Take this class!!
I am a STEM kid and I still LOVED this class. I took this class as a GE, and I completely recommend it. The content in this class is so different, and I learned so much. We talked a lot about heroes and fairy tales and monsters. It felt really manageable as long as I kept up with work. The teacher is passionate and patient.
Workload: Super manageable. There are readings due each class, but they are never over 30 pages and are very easy to read. Once we literally just read fun Nordic fairy tales.
Attendance & Participation: There are reading quizzes for attendance in each class that are SO easy if you just do the reading. You can miss 4 classes. For participation, you can participate live or do 10 reading responses that are 300 words and require you to respond to classmates. These are so quick once you're in the habit.
Tests: Our two midterms were online and open note. They were not too challenging as long as you go to the lectures and do the homework. There was a take-home final essay that was 1400 words.

Though I don't think this class was super easy, I really enjoyed it and I really like Professor KB. I think being interested in the material makes the class easier, so don't take this class if you have zero interest in fairytales/stories/reading. I actually learned a lot from this class and found KB's lectures informative. For the midterms, I recommend going through her slides and making flashcards about any information you could make a question out of. Also, it's much easier to raise your hand and get participation points in class rather than writing a writing response online. Finished with an A.

Course itself was not very interesting. I did not find Ball's lectures engaging. Her homework load is pretty manageable - just readings before class, usually they were not very long although there were a couple toughies. Daily quizzes are very easy if you do the reading. You need to speak in class a total of 10 times to get full participation points, and if you don't manage that then you make up by writing 350 word responses to a night's reading - one of these is equivalent to speaking once in class. MIDTERMS: 60 fill-in-the-blank questions and a response to a prompt in 50 minutes. Definitely not easy, but if you have a good memory and just go over the slideshows a day or two before (which is what I did), the FITB's are usually pretty straightforward and you should be able to do one every 30 seconds (leaving 20 mins for the response, which can be in bullet points if you like). Manageable if you can remember stories and class presentations well, and if you are ok with fast paced tests. Overall though, I wouldn't recommend this class. Take SCAND 50 with Patrick Wen instead.

Do not take this class unless you love reading. The homework for every class consisted of reading a couple stories and so much happens in each one that it's impossible to remember by the midterm. Sure, the in person clicker questions are easy if you've done the homework, HOWEVER, the questions that are asked in the midterm and final are just crazy difficult. Just imagine trying to memorize the plots, characters, settings, languages, meanings, and symbolisms behind 30-40 different stories that are not even in ENGLISH. truly regret taking this class.

Lectures: Professor Ball was a good and engaging lecturer. Sometimes, she would go a little fast, but because she records her lectures and posts the slides, it's not too bad. However, sometimes she forgets to record or there is an issue with the recording. Still, she mostly tests on concepts written down on her slides, so it's not too important if she misses a recording.
Tech: She doesn't allow technology (phones, iPads, etc), so you have to take handwritten notes. You also have to buy or rent a Clicker from the UCLA store. However, this is the only thing you need to buy because all of the texts are available online for free.
Quizzes: She gives an in class quiz every class that's answered through the Clicker. It's usually one question per class, and the questions are pretty easy-- as long as you did the readings, you'll be fine. You're also allowed to miss a few questions. The quizzes are mainly for attendance and to make sure you're doing the readings. If you get the question wrong, you don't get points for it though.
Participation: You need to participate 10 times for the quarter. You can talk during class or write a 350 word reading response. The reading response isn't graded on content, so as long as you write something original about the readings that's 350 words, you'll get the participation points.
Homework: The only homework are the readings and reading responses if you want participation points. The readings aren't that long usually, but they can be confusing sometimes. But, she goes over the readings in class, and you aren't required to understand everything about a text. I took notes on the readings, but they weren't that useful, so I don't think it's necessary.
Tests: The tests were 60 fill in the blank and 1 essay response in 50 minutes. There were 3 essay prompts, and you could pick the one you wanted to write about. She grades on content, not format, so you can write bullet points and don't have to write complete sentences. The prompts are all related to discussions we've had in class. She doesn't give feedback on the essay, so if you want to know why she gave you that grade or on how to get a better grade next exam, you'll have to visit her during office hours. The fill in the blank comes from the slides, so as long as you study the slides, relisten to the lectures, and take good lecture notes, you should be fine. Some of the fill in the blanks were easy (like character names), but some were more obscure (like filling in the blanks of quotes). But, they all came from the slides, and texts that weren't analyzed/ portions of the text that weren't analyzed in class weren't tested. The fill in the blank is rote memorization, so studying early/ not cramming is important.
Final: The final was a take home essay. There's no rubric (and again no feedback), but there are in depth instructions, and you can always ask her for clarification. If you did well on the essay portion of the exams, you should be fine.
Extra Credit: She gave 5 points extra credit for filling out the class evaluation.
Overall, I would take a class with Professor Ball again. She was a fair professor and a good lecturer.

