This class is very interesting. I payed attention every lecture, read the books cover to cover, as well as the readings. I actually learned a lot. HOWEVER. This class makes you hate learning because there is so much memorization. No slides, no recordings, you have to know everything he says. Plus, he grades harshly. So pros and cons for sure.

To start, do not take this class unless you are taking it as a prerequisite. There is no sugarcoating it: this class is difficult and it took me weeks of studying and concentration to get a B+. GO TO THE LECTURES!! It can be difficult to pay full attention because it is usually a two-hour class, notes are to be taken in a notebook only, and phones are not tolerated whatsoever. I recommend investing in a fidget toy so you don't fall asleep :). Make a friend or at least grab someone's number to get the notes because the lectures are not recorded and he does not use slides. As long as you work hard and plan ahead, a B or an A is 100% possible. Plan to take this class alongside easier classes so you have time to study!

This is the toughest GE I have ever taken, and I don't feel like I learned much. Attendance is not taken in lecture nor discussion, but lectures are not recorded. Lecture outlines and Quizlet materials help if absent. The pace of the lecture is slow, and electronic devices are not allowed. There is a ten minute break in the middle of lectures. The professor says that there are no "magic words to memorize," but all tests are 100% free response. The entire grade is made up of 3 assignments: the midterm, one essay, and the final. Midterm grades were made available late in the quarter, and the professor gives the TAs as much time as they needed to release essay grades. I did not know if I passed the class until spring break was halfway over. There are no opportunities for extra credit.

Only take this class if you have the time and energy to fully to apply yourself to the material, and you are willing to endure the rules and conditions listed above.

This class was pretty hard but if you’re a comm major you don’t have a choice. My advice is to talk to your TA as much as possible because their grading system if very weird because they can only give a certain amount of grades out on each test. So the more they know you/ give you corrections, the better you can improve. I got into comm w a B in this class so don’t be too afraid .

Oh god run away from this class if you can. Seriously you should only be taking this if you plan on being a Communication major DO NOT take it for the social analysis credit... It's a GPA killer. The format of this class is so unreasonable and practically sets up students for failure. No homework but many long readings every week. One paper of 5-7 pages about 1 of 4 provided topics, not based on course content at all, this paper was honestly my saving grace. Two exams, midterm and final, for each we are allowed either 10 pages of double sided notes or 20 pages of single sided notes, only from section content (how??? you may ask, lecture content and section content are actually different and they check in the first 30 minutes of the exam). For lecture content, you just have to memorize it all for the exam but the final is not cumulative. Professor Suman can be funny at times but his lecturing style is overall pretty boring and he doesn't post PowerPoints so you have to go to every single lecture (if you miss one just pray it's not on the exam). No electronics allowed in class so all notes have to be handwritten. I'm honestly hoping for a B.

I took this class blindly during my first quarter at UCLA as it was one of the few classes with seats left. Although Suman is a great lecturer, he is one of the hardest graders I've ever encountered. You need to answer the exam questions exactly how he verbalises it during lecture otherwise you'll get points knocked off aka write every single thing he says exactly how he says it. The class consisted of a midterm, final, and project. We had to read a 300 page reader as well as 2 books that we were tested on. It's a lot of reading and it's all common sense, but you HAVE to read everything in order to word it exactly how he wants on the exams. The final project was also SO time consuming (create a survey with 100+ participants and write an 8+ page paper on it, which involved difficult math to find averages that he does NOT clearly explain). I had to ask my friend who is well versed in Excel in order to do it. Overall, I'd say avoid this class.

This class is very interesting. I payed attention every lecture, read the books cover to cover, as well as the readings. I actually learned a lot. HOWEVER. This class makes you hate learning because there is so much memorization. No slides, no recordings, you have to know everything he says. Plus, he grades harshly. So pros and cons for sure.

He’s very old-school will not work with you very stubborn terrible greater

The reviews for this class make it sound a lot worse than it really is. Yes, this class does require you to study for the midterm and final, but it's really not the end of the world. I did well on the midterm but due to external circumstances, didn't have time to study for the final. Definitely felt like the final was significantly more difficult, but studying would have made it easier. Make sure to start the readings early because there are a LOT of them.

Here's the thing, I really wanted to like Suman. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt especially after seeing how harsh some of these reviews were. But at the end of the day, the reviews were right.
Suman doesn't allow technology in class, all notes have to be hand-written. He doesn't provide slides, you simply have to listen to what he says and write it down. Lecture is fine and can be fun. There are interesting topics and Suman cracks jokes that are entertaining. 2 hours seem to pass by really quickly so that isn't an issue, but if you ever miss a class it's impossible to know what happened unless you have friends who can send you their notes.
The material itself is easy to understand, but Suman knows that so he purposefully makes the tests and essay hard. If you are thinking of taking this class as a GE, don't. If you're taking it to be a Comms major, make sure you keep up with the readings and lecture. If you don't it'll bite you back during midterm and finals season.
One example that I believe perfectly describes this class is the fact that you get notes for exams, but the notes can only be from the readings. Suman and the TA's will walk around during the exam and read every. single. person's. notes. to make sure there is no lecture material. If you do have lecture notes, they'll literally confiscate them during the test leaving you with nothing. So yeah, although the content may seem easy, the set up of the class is not.
Overall Suman is a nice guy who's lectures are interesting, but the structure/grading of the class itself sucks. So be wary, be prepared, and don't get caught using your phone during class, he'll call you out!