Loved the material of this class, but it does come with a LOT of reading.

Cleopatra -$4
The Woman Who Would be King - $10
The World Until Yesterday - $12

email for books: *************

Professor Cooney's class is a bit all over the place and unorganized, however it is easy to get a passing grade in the class. We were graded based on the midterm, section participation/attendance, final research paper (or final podcast), and a final. Your grade really depends on your section TA, I had Nadia Ben-Marzouk, she really helped by going over what professor covered and clearing up any questions. The sections focus on the lectures and after week 3 they're basically workshops for your 10-12 page final research paper- make sure you choose a topic you're interested in or else it'll just be terrible. In section, you'll be turning in some short prompts or outlines every two or three weeks that will all help you start your final paper weeks in advance rather than wait last minute. For the final, Professor Cooney will share about six essay prompts but will ultimately end up choosing two, so you know what you're final is about and can be prepared on what to mention. The class overall is alright and although she posts her slides online her commentary in class is more useful. The workload for this class is very manageable, however, as I said before, this class lacks a bit of organization so if you're a strong writer and do good on your own I recommend it.

I'm selling all 3 of the books required for this class for $20 all together, please feel free to email me and inquire:
*************

This class was one of my favorite GEs taken at UCLA. Professor Cooney is so funny and so engaging. She's just an awesome person and her enthusiasm during lectures only makes the material more interesting for us. The class itself was not too hard. There is one midterm, one final, and one research paper where you pick a topic of your choice relating to women in power throughout the ancient world. The tests itself are easy to prepare for - she gives you potential prompts and your TAs will even go through the prompts before the exams to give you points to talk about in your essays. Overall, great class, great professor and an easy GE, especially if this topic seems interesting to you.

I also have the required texts you need for the class. I'm selling all 3 books together for $35. Message me if interested! **********

ACTUAL COURSE: Ancient Near East 15 (Women in Power)
SPRING 2015

She's the most entertaining professor I've had at UCLA so far. Seriously, she's funny and engaging and explains things really well. I don't love history classes, but this one was pretty great.

I would say it's a moderate workload for a GE--not too bad. There's not a TON of reading, but it's regular and you should do it. You don't get quizzed on it though--just talk about it in section. (I had Jacob Bongers as a TA and DEFINITELY recommend him! He was great.)

The research paper wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Of course I didn't like doing it, but pick a topic you like and you should be fine. I totally procrastinated. I started the week before and wrote the actual paper in a few days, finishing it the very day it was due, but I still got an A in the class. DON'T do this though, it's hell. Start early.

Midterm and final are fine because you get the questions beforehand. Studied / outlined the day before and got an A- on the midterm (not sure what I got on the final).

Prof. Cooney is all about systems and patterns, so no memorization of minute details. Just the basics. Midterm and final is basically just spitting out as many facts and big-picture ideas as you can remember in a mostly organized way (research paper isn't like this, though).

Selling the Historical Atlas and "Woman Who Would Be King" book together for HALF off original prices, so $25 (instead of $51). Email ************* if you want to buy :)

CLASS: Arts and Architecture 100 - Selected Topics in Arts

I have so much to say about this professor, I found out recently that this class has good reviews because Cooney writes them herself! This class was unorganized and it was just a waste of money and time. It's like what are you suppose to get out this class, did not learn anything.

Class requirements : It is a doable class, and you just submit everything on canvas. Midterm: 5 page research paper, and a 10 page paper for the final.

Overall, this class is a great and straightforward Writing II + GE class to take. It was fully asynchronous for this quarter, with there being weekly lectures, readings, one page activity journals (basically writing reflections), and TA videos. It was interesting to look at the ancient world in a different perspective as well. There is only one full paper and the way planning elements of it are due make it not too stressful to complete.
Your grade is made up of the following:
Participation 20% : Watching all the videos, peer reviewing for final paper, two mandatory TA meetings
Activity Journals 20%
Mann Synthesis Assignment: basically a summary/reflection of this paper which you will constantly refer to 10%
Research Paper/Podcast 45%: You can either write a 10-12 page research paper or record a podcast for the final project. 5% Thesis/Annotated Bibliography, 10% Rough Draft, 30% Rough Draft
Final Presentation/Podcast Audio 5%: basically a verbal summary of research paper (5-7 min) or something else if you did podcast.

I took this class as a GE and was surprised to find it satisfied the diversity requirement, writing II requirement, plus the original GE (Historical Analysis). I thought the class sounded interesting and it was. It talked about women in the ancient world and how they rose to power, usually through marrying a powerful man or being a mother of a king. I enjoyed the class and recommend people to take it. It was online and I wrote a 4/5 page paper in the middle of the quarter, and then wrote a 10 page paper for the final, and both required research but were very manageable. Every week I would have to watch the lectures online and read the articles posted for us, and then answer a prompt equal to about a page of writing, sometimes with questions at the end and related analysis. I took this during the TA strike so I'm not sure how the class works normally but I still think the class is worth people's time.

Pretty easy writing 2. I suck at writing but was able to scrape by with an A. Most of your grade relies on your research paper so if you’re good at doing research it isn’t that bad. I did mine on women in Ancient Hawaii because I thought Hawaii was interesting. Really recommend doing your paper on something interesting so it’s more bearable!

This is a much easier writing II class than a lot out there, I'd recommend taking especially if you're interested in the subject as a whole. Depending on your TA, this could be very easy, especially if you ask for feedback on your activity journals. Fs my favorite summer class, would take again :)

Professor Cooney is by far my most favorite professor EVER! She is very entertaining and makes each class a joy to look forward to. She really does not have much of a structure to her class it is very flexible and fluid. She is hilarious and simplifies the information for everyone so that it is easy to remember.
There is only one midterm and final. Her tests are not necessarily hard, but it is a challenge because there is not enough time to write down everything. If you attend lecture you are golden because everything is comprehensible. I did study a lot for her tests but her encouragement helps in pushing oneself to do their best. She is helpful and easy to approach and will answer ANY questions you have. I highly recommend her, even if the class is not in your major just take it for the fun of it!