Professor Prieto is one of the best at UCSB. This was my first comparative literature class, and as someone who enjoys writing, I was amazed at the content we covered. The essay prompts are manageable if you keep up with the readings. Prieto is accessible via email which was helpful when he read over my theses. Overall, great class!
I appreciated how Prieto engaged with students when he asks for participation. He listens very genuinely to what his students have to say and adds meaningful commentary which I believe is the reason people kept participating even in a daunting 100+ ppl lecture hall. As a bad writer, this was a doable A, but def read and go to class!
I took CLIT 171 and was blown away by how interesting and engaging this course is. I took this course on a whim, but Professor Prieto was an amazing and funny lecturer. You can tell that he is passionate about this course, and all of the reading materials are very interesting, I never got bored reading the books/watching the films.
I took Prieto's class last year and loved it! He's very dedicated to the material which made the class super interesting. Highly recommend
Great guy who cares about his students, but his class was awful for these reasons: 1)NO STRUCTURE or clear grading criteria. 2) extra credit is a SCAM he keeps in your "file"; no real grade given for the HOURS & HOURS of extra credit I did. 3) Two essays worth 50 & 40% that are graded harshly (20 of 180+ people got As) with highly specific prompts.
Professor Prieto is so kind and caring! He genuinely loves the materiel he teaches and because of this he chooses incredibly interesting novels and books for this course! Hee truly is the best professor you can always reach out to him and he sends reminders and tips for each class lecture, he really cares about his students and their success.
One of my favorite professors I've had. Took his FR154G class and am currently in FR104B, he genuinely cares about his students and wants them to succeed. He's so passionate about what he teaches, and the novels he has you read are genuinely interesting. Be prepared to read a good bit, but as it's enjoyable it's not difficult at all.
Its sad that some people hate on Prieto for teaching OTHER PEOPLES works. Its clear Prieto not only cares abt his students, but also actively works to research and promote anti racism. He uses controversial articles BUT THATS THE POINT to gain perspective on all sides of an argument. If you are BIPOC/LGBTQ+ dont feel hesitant to take this course.
His lectures were always interesting and he is very open-minded about the world. Before every lecture, he played music from the region we studied and started with a summary of the lecture. He also provided students many opportunities to share their interpretations. There are a lot of forum post discussions but they are easy if you do the readings.
I took this class p/np and passed easily. I went to class about half the time and did about half the readings. Some of the readings I did do were pretty interesting, but overall I was disappointed with the content of the course as none of it was very new information or thought-provoking. But if you want an easy GE with minimal work, take CL171.
Here are some bullet points for Prof. Prieto -He is a super cool guy and his lectures are decent, very discussion based -Homework is mandatory - A decent amount of readings but the books are great and easy reads. - Not within my major but still really enjoyed the course - Can be a hard grader - Cares about what you have to say so participate!
I really enjoyed this course and it had a lot to do with how he structured and organized it. Class was basically a discussion and further understanding of the interesting novels he picked. You have to read them and watch the films to answer the essay questions. Prieto has a very clear, deep voice and great personality. No tech policy.
A great variety of readings. Some are interesting, however most are lengthy and boring. Cool professor however his teaching style never failed to confuse me. I was lost on most of the reading however still passed. This guy has supersonic hearing!!
Good class! He has iclicker questions everyday, but the class itself isn't boring. There's a take home midterm and an in class final. As long as you pay attention in class and do the readings then you'll do well. He offers a lot of extra credit too! Pretty interesting class.
This class was great! I hated reading before this class, but Prieto changed that. The texts he picked were recent works, often short stories, and works-in-progress. He encouraged us to find our own meaning, and never forced his interpretation of the text onto the class. If you read the texts and go to class you will get an easy A.
I was REALLY excited to take this class, I have taken some post-colonial lit classes (both abroad and at UCSB) and this was by far the worst. Class time was full of boring plot summaries and "discussion" (but don't EVER try to contradict him, ha). While the material was good, Prieto is too set on his own ideas to dig into any real discussion.
The class has a lot of reading,a good portion of which is confusing and boring to read on your own. He does a good job of making you understand the book and one could get away with not reading. Most of the material didnt interest me so going to class was beneficial yet boring at times. Iclicker quiz everyday for points, midterm, final both written.
Uses an iclicker quiz to take attendence. I showed up everyday, but did none of the reading. He is very clear and i understood everything just by his explanation. Very passionate. I ended up doing the some reading for the final, and it was actually pretty interesting. Tests are Essay. If i would have tried, it would have been better, still good
Easy class, 20 discussion posts throughout but you're only expected to do 10. Two papers which he grades a bit harshly on, i've never gotten under a 90 on an essay and I got an 84. Has two pop quizzes to try to get you to attend lecture and the lectures are pretty boring. There's a lot of books and films to view/read.
Super kind and caring prof. He is very passionate and helpful and a generous grader. This class is definitely manageable.
Good class, content is interesting. Lectures could be a little boring sometimes. Discussion heavy, def do the readings for the essay and discussion forums plus they're interesting.
Prof