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This class is not at all what I thought it would be. A lot of the information given to us I would look up after lecture and it is just false. Kelley has radical left wing beliefs and to get a good grade in this class you just have to write about how capitalism in the root of all evil and government intervention is good and everyone is racist.

There are little facts used to back up any information in this class. There are things you are told to think and say and get punished if you disagree. The course completely disregards economic facts or quite frankly, anything that is taught in classes that actually uses evidence.

This class is the definition of a "radial left social justice-oriented course".

In terms of grading
Just go to class for clicker questions.
Midterm grade and final paper grade depend on TA. My TA was awful - gave everyone in the class a B- on the first paper (we asked around) and then increased everyones final paper grade by 10%.

There is a stupid final project at the end where each discussion provides one project - everyone gets the same grade. Quite frankly the definition of communism. Some people work hard for 2 weeks while other sit on their ass and get the same grade.

Don't bother doing reading and only do relevant readings when given paper topics.

I am the friend of the first reviewer who signed them in. I went to almost every lecture, and tried to listen to Kelley. I can confirm that this class is stupid. A lot of the history Kelley spent hours talking about, I could have Googled and learned more effectively. All arguments Kelley made in class seemed like an exercise in brainwashing young minds against the principles of capitalism.
I can also confirm that the changes in the syllabus were annoying and inconsiderate of the students' schedules. Students, who were responsible for finishing these papers at the whims of their professor.
In addition, the group project is also stupid. Assigned groups, first of all, never work. I personally had to deal with a whiny, crybaby group mate, who made my life much more difficult than it had to be.
The entire grade depends on your TA, so if you end up with a shitty TA, god only can save you.
I hated every minute in this class, because attendance is required. But guess what, my TA revealed to us in 9th week, that lecture attendance might not have any weight in the final grade. And so continues this professor's rule of lying to his students.

This class is easy. My friend signed me into the lectures, I went to discussions and didn't do the readings; I ended the course with an A-. However, the easiness of the course is offset by the lack of structure. I was always getting emails about a change in the assigned readings, or a due date being moved up because some students were complaining. By the end of the quarter, the course looked almost nothing like the course that was outlined by the syllabus during Week 1. Overall, I found this to be disrespectful of me, and my time. Take it if you want an easy A, but be prepared to change your schedule according to other people's desires.

I do agree with some of the things said in the negative reviews. I hated the group project and my TA kinda sucked so it was annoying that my grade ultimately relied on him. But overall, I think this class was interesting as hell. While it was a history class, it wasn't just a boring regurgitation of dates and legislation and it covered some important, relevant to life shit. Not to mention Professor Kelley is the man. He is knowledgable, engaging, and very personable, and I enjoyed his perspective on the content of the class.

Best class and professor I have ever had. Lectures were super interesting. I highly recommend going to Prof Kelley's office hours because he is extremely engaging and will answer any questions you may have.

This course was very eye-opening and inspiring! The materials were exceptionally interesting, and the Prof Kelley showed several films in class. The workload is heavy if you don't enjoy reading, as we had a good amount of articles to read and had to write 1-page weekly responses, but for larger assignments we only had two papers and a group project for the quarter. However, my TA was a hard grader, and I wish I could have gotten a higher score for the amount of time and work I put into this class. Maybe a different TA would make a lot of differences. Overall this class would be great if you want to learn more about Neoliberalism and the economic/political aspects of it.

One of the best classes I've ever taken! The reading is a little dense but the workload isn't too bad. There are two papers (first one was 5-7 pages, second was 4-5) that are graded by your TA and then a group project graded by Dr. Kelley. The papers aren't too difficult and he wants you to only use readings from the class, so stay on top of your readings! I just split the readings with one of my friends and we took good notes and just shared them, and I did well on the papers.

Workload aside, Dr. Kelley is passionate, engaging, and a really interesting person. I'd highly recommend taking a class with him. The subject material of this class is also really interesting and provides a unique perspective on the roots of inequality.

Taking History 12B with Kelley was honestly life-changing; I dropped accounting and decided to minor in history after taking this class. If you're interested in understanding the current political climate, I definitely recommend this class. There is a lot of reading but like another reviewer said, you can get away with skimming/skipping it if you pay attention in lecture. Most of the grading depends on the TA so make sure to communicate with your TA and find a TA, who doesn't grade too harshly.

Grade Breakdown:

20% Attendance
25% Paper 1
25% Paper 2
30% Group Project

Attendance counts for 20% and it's pretty easy to secure - you can get friends to sign in for you (although I would recommend attending class). Kelley's lectures are funny and eye opening but they can get boring at times. He assigns a lot of reading material but you can get away without doing it if you pay attention in class. You'd have to pick out 2-3 readings to do before your essay submission though, as essays are based on lecture/readings only. Overall, the material he covers is very interesting and I'd recommend it to anyone committed to understanding the current socio, economic and political order. It's an easy GE if you put in a little effort, and the knowledge you gain is definitely rewarding.