I took this class two quarters ago and I miss it. He was a great professor overall & very inspiring & easy to talk to. Go to his office hours, he is very passionate about his job and helping his students! Class was very interesting, loved it! He brings special guests sometimes, we got to talk to Dolores Huerta!
Took him fall quarter for CHST1A and I loved the class so much. He is very passionate about what he teaches and sometimes gets emotional during class about certain topics which makes the class feel special and inspirational. There are readings and some are long but they are very interesting.
Professor Ralph is a very honest, down-to-earth professor who takes the time out of his day to connect with each one of his students. I took Chicano Studies 1A over the summer and it while it was a bit reading-heavy, the assignments and "exams" had clear expectations. He also provides amazing feedback.
Very personal and emotional setting. Engaging with the class regards of how large it is, went around with a mic handing it to students who were interested in sharing. Easy to engage with after or during class. There is a lot of reading (I believe at least two books and some articles). Lectures are sometimes just movies.
Prof. Armbruster was very nice and VERY passionate about what he teaches. However, the TA you get determines everything. I got a terrible, over the top TA who dropped my grade from an A to a C+ just from the final alone. Never got my final back, so I have no idea why she gave me such a low grade. Easy class, as long as you get an easy going TA.
This class was so interesting and included awareness of important topics such as immigration, politics, the wars in Gaza, Lgbtq+, and women. I felt inspired and left this class feeling more educated. The professor is amazing and really tries to connect with his students on a deeper level.
Great topics and lectures. Readings weren't difficult but could be long, definitely do them if you want to pass they'll likely be on the midterm or final. Professor was very genuine and cared for this topic which made lectures super interesting. He'd get emotional which was slightly awkward, but showed his passion and would definitely retake.
Very passionate about what he does, great lectures except the class is VERY centered around his perspectives/opinions even if he does acknowledge others at times. Inspirational at times but loves to talk about himself...Lots of reading, suggest you do all of it. Just go to lectures and you'll be mostly prepared for the two exams and the one paper.
Definitely one of my most favorite professors. He's very passionate about what he teaches (gets emotional pretty often) and works diligently to engage with all his students. Heavy topics so don't take if you're not interested in actually learning and doing work outside of class. There's no graded homework but said material can be put on the exams.
Vastly knowledgable on CHST, making Ralph a great prof- speaks from his huge heart. Covers harsh realities, goes above & beyond by including the similar experiences of other marginalized groups & how they are all intertwined + why u should care. Life changing. If u can shrug off the mistreatment of other humans and want easy A: THIS IS NOT FOR YOU.
Professor Armbruster's Chicano Studies 1A is one of the best classes I've ever taken. He is so passionate about what he teaches and his lectures as well as guest speakers have been so powerful. I am an engineering student so this class was so eye opening--I even spoke to my family about his lecture.
He is just the most kind, caring, inspirational professor I have ever had. We as a class, including him, cried atleast once each week because of the beauitful, sad, and inspriring stories we delved into. It's hard for me to open up about my feelings but with him it's so easy because he's so caring and I recommend everyone visit his office hours.
very down to earth
Professor Armbruster is very well spoken and educated on what he teaches; it proves in his manner to lecture. Lots of reading to do if you want to do well on the assignments. Subjects he teaches are tough topics—bring a tissue.
The most wholesome person on the planet, love this king so much. 100% recommend!
Most wholesome person on the planet, love this king so much.
Too much work for a GE tbh not worth. Def better ones out there if you want something lighter. So if you're scrolling through rate my professor finding an easy class that you don't have to pay attention to, this isn't the one. I recommend intro to Caribbean studies.
Professor Ralph is my favorite professor that I have had at UCSB so far, he is a very inspiring person and deeply cares for the students and the future. I would recommend 100% he changed the way I have looked at life
I found this course to be highly enjoyable and enlightening, allowing me to connect with my past in ways I had not thought about. Despite encountering some narrow-minded reviews, I would highly recommend this class as a GE or for a Soc major.
Taking Professor Ralph's fall 2023 class was transformative. He's passionate, brought in authors, and deeply cares about students. The final paper, focusing on a significant life moment, was tough but doable. Highly recommend his class for an enriching experience. If you don't appreciate emotion and passion then don't take it.
Incredible class! He's very passionate. I went to a few of his office hours, and you can tell he loves what he does. I didn't think the class was boring at all, but we did have alot of readings. We had 2 guest speakers present after reading and/or watching their work, and we had time to speak to them after class. Truly the best class I've taken!!
The professor is a very passionate guy (cried in multiple lectures) and definitely knows his stuff, but I didn't love him as a prof. Would only briefly mention terms that we needed to be prepared to write a paragraph on for the midterm/final. Homework is movies and readings, not too bad. Midterm and final are essay questions. Overall easy A.
Ralph is such a passionate professor who wants to interact with students. I can see why you might find this class boring if you don't have a genuine interest in chicano studies but I think a lot of people on here exaggerate it. You study a lot more than what's on the test. If you're able to make connections between different concepts you're set.
One of the most, if not most caring professors at UCSB. I took this class as a GE but found myself thoroughly invested in the topics and discussions. Grading scale was 15% Section Attendance, 25% Midterm, 30% Final, 30% Paper when I took it and it was easy to score high on these as long as you followed along with the main topics of discussion.