KB is a great professor, and this is a super interesting course (as are most SCAND classes), but note that you will have to put effort into this class to get an A. This is the third class I've taken with her. Her exams are always 40 questions multiple choice, one free response, and one textual analysis. During COVID, each part is 10% of your total grade, making each exam 30% of your total grade. So essentially, your final grade relies solely on the exams and final paper.

This class is not intimidating or hard if you know how to take KB's exams. (And assuming you actually do the reading assignments.)

The multiple choice questions are all based on the lectures. She won't put something on there that wasn't talked about in class. The way I studied was re-watching all the lectures on 1.5x speed starting maybe 4-5 days before the exam, taking notes on the PowerPoint slides/what was discussed in class.

Speed is the name of the game for these exams. I recommend knowing the PowerPoints very well, as you will want to get done with the multiple choice portion ASAP. I usually would finish in <10 minutes--you just have to know your stuff, that way you have more time for the free response and textual analysis portion.

For the two written responses, you really just have to analyze the crap out of whatever is given. If it's a reasonable analysis, you will get points. Avoid plot summary and repetition. If you know your stuff her exams are extremely easy. You also are allowed to write in bullet point format which I suggest you do to save time. If you have time left over at the end of the exam, you probably aren't thinking hard enough. Analyze until time runs out. Think of something.

Overall, KB gives you all the tools you need to succeed in this class and all her other classes. Pay attention in lecture and heavily review the PowerPoints and you will be fine. We are always analyzing the material in class, so applying that to the exam should not be hard. Almost always, the written questions are about something we significantly talked about in class, so it's really just a matter of remembering that and maybe adding your own input/additional analysis.

I took this class during the pandemic.
I mean it's pretty easy? It's definitely not a walk in the park, but you're not going to spend 4 hours every week just studying.
You get assigned readings that you have to read online before class that day. It's roughly like two days to do the reading. Some reading took me 1 1/2 hrs. Some readings took me 10 minutes. The course material itself is actually pretty interesting. I'd say like 4/5 readings were actually interesting.
You get participating by either speaking during class (even if you don't have the "right" answer, professor ball always tries to point out the correct things in your interpretation). You could also get your participation points by writing a reflection before class starts. You do quizzes everyday which is why you should attend lecture; the actual quizzes themselves were easy if you read the assignment.
Her lectures weren't the most entertaining. She just read off the slides and added her own ideas. In total. 25 minutes were spent on lecture, and 25 were spent on particpation and quizz.
Now, she had two midterms, and a final. This is where you get all of your points, really.
The course generally has a laid back and easy tone to it, but the tests weren't as easy. There were fill in the blanks about random historical facts she covered for about 1 minute. And honestly, these are Scandinavian names. You're not going to remember Brynhild or Vainamonin when the time comes to recall them. You're just going to think, "Yeah its that one old dude who sang... what was his name?? What reading was he in??" To be fair, you are allowed to use all class materials during the exams, but you don't have all time to be searching through every powerpoint. Also, there's a short answer response, and an short essay in every exam. You get like an hour to do all these three things.
I got a B in all of my exams and I did everything else 100% and still got a B+ so it's not EASY easy, but it's not hard either. I would still recommend this class. While the lectures weren't super interesting, the readings themselves were at times, and the class itself wasn't hard on a day to day basis. 7.9/10

Professor is great. Nice, reasonable, and good at teaching. Material is interesting as well. However, if you're looking for an easy A class this is not it. Class is actually quite hard, exams are graded harshly.

Good, straightforward class. Selling The Kalevala and The Poetic Edda, if interested text me at **********

I absolutely loved this class and the professor. Professor Ball was excellent at explaining the material, and her class was always enjoyable. All the books and stories we read were interesting, and most were available online for free. For the class, attendance is required and checked with clicker quizzes that are very simple, but tied to the reading. I very much enjoyed how the participation was divvied up, allowing students to post on the discussion forum or speak in class. This was one of my absolute favorite classes, and Professor Ball remains one of my favorite professors.