Professor Potts is great! She doesn't use that many words in her powerpoint but I think that helps her lectures be more engaging because it forces you to listen. Not everything she says is going to be on the tests but a lot of it is. She gives study guides which are just a list of key terms, but if you took good notes in lecture it's not that big of a deal to piece it together. The tests were all free-response. Your TA grades pretty much everything you turn in, so you better hope they like you. Overall, I think the class was great and very interesting and Potts is a great professor for it; I highly recommend taking her class!

Professor Potts is absolutely amazing and the most passionate professor I've had at UCLA. She confirmed my interest in adding Global Studies as my second major, and I have so much respect for her. The lectures are very organized and engaging, and you can really tell how intelligent and kind she is. I was blown away. The tests are fair because if you study, you can do well. Don't spend too much time on the short response questions because some people felt there wasn't enough time on the essay portion, but Potts compensated for that by adding extra points. The TAs care a lot and provide feedback on your papers, so the key to doing well is by running your ideas through them before writing the whole thing. Your writing should be comprehensive because this is a Global Studies class where most people are good at writing. This is a class where about half get an A/A-, but you can "easily" get an A IF you put in the work to study and write strong papers. Effort is the key, and it is more than fair considering how much Potts and the TAs care about your learning. I wished the slides had more in-depth information, but I think Potts structures it this way to encourage people to come to class and participate. Discussion is mandatory, but they were productive and allowed me to understand the material better. Potts balances empathy and logic very well; she wants to be fair but is also willing to accommodate you. Take this class with an amazing professor!

Best class at UCLA by far. Dr. Potts is engaging and lovely to work with. I learned so much from this class that stuck with me during my entire time at UCLA. You will not regret it! Be aware that her quizzes are kind of hard but the final was super easy and she lets you know what she will test on beforehand. If you are looking for a class that teaches you a lot and opens your third eye, definitely check this out.

Spotts is amazing! Her lectures are very clear. This is obviously a very general class that covers a lot of different concepts, but everything is super relevant and interesting. Tests are relatively easy and paper is also pretty simple. I would recommend recording lectures to go back and listen to everything she says because she does a really good job of summarizing the readings in lecture. Will totally take Spotts again if I have the chance! This women KNOWS.

this professor talks WAYYY too fast and speaks in a way that is so indigestable

I enjoyed this class and I think Professor Potts is a good professor. The class was a bit boring sometimes, in my opinion, because you only touch the surface of the many different topics covered in this course. The workload was manageable and not too difficult. The midterm and final were both all free response questions, but relatively easy, especially if you pay attention in class and study a little bit before the exam. The professor had very well organized notes and was an easy lecturer to listen to. I would recommend taking this class, especially for Global Studies majors.

Professor Potts is one of my favorite teachers at UCLA. She is so knowledgeable and passionate about the subject, and it shows in her lectures. She's helpful outside of class and wants her students to succeed. The class is pretty content-heavy, but if you go to lecture and section you'll learn so much and do fine. Her lectures and organized, insightful, and she's clear in her explanations. She's honestly inspired me to choose Global Studies as my minor. Don't skip on this prof, take this class!!!

Prof. Potts is a gem. I purposefully look out for her classes, I've taken multiple because she's truly passionate about her work and insanely knowledgeable. It shows in her lectures and teaching style. She is very clear and organized, although the material can be dense at some points. I leave each class feeling like I've learned a ton, and she is very helpful outside of class/in office hours if you need help. That being said, I wouldn't say this class is an easy A, but it is 100% manageable. No assignments other than a weekly quiz that's pass/fail. The grade is based on 2 exams, an 'article analysis', discussion attendance, and quizzes. Take this class, if you do the work you'll leave with an A and a bigger brain.

Undoubtedly the best course I've taken in my junior year. Professor Potts is so so knowledgable and passionate. Her lectures were consistently insightful, engaging, and challenging. Really hit every aspect of border studies and how they shape our world- any question or thought you had about borders will be covered in this class. Always had vocab words and great structure which made it easy to follow along and know what material we would be tested on. Weekly quizzes were fair (online, multiple choice, pass/fail), as were the exams (in person, handwritten, no MCQ). There's a lot of content but if you're going to lecture and section you'll be fine. Every week I left lecture feeling like I'd learned something new or gained another perspective. As someone with a general interest in borders, this class provided a strong conceptual framework and historical context that helped me better understand both the functionality of borders and the critiques against them and encouraged me to think more critically about their role in the 21st century. Take this class!!!

If you're a global studies major and you're taking the senior seminar take one with Professor Potts if possible. She really cares about her students, she made the class as easy as possible but didn't dumb down the material. She was pretty clear about things and approachable. For our class 10% of the grade was partcipation and the other 90% was weekly 1 page writing assignments on the readings which in my opinion is easier than a final paper and a group project like the other gs seminars had.