignments.

The grading structure is based on 6 things. Attendance 10%, Participation 10%, Weekly Quizzes 20%, Response Paper 25%, Final Paper 20%, CoCurricular Activity 5%. The lowest quiz grade is dropped. There are 4 prompts for the response papers, you only have to do 3 of them, 500-600 words each. Final paper, 5-6 pages max, is broken down into 5 sections including related questions, articles, thesis and outline, revised thesis and outline, and final draft. I had a really difficult time figuring out what the paper needed. The directions and rubric were unclear and vague. The cocurricular is just a 2-3 hr activity you do outside of class and you have to write a 2 page response on it. The key to doing well in this class is building a good relationship with you TA, doing all the assignments, and participating in discussion. Your TA is your grader for everything so questions or details on assignments should be reviewed by them.

It is not inherently a difficult class, it is just a lot of work and it is not very fun. I do appreciate that faculty and staff are all a really nice and passionate about what they do but the structure and clarity needs a lot of work. Just prepare your friends and roommates for complaining about how much you dislike the class. I hope this helps.

Basic rundown: funny guy, cares about his students. talks the whole class - so recording lectures will probably help.
1)Midterm format: 20 questions multiple choice
-he has two midterms with 4 weeks worth of lectures in each one
2)Finals format (cumulative)
-50 multiple choice (fairly easy. 25 of them were from the midterms he gave us. you can study those very easily) and one essay. He gives you 6 prompts a week before the final and he choses two the day of your final and you write about one
HONESTLY: study with a group for the final and you will do just fine. I studied for the final for only one day and I feel like I did fine

I loved Professor Guhin. He gave super engaging lectures and really cares about his students. I put this class off until my very last quarter at UCLA because I hate theory so much, but he was such an amazing prof that I actually enjoyed the material. This class isn't easy but I had a really good TA and Guhin broke the material down really well in class and was super approachable. I wish I had more time at UCLA just so I could take more classes from him. Class had 2 midterms (each 20 multiple choice questions, not cumulative), 2 papers (1000 words for one and 2000 words for the other), and a final with 50 multiple choice (25 of the questions were repeated from the midterms and 25 new ones) and one long essay (he gave us 6 possible prompts ahead of time and put two on the final and we picked one). I would definitely recommend him he's the GOAT

Felt more like a philosophy discussion. I liked the class, it gave different persepctives on life. The question itself wasn't really answered, but I don't think it is one you can answer "Do Schools Have A Civic Purpose." There is a bit of reading, a little too much for a Fiat Lux and because its a small class, to participate in debate you have to do the reading, otherwise you don't get participation points. I think if you were to use summaries of the reading you'd be fine, but it was a lot.

He's a sweet professor! His class consist of 3 papers (1 is a rough draft outline, and one is a final). The papers are revolved around the theorist you choose, which choose wisely because theory is a bit complex. I had a picky TA when it came to my papers, however, the average grades for all these papers were 85-95. Most people got Low A's in their papers for the most part. Also final consist of 2 theorist you write that he chooses randomly for you!

Professor Guhin is amazing. He is very nice and heartwarming. However, by no means was this class an easy A. The content is difficult. Theory overall is difficult so if you want a good grade, be prepared to work for it. He gives out 12 hour grace periods for every assignment except the final, so make sure to take advantage of those opportunities.

Dr. Guhin is a gem! Such a sweetheart and ALWAYS puts students first. He is very lighthearted and is interested in getting to know each of his students. The only stress of this class are the essays, which are very doable even if you fall behind. I had J as a TA and they were amazing (always clarified information, super relatable, and kind). J was very helpful when writing the essays. TAKE THIS CLASS and try to get J as your TA!

Highly recommend this class. I took it the first quarter it was offered and even completely virtual the class was super engaging and interesting. Since it's a cluster you spend a year focusing on Islam from a variety of different perspectives from some of the most knowledgeable and amazing professors on campus, and I have to say it has definitely changed the way I think about the social sciences. As a STEM major, like many others I took this class because it satisfied a lot of my GEs, but I got way more out of this class than that.
To start with, the papers that I've written in this class have been some of the most interesting and unexpected, and I've been able to learn analytical skills both within and outside the social sciences that I don't think I would've learned outside this cluster and that I'll probably continue to apply beyond this class. The professors are so approachable and are always willing to help with research for your papers or your understanding of a topic.
The third quarter of the cluster is also organized into small seminars where you delve into a subtopic with a small group of students and a TA (there are multiple seminars, each on a different topic, which you can chose from). I've had some of the most interesting discussions there and the small class size (it was about 10ish people) made the class way more engaging than your typical GEs. There was also a lot of focus on connections with present day issues, which also made the seminar an awesome opportunity to become more informed and aware of how the subject (and the social sciences more broadly) intersects with contemporary environmentalism, politics, science, etc., and learn things I can take with me beyond this class.
There is a bit of work and reading that comes with the class, but if you stick with it it will be worth it, and you'll be proud of the diversity of what you've learned and of the work that you've produced. It's not the easiest class you'll find, but in a way the challenge made it worth it :D

The professor clearly has a good sense of humor and brought an energetic presence to the classroom. At times, the lectures were engaging, and it was evident that he’s passionate about the subject matter. His personality made the class feel approachable at first, and there were moments where his humor helped lighten the mood. However, despite those positives, the course structure left a lot to be desired. Instructions for assignments and quizzes were often unclear, and the grading system was difficult to follow. I spent hours each week trying to keep up and do my best, but I often felt unsure of what was expected. Grades were not communicated until the end of the quarter, which made it hard to track progress or know where I stood. When I reached out with questions, I was hoping for guidance — instead, I received a response that felt dismissive and sarcastic, which really undermined the time and effort I had put into the course. It was disappointing, especially after working so hard. I think this class could be a great experience with more organization, clearer expectations, and more supportive communication. The professor has the potential to be an excellent educator, but it might help to step back, regroup, and find a healthier balance — both for himself and for his students.

Overall, Professor Guhin is a nice person, but he is not a good lecturer. He was constantly very unorganized and the lectures felt very rushed. He was not good at explaining concepts and theories, and instead relied upon taking quotes from the readings and dissecting them. This was not an effective way for me to learn the material and I know others struggled with it as well. However, with a lot of studying and hard work, you can certainly get an A. The class is structured with weekly quizzes, no midterm, and a final exam. The quizzes were mostly easy as they are based on the lectures and readings and the questions are not meant to be hard. The final consists of multiple choice, matching, and written response. The multiple choice and matching were easy but the written response was very hard and required a lot of studying and preparation.