I want to preface this with the fact that I took this class as a GE with no prior interest in Slavic Civilizations (which I don't recommend).

Koropeckyj was honestly such an interesting professor. He was witty, very knowledgeable, and passionate about his subject. However, he taught the kind of class where he wanted you to leave knowing the content, and not necessarily for you to get an A.

You must go to every class. Attendance isn't mandatory, but he randomly calls on one person a day to share a modern news story about the country or region he is lecturing about that day (so be prepared). And you have to write every single thing he says down during the lecture. Not kidding. The tests are online on a lockdown browser, and some of the questions are about some little thing we talked about. I scored Bs and Cs and I believe those were about the averages of each test. There are 4 tests throughout the whole quarter (so no midterm or final test, though the unit tests will fall on those weeks).

There is one assignment per week, a discussion post. There is usually a 2-3 hour movie to watch or about a 150-page novel or story to read and respond to a week. The discussion posts (at least in my quarter) were graded on whether you successfully analyzed the material in response to a prompt and if you tied it to what we were learning in class.

The final includes a webinar on a Slavic civilization we did not touch on in class. You are put into groups to make this as well as a traditional dish from the region you were assigned. During finals week, it's just a potluck! (And the online test, and the webinar).

Overall, he may be one of the most interesting professors I will ever learn from. If this class is in your major, it may be one of your favorite classes you'll take! But if you're just looking for a GE, I would definitely think about how much you want to take this class because while I'm grateful I took it, I don't know if it was the best choice for me. Definitely my hardest class at UCLA so far.

If you're looking at reviews for this class, you're probably interested in Ukrainian history, so just take this class. Professor Koropeckyj is fantastic. I can see why he'd be a tough professor in a class where you have graded exams, but for a p/np fiat lux, his meticulous attention to detail and expansive knowledge only add to the experience. I came into the class decently knowledgeable on the region, and I still learned a lot and got a new perspective on the things I did know. Highly, highly recommend.

HONORS 80: I am selling (all) the required textbooks for the honors class. They are all in great condition, if not new, and at a reasonable price. Text me for more details. **********

HONORS 80: I am selling (all) the required textbooks for the honors class. They are all in great condition, if not new, and at a reasonable price. Text me for more details. **********

HONORS 80: I am selling (all) the required textbooks for the honors class. They are all in great condition, if not new, and at a reasonable price. Text me for more details. **********

HONORS 80: I am selling (all) the required textbooks for the honors class. They are all in great condition, if not new, and at a reasonable price. Text me for more details. **********

HONORS 80: I am selling (all) the required textbooks for the honors class. They are all in great condition, if not new, and at a reasonable price. Text me for more details. **********

HONORS 80: I am selling (all) the required textbooks for the honors class. They are all in great condition, if not new, and at a reasonable price. Text me for more details. **********

Get out. Now. This is ridiculously hard for a GE, and the professor is very unforgiving. My TA also graded our discussion posts publicly on the discussion board, so we could all see the comments he gave to everyone in the class. Do not recommend this unless you're sincerely interested in learning about Slavic culture.

So this class deals with 4 ethnic groups in the Balkans (Poland, Czech-Slovak, Yugoslavia, Ukraine) which is kinda interesting, but its not so easy. The worst part is that there is an unrealistic amount of reading assigned (1 little novel plus 4 articles per week) but you can still get away with not reading if you pay VERY good attention in class. you have to take notes on everything he says, even the little things that seem unimportant to you. you cant stop paying attention for even a second or else you will miss something he said that will be on the test and its hard to catch up because he speaks quickly and packs in a lotta info.

on the 4 tests you have to identify terms and names which isnt too hard because he give you a study list beforehand but you have to be pretty detailed in the descriptions. providing all the info that he said in class for a term may not be sufficient and you will not receive full credit for that question, supplementary info from readings or research (encyclopedias =) will get you full credit. so write detailed descriptions for every term on the study sheet and memorize all of them, even the unimportant ones. also you will be asked to identify the themes discussed in about 3 of the major readings per unit. its not so hard, if he discusses it in class, that's all you have to write. if he doesn't, just skim the book/article to make sure you know the jist of it and a couple of examples. final is cumulative so that's a lotta info but

overall, pretty good professor: interesting, not too dry, but lectures too packed with info

material: fairly interesting b/c he connects contemporary events with historical myths/ideas/events. a lot of info for each of the 4 units but not too hard to memorize

tip* slavic language/background not a benefit. interest in balkan countries/history very beneficial

my opinion: took it b/c i speak Russian and thought it would be an easy GE. did minimal reading, studied all night before tests, got Bs on test, received B in class. not what i expected, didnt like it, recommend it only if you are willing to work a little to get around the readings.