I REALLY liked this class. Prof. Makdisi is a great professor--very reasonable and intelligent, incredibly clear and articulate. His lectures were always interesting; I think the few times I saw people fall asleep were more due to the class being at 10:00 a.m. than the lectures themselves (don't fall asleep BTW--one person did once and he called them out on it). He doesn't allow laptops and his slides are mostly pictures or just a few words, so make sure to take good handwritten notes! He also doesn't allow people walking in late, so you absolutely have to come in on time.

There are 2 papers, both 5 pages, and if you improve on the second one he allows the TA to adjust your first grade. Very reasonable, doable prompts (and I think you can create your own topic as long as you get approval from your TA). No midterm, and the final is really fair as long as you study (a few term definitions, IDs, and short essays--I was really worried but it's much easier than it sounds). A few reviews here have complained about the final, saying there was no Blake even though he spent a ton of time on it, but that didn't happen with this class--he only spent one lecture on Blake, and I don't even remember it being on the final, so he must've changed it.

DEFINITELY recommend taking 10B with Prof. Makdisi, and probably any other class too. Super great teacher!

I loved Professor Makdisi! He was very easy to understand and pretty funny. He also began lecture with an introduction to the time period and different terms that were important to the period. This helped a lot with our reading and allowed for a greater understanding of the texts. He wanted his students to do well and his essay topics and final reflect that. He isn't one of those professors who tries to trick his students. He only tests on what he's taught and is very understanding. Absolutely loved him and his lectures. They were comprehensive and I was never really lost. He drilled certain themes into our heads and never went off topic. Would highly recommend him!

Professor M was pretty good, if a little dry. Lecture doesn't involve slides but all material is valid for the final, so attendance is mandatory. My experience was greatly affected by the single worst TA I've had at UCLA. Both grading and responding to emails was extremely slow. Feedback on essays was not as constructive as in other English classes.

This was one of the more interesting classes I’ve taken at UCLA. It’s essentially a study of the urban development and geography of London through a literary lens. There is an online midterm, a group project, a final paper, and an in-class final. Professor Makdisi is amazing! If you are even slightly interested in the subject, I recommend taking this class.

I took Makdisi for 119 in Winter 19 and studied abroad with him in London over Summer 19. He's an absolutely incredible professor and he's clearly so passionate about what he does. There were a wide range of readings and most were super interesting, but even the duller ones weren't too long and he always had a really interesting take on them that made me view them in a new light. He's really approachable and kind, and always helpful. Super chill as long as you stay on top of reading and are clearly putting in an effort, and he'll always go the extra mile for you. Easy class as well, with only a paper and project for 169 and a midterm, final paper, and project for 119. If you can, take any class he's teaching! You won't regret it.

If you're an English major, dreading this class after 10a- don't fret. 10b is a lot better.

Professor Makdisi gives interesting lectures, but if you haven't slept in days and may doze off, stay home because he will call you out and throw a temper tantrum (he takes it very personally)

This class, like any class at UCLA, gives your grade up to the discretion of your TA. The breakdown is as follows:
Participation 15%
Midterm: 15% (Guaranteed A pretty much- take-home/ practice for the final)
Paper #1: 20% (5 pages)
Paper #2: 20% (5 pages)
Final: 30%

IMPORTANT: HE DISCUSSES ALL TERMS/ TEXTS/ MAIN IDEAS THAT GO ON THE FINAL IN LECTURE
*definitions are pretty easy// he makes the themes very obvious but the final essay prompts will ask you to do way more than the midterm prompts will// THE TEXT IDS ALL COME FROM THE EXCERPTS HE TALKS ABOUT IN LECTURE- he does not post slides so attendance is very helpful

The final is broken down into three parts
1. Definitions: (10 questions- worth 20 points)
2. Text Identification/ contextualization - name/ author: (4 questions- worth 20 points)
3. Essay questions- about a page long: (4 options pick 3- worth 60 points)
--------For each essay, you will have to use two texts as evidence - can only use text once in all three questions

I had to take the class for my major, but I enjoyed it and recommended it, especially if you are interested in the time period.
ps. I didn't really do a single reading ever, but I knew most of what was on the final from studying quizlets for about 3 days straight- use quizlet, it absolutely saved me

Taken during COVID quarter with Prof. Jaurretche but she isn't on here yet. Originally supposed to be once weekly seminar in person and then virtual discussion sections with additional online assignments. We have a short group research paper and a 10 page term paper researching the history behind one assigned work.

