Professor
Stephen Tobin
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2025 - MEXICAN CLIMATE FICTION I was not initially very interested in this topic because I thought it would be too niche or too humanities-based for my liking. I was wrong. This has been my favorite undergraduate class by far. Professor Tobin is clearly passionate about what he teaches. The course is designed masterfully, and I was not once bored of the content we were working with. He knows how to get students involved, even when they might be shy or apprehensive to participate. He pulls many themes together by expertly curating a series of texts, films, and even podcasts. He is without a doubt the best professor I've encountered at UCLA. There are a myriad of interesting themes (Anthropocene, Capitalocene, Guilt and Responsibility, Gender Roles, Robots, AI, Biotechnology, Deep Ecology, Solarpunk, Hyperobjects) and opportunities to explore them in both creative writing and research projects. He is without a doubt the best professor I've encountered at UCLA. This class will change the way you think about not just climate change, but humanity as a whole. I urge you to take this class if you at all have the opportunity to. Class is taught in Spanish, and students are expected to speak and write in Spanish. Grading is based off of weekly blog posts (written with a partner), self-graded participation, one oral presentation, two short essays (one of which can be a creative writing piece or a research paper, the second being strictly a research paper) and a creative final assignment.
Fall 2025 - MEXICAN CLIMATE FICTION I was not initially very interested in this topic because I thought it would be too niche or too humanities-based for my liking. I was wrong. This has been my favorite undergraduate class by far. Professor Tobin is clearly passionate about what he teaches. The course is designed masterfully, and I was not once bored of the content we were working with. He knows how to get students involved, even when they might be shy or apprehensive to participate. He pulls many themes together by expertly curating a series of texts, films, and even podcasts. He is without a doubt the best professor I've encountered at UCLA. There are a myriad of interesting themes (Anthropocene, Capitalocene, Guilt and Responsibility, Gender Roles, Robots, AI, Biotechnology, Deep Ecology, Solarpunk, Hyperobjects) and opportunities to explore them in both creative writing and research projects. He is without a doubt the best professor I've encountered at UCLA. This class will change the way you think about not just climate change, but humanity as a whole. I urge you to take this class if you at all have the opportunity to. Class is taught in Spanish, and students are expected to speak and write in Spanish. Grading is based off of weekly blog posts (written with a partner), self-graded participation, one oral presentation, two short essays (one of which can be a creative writing piece or a research paper, the second being strictly a research paper) and a creative final assignment.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2019 - Everything that we were assigned as homework was relevant to the course and the content we were learning. I think critically about everything I watch now outside of this class, because of all that I have learned in this course. We have weekly assignments in the form of watching films, reading before classes (providing context for discussions), and reflections on the films and the readings. I am very grateful for this professor having required weekly reflections because we essentially had 10 weeks of practice for the final essay. I can not emphasize how many times I have felt lost in a course over what the Professor was looking for in a final paper because it was the first or one of the few that we were completing. This professor is incredibly organized, engaging, always prepared for lectures (I am impressed with the amount of effort he puts into his presentations) and you truly learn so much. This professor has been an integral part of my success, my learning, and the value that I have received from my undergraduate education.
Fall 2019 - Everything that we were assigned as homework was relevant to the course and the content we were learning. I think critically about everything I watch now outside of this class, because of all that I have learned in this course. We have weekly assignments in the form of watching films, reading before classes (providing context for discussions), and reflections on the films and the readings. I am very grateful for this professor having required weekly reflections because we essentially had 10 weeks of practice for the final essay. I can not emphasize how many times I have felt lost in a course over what the Professor was looking for in a final paper because it was the first or one of the few that we were completing. This professor is incredibly organized, engaging, always prepared for lectures (I am impressed with the amount of effort he puts into his presentations) and you truly learn so much. This professor has been an integral part of my success, my learning, and the value that I have received from my undergraduate education.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2021 - Steven Tobin is a professor who takes teaching incredibly seriously and has earned my utmost respect. The course was engaging and interesting on every level. I felt challenged while at the same time encouraged regarding my learning. Tobin comes to class every day extremely well prepared and eager to engage with both the course materials and students. The course allowed me to experience an entire genre of film before which I had almost no prior experience with, and in the process, I came to really appreciate said genre. The course really had no issues to report, and I think more instructors should take inspiration from Tobin.
Fall 2021 - Steven Tobin is a professor who takes teaching incredibly seriously and has earned my utmost respect. The course was engaging and interesting on every level. I felt challenged while at the same time encouraged regarding my learning. Tobin comes to class every day extremely well prepared and eager to engage with both the course materials and students. The course allowed me to experience an entire genre of film before which I had almost no prior experience with, and in the process, I came to really appreciate said genre. The course really had no issues to report, and I think more instructors should take inspiration from Tobin.
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2025 - This class was overall fun and interesting. It's pretty easy to do well if you listen in class and do the readings. Professor Kip is nice and cares about his students. My one complaint is it occupied significantly more time than my other Spanish classes have because you have to watch a lot of the movies outside of class as well as do weekly readings and "screening reports" which are like mini essays.
Winter 2025 - This class was overall fun and interesting. It's pretty easy to do well if you listen in class and do the readings. Professor Kip is nice and cares about his students. My one complaint is it occupied significantly more time than my other Spanish classes have because you have to watch a lot of the movies outside of class as well as do weekly readings and "screening reports" which are like mini essays.
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