This class was overall a really good intro to GE here at UCLA and I would def recommend to other incoming freshmen. There is only 2 papers and a quiz every unit. I would say that the quizzes were very stupid because it was basically quoting his lectures. He said this was to counteract Chat GBT, but a lot of the students did not like this (including me) as it felt like it wasn't really testing your knowledge on the material. Overall, the professor was really nice and approachable. One thing I didn't like was that his office hours were all held on Zoom which was hella awkard. But he was cool. I feel I didn't learn anything though, but I got through it. You will know the names of random Japanese periods which is nice. I was watching the Studio Ghibli movie and it referenced an era and I was like omg! i know that! but yeah that's about it.

This is one of the most interesting and easiest GEs that I've taken at ucla. Professor Duthie is incredibly knowledgeable and understanding about student stress, especially during online learning. There were no exams, just weekly writing assignments (500-700 words). The TAs help you with what to include in the weekly assignments, and you have a chance to rewrite all of them for a better grade.

I took this class during remote learning so the structure could be different from the class in real time. All I have to say is please take this GE!! It's literally amazing. Professor Duthie is a great lecturer with good humor and clear presentation structure. He expanded the content on the textbook and I've learned so much about Japan and its history in this class. The assignments are fairly graded, and you will get a good score as long as you write them carefully and integrate the class materials. Huge shoutout to my TA Kristin for teaching us how to write effective responses!!

Professor Duthie is a great lecturer. He goes through a lot of material while being interesting, in-depth, and paced very well.

However, this quarter he used quizzes as a large portion of the grade (60%), while discussion participation (10%), a presentation (10%), and 2 essays (1 essay based on presentation, total 20%) comprised the rest of the grade.

These quizzes were initially very difficult (as evident with low averages even with 3 attempts and being allowed to use any resource at your disposal such as notes, lectures, textbook, etc.) but were given curves and later on were made much easier. As a result, I believe that the next classes should have much more reasonable quizzes and an overall much more enjoyable time. The other portions of the grade will be given as long as you make the effort to do them.

In regard to the content, it is very interesting and well-paced, and the textbook is completely not necessary to proceed with the course. Overall, a great GE and a great professor.

Professor Duthie is an excellent professor. His lectures are quite interesting and engaging. The structure of the class is very simple: 10 weekly papers/essays, 500-700 words. Moreover, Professor Duthie gives you the opportunity to resubmit all of the assignments, which helps you to do well in the class. Attending the discussion is not mandatory, but I would really encourage everyone to go, since the TA's discuss how to approach the essay prompt. Overall, a really fun class and would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to satisfy the GE requirement or is interested in learning about Japanese history and its civilization.

As an incoming freshman to UCLA, I can say that this class with Professor Duthie was both interesting and a very good introductory to GE's. He is compassionate and displays clear care for his students mental wellbeing and academic success. If you take this course, I highly recommend TA Julia Clark as she was extremely helpful in writing the papers and overall very kind!

This class was a really nice GE to take during COVID since there were no tests just an assignment once a week. I pretty much waited until after the discussion to write the paper since my TA went through the prompt and what we should write about. I would say the class took me around 2 hours a week (minus the lectures) so I would def recommend if you are looking for an easy class. The content itself was also pretty interesting and lectures were a little long but prof duthie made it go by pretty fast :)

I will say that this class is a good GE in that the only big requirement is the weekly quizzes, the final essay, and the midterm and the final. However, the tests are SO HARD so prepare for your grade to tank if you don't do well. Don't skip the classes, and if you don't do well on your essay your grade will drop a lot too. The professor is chill tho and this could be a good GE if you find Japanese civilization interesting.

This class was extremely difficult due to the nature of the tests. Look at the reviews with a grain of salt because he added quizzes and midterm + final. If you are looking for an easy GE this is NOT for you. The grading scale is harsh, the TA teaches you more. I would highly suggest not taking this class unless you would like to cram a lot of random information ex years and names. Tests were extremely difficult.

Very engaging lecturer. Doesn't always clarify the exam content beforehand, but it's fairly straightforward. There's a reading quiz every lecture (I personally found the readings pretty boring), but they drop the worst 2 if you take all of them. There's also an essay and the grading probably depends on your TA, but mine was really generous. Overall, I'd highly recommend the class---the professor is a good lecturer, and I was pretty eager to learn about the content.