I was so excited to get to take this class this quarter, and I think it was a good decision. The course itself is really interesting in terms of the history you learn and the way it incorporates the virtual experience. I love Dublin and learning more about it was great, and I liked the new "virtual" aspect of the course. Having the discussion posts was a fun way to engage and publish our opinions on her blog. The readings were also interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed our in-class discussions.

However, I think the class felt a bit disorganized. Having one day for lecture made reading entire novels a bit anticlimactic because we couldn't completely engage, but then we would alternatively just read one chapter or snippets which made it harder to feel like you got a true understanding. I think reading short stories/poems and plays were a good choice to offer a fully comprehensive study in such a short period of time. I wish we'd spent maybe two weeks (aka 2 days total) on the novels, even if it meant we couldn't read as many. DEFINITELY do the readings or you will be sooo lost. And if you're still lost, sparknotes and shmoop are your best friends. However, because of the shutdown, Prof decided to cut our once weekly seminar short bc three hours is a long time to zoom, and instead would post pre recorded intro lectures.

the readings need to be more accessible. A lot of us couldn't afford $55 for an ebook course reader with Professor's selections of certain works. Yes, you could find them on archive.org or lib gen or LAPL or online, but with different pagination or not knowing which parts were assigned. Also, many novels were assigned which made it pretty steep in total. I didn't purchase any materials, but it meant sometimes I would have to ask other students for line numbers or page images or email my TA which felt like an inconvenience for everyone, or wait on a book that wasn't coming. Especially during a completely virtual quarter, it seemed odd she wouldn't just post her scanned PDFs on CCLE rather than make us repurchase them. And beware, it's mostly male, white authors, with the only "known gay" being Oscar Wilde. I guess that's to be expected in a course on 1900s Ireland but I would have loved to explore more female authors... Or discuss Bram Stoker's love of Whitman at all. Point is, don't take this course if you're hoping for a ton of diverse rep, take it because you genuinely enjoy Irish lit and history and are fine experiencing just the established highlights in western academia.

There were weekly discussion posts and then replies, which were not hard at all. But, they kept changing the deadlines which made it a bit confusing and easy to forget, especially since each one was like this D&D level quest... First, watch the pre-lectures (5-20 min each, 1-3 per week) THEN you read the assigned piece, then you go on a google doc with new people each week and make specific replies to the TA's question by close reading. 2 comments, and one reply to someone else. THEN later on based on what you said you post a close read on CCLE and ask your peers their opinions and questions about the work. THEN at another date, you have to go on and reply to one of their posts. THEN at the very end, post a mini-essay reflection on this week's reading connecting it back to our historical textbook and/or the other assigned readings and/or a virtual trip element for exploring Dublin. THEN, later on, reply to at least one of those. It was so much to remember. Also, sometimes the virtual aspect felt a bit inconsistent closer to the end of class and made me wonder why we didn't combine her virtual blog page with some kind of in-person discussion section. We could have still had our posts each week and the group paper project online but I would have loved more TA involvement and also to have discussions that didn't feel like all of us talking at the professor about our points instead of with one another. Elizabeth is one of the most fantastic TAs I've ever had, she knows her stuff and she loves what she does. She's extremely helpful when you need it and goes out of her to ensure her students thrive. I don't think I've ever had a TA so dedicated to student engagement and making sure we feel encouraged and our efforts recognized. She's also just a super fun person to talk to and made this quarter and class so much more enjoyable! Also, the class promised we'd "virtually" explore Dublin and sometimes we did that using VR or online materials but other weeks there would just be more reading. Hopefully, in subsequent years they'll work out a more consistent immersion because that aspect seemed really cool.

Overall though, she really knows and loves the material and she inspired us to engage with it deeply! Would love to have her again!

Took during COVID. Professor did the best he could. My TA Enrique was the only reason I did well in this class. He was great. The class material is interesting and ties into bigger social/class themes. Overall I'd give the class an 8/10. The first essay was easy, but the second was tough. Midterm was easy, but Final was ROUGHHHH.

The class lectures are fascinating, but the sheer amount of reading material will leave you pretty exhausted. If you want a challenging class, this class is for you. Our TA, Arielle, was great and well-informed on the material and responded quickly to any concerns or questions.

Professor Makdisi was a super interesting lecturer. I wasn't even supposed to take his class and only through some scheduling mishaps did I end up in this course. Coming in with zero enthusiasm for the material, I learned to love this class. The readings were thought-provoking, the discussion sections with our TA (Austin) were engaging, and the midterm/final/map project were very do-able so long as you didn't wait til the last minute. I'd recommend this course!