God I should have listened when I was told as an English major to skip this professor. I scored a 90 on the midterm without ever going to lecture (they're truly useless, I've gone to two all quarter). That said, the test format is truly ridiculous. Someone said it before, I'll say it again, fill in the blank ID is not the point of an English class!
For this class there are almost no grading criteria, and some of the deadlines lack a clear date. We were assigned his own book, and it did not relate with the curriculum thus far.
Took this class for a GE and was far better than I expected. Reading is a max. of 10 pgs prior to every class. Majority of tests consists of info off the syllabus such as author names and titles of poems, and the memorization is usually just a single key word that he has emphasized in lecture. Midterm, final, and one 5-7 pg paper. Highly recommend.
Took this class for a GE and was far better than I expected. Reading is a max. of 10 pgs prior to every class. Majority of tests consists of info off the syllabus such as author names and titles of poems, and the memorization is usually just a single key word that he has emphasized in lecture. Midterm, final, and one 5-7 pg paper. Highly recommend
This is by far the worst English class that I have taken at UCSB. He spends most of lectures stating his political opinions and giving stories about his personal life. He does not produce developed insight about the poetry and short stories read for class. He encourages participation, but challenges and mocks everyone that volunteers.
Worst class ever. The lectures were fine but pretty dull but the tests are RIDICULOUS. He will select two lines of poetry out of the hundreds of pages of poetry you read for this class and take out two words and expect you to remember exactly what they were, the author, and the title. Rote memorization is not the point of an English class!
His tests are fill-in-the-blank and a short essay. Very easy if you do the readings and attend lectures. He is very passionate about his subject and very funny. Very helpful during office hours. Two essays and he makes it very clear that they can be about anything related to the readings (no essay topics), so be ready to get creative. Great class.
I really enjoyed this class. It's about poetry, and his lectures seem very confusing at first. Just know the tests are super easy.
Awesome teacher. Tests are incredibly easy if you do at least some sort of skimmingspark notes of the texts. Go to class because anything he talks about could be on the tests. He is hilarious anyways so you won't get bored. lectures were sometimes hard to follow but if you generally pay attention you will be fine. Wish I could have him again.
BEST PROFESSOR EVER!!!
If you are looking for a GE requirement and an easy A, take this class. If you are an English major- avoid! Prof Huang spent an entire lecture reading from his memoir, and riddles most of his lectures with stories of his childhood in China... interesting but completely unrelated to an American Lit class. I would never take another class with him.
Professor Huang is awesome! If you go to class and pay attention you’re basically guaranteed a B or better. Everything is fair and he is funny and an interesting lecturer. He doesn’t care about cussing and he’s super laid-back. He even shows movie clips some days. I would definitely take a class with him again.
Great Instructor! Very funny and entertaining. Made the material interesting and easy to learn.
Great teacher! Very funny. Lectures were pretty interesting, played films and clips. Should have been more clear on what he wanted on the essays though. Doesn't give a prompt or anything. Midterm and final were fair as long as you read and go to class.
Meh. Professor Huang is alright. His lectures aren't very filling and and are riddled with odd ideas and concepts that don't seem relevant to the material. Midterm was fair, mainly id's, and one 5-7 page paper and final. If you're an English major there are far more stimulating professors to learn from!
Pros: funny, relaxed, interesting. Cons: doesn't use secondary sources (we complain about extra reading but it's helpful when papers come around), obnoxiously brings his political views into lectures ALL THE TIME, uses profanity freely (cool at first, annoying later). Though a 20th c. American lit class, assigned only poetry. Fine but not the best.
One of the easiest classes I've taken at UCSB. The reading is easy and interesting. If you understand a few general themes of the class and can apply them to the reading then you are golden
He's hilarious. A fun and super easy class...by far one of my favorites. I recommend taking any class you can from him. The final had many of the same questions as the midterm.
Easy class. I didn't read of the of the books and got a B+. Sometimes his lectures get way off topic, but he usually makes the class at least once a lecture. Good GE to take.
This professor is crazy. His lectures usually devolve into a bunch of random humor with a glint of his own professional brilliance we sometimes got a peek at. He doesn't take the class seriously, which is ideal for people looking for an Area G requirement because the class is ridiculously easy. There is no reason you shouldn't get an A.
He is funny at times and sometimes he makes senseless jokes. He wants students to give opinions in class but then makes fun of them. I enjoyed the books, though. I did all my work, read everything, attended class and was not content with my grade. He has favorites in class who hardly did their work or attended class and got A+. Poor grader.
He is funny at times and sometimes he he makes senseless jokes. He wants students to give opinions in class but then makes fun of them. I enjoyed the books, thogh. I did all my work, read everything, attended class and was not content with my grade. He has favorites in class who hardly did their work or attended class and got A+. Poor grader.
Lots of jokes, very sardonic and always has some sort of quip to any situation. Easy class, 2 short papers and weekly 1 page responses. The reading was just a few poems a week. If you can't pull at least a B in Huang's class maybe you shouldn't be in college.
Really easy class... the midterm was harder than the final because he expects you to remember one word out of the whole text, but the final was really easy. The paper is no problem, but the lectures always seemed extremely irrelevant. I didn't learn much from him. But I didn't read the books, barely went to lecture and still got an A