Professor
Jennifer Rashidi
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2025 - taking this w/ rashidi was goated. she was experimenting about the format of this class with our group, so even though things felt a bit disorganized, it all worked out in the end. i liked the content a lot, but that's probably cause i enjoy bio anthro a lot. if you don't like bio, or anthro, or reading niche things about bio anthro, don't take this lol. there were weekly articles (some were quite long and tedious) that you had to read and complete a reading form about. we each had to guide a discussion about one of the articles once in the quarter. but other than those assignments, the final was a quick in-person essay about basically anything you found interesting about the class and then a more comprehensive research essay was due later during finals week. very manageable. to put it into perspective, i was able to complete all 8 required reading forms and the final essays within 24 hours.
Spring 2025 - taking this w/ rashidi was goated. she was experimenting about the format of this class with our group, so even though things felt a bit disorganized, it all worked out in the end. i liked the content a lot, but that's probably cause i enjoy bio anthro a lot. if you don't like bio, or anthro, or reading niche things about bio anthro, don't take this lol. there were weekly articles (some were quite long and tedious) that you had to read and complete a reading form about. we each had to guide a discussion about one of the articles once in the quarter. but other than those assignments, the final was a quick in-person essay about basically anything you found interesting about the class and then a more comprehensive research essay was due later during finals week. very manageable. to put it into perspective, i was able to complete all 8 required reading forms and the final essays within 24 hours.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2025 - This was one of my first classes at UCLA since transferring from CC, and I can honestly say I loved this class and Prof. Rashidi, and I would def take one of her classes again. Paleopathology is a super interesting subject and Prof. Rashidi did a lot to make sure you succeeded. Your grade is made up of a couple HW assignments which were papers around 1-2 pages long, some assignments which were given to help set you up for your research paper, a midterm, a final, and the complete research paper. She also has a couple extra credit assignments that you can complete at pretty much any time during the year. Additionally, she makes each student bring in a cheat sheet for points. I can be pretty unorganized and forgetful and I found that this class allowed for me to miss an assignment or two without tanking my whole grade, and the cheat sheet and study guide helped so much. Definitely make sure you attend class tho, she doesn't take attendance for points but around halfway through the quarter, she starts taking attendance and if she sees you've been attending most of the classes then she will probably bump up your grade if you're inbetween grades (she bumped me from a high C to a B). She does grade the tests kinda hard, but on the midterm, she allows you to correct some answers on your exam totaling 5 points to help you out. It's definitely not a super easy class but I think all the classes here take effort. I recommended this class to all my friends because of how much Prof. Rashidi cares about your success as a student.
Fall 2025 - This was one of my first classes at UCLA since transferring from CC, and I can honestly say I loved this class and Prof. Rashidi, and I would def take one of her classes again. Paleopathology is a super interesting subject and Prof. Rashidi did a lot to make sure you succeeded. Your grade is made up of a couple HW assignments which were papers around 1-2 pages long, some assignments which were given to help set you up for your research paper, a midterm, a final, and the complete research paper. She also has a couple extra credit assignments that you can complete at pretty much any time during the year. Additionally, she makes each student bring in a cheat sheet for points. I can be pretty unorganized and forgetful and I found that this class allowed for me to miss an assignment or two without tanking my whole grade, and the cheat sheet and study guide helped so much. Definitely make sure you attend class tho, she doesn't take attendance for points but around halfway through the quarter, she starts taking attendance and if she sees you've been attending most of the classes then she will probably bump up your grade if you're inbetween grades (she bumped me from a high C to a B). She does grade the tests kinda hard, but on the midterm, she allows you to correct some answers on your exam totaling 5 points to help you out. It's definitely not a super easy class but I think all the classes here take effort. I recommended this class to all my friends because of how much Prof. Rashidi cares about your success as a student.
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2024 - Based on some of the other reviews, it seems like Dr. Rashidi has taken feedback to heart. Laptops are definitely allowed for note-taking, she posts all slides prior to class, and she now provides a study guide. In my opinion, she is very available for her students and genuinely wants you to do well. She provides a cheat sheet on both exams, as well as multiple opportunities for corrections and extra credit. She is always in her office hours and happy to speak with anyone who isn't understanding the material. I will say, this class utilizes her background in physical anthropology and you will be studying and working with bones as well as expected to learn a good deal about the skeletal system, because that is how anthropologists are able to delineate between the different groups of humans as well as nonhumans. In my opinion, that is the super cool part of this class! As with her other courses, the slides are very dense and she gets through a lot of material. The textbooks are an absolute must have as they go very far into detail on anything you might not have understood the first time around in class. Mark down what you didn't 100% get and look it up in the textbooks. Dr. Rashidi does provide all of the slides and a study guide, though, so if you follow along in class and put in the work to study, you will be fine.
Spring 2024 - Based on some of the other reviews, it seems like Dr. Rashidi has taken feedback to heart. Laptops are definitely allowed for note-taking, she posts all slides prior to class, and she now provides a study guide. In my opinion, she is very available for her students and genuinely wants you to do well. She provides a cheat sheet on both exams, as well as multiple opportunities for corrections and extra credit. She is always in her office hours and happy to speak with anyone who isn't understanding the material. I will say, this class utilizes her background in physical anthropology and you will be studying and working with bones as well as expected to learn a good deal about the skeletal system, because that is how anthropologists are able to delineate between the different groups of humans as well as nonhumans. In my opinion, that is the super cool part of this class! As with her other courses, the slides are very dense and she gets through a lot of material. The textbooks are an absolute must have as they go very far into detail on anything you might not have understood the first time around in class. Mark down what you didn't 100% get and look it up in the textbooks. Dr. Rashidi does provide all of the slides and a study guide, though, so if you follow along in class and put in the work to study, you will be fine.
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2023 - Super chill professor, midterm and final are very straight-forward. Lots of memorization required involving anatomical locations, bones, and things of that matter. My TA was extremely helpful and discussion/labs are required but are only an hour every week. I did little to no reviewing prior to exams and did ok. If I did review, I honestly could've achieved an A.
Winter 2023 - Super chill professor, midterm and final are very straight-forward. Lots of memorization required involving anatomical locations, bones, and things of that matter. My TA was extremely helpful and discussion/labs are required but are only an hour every week. I did little to no reviewing prior to exams and did ok. If I did review, I honestly could've achieved an A.
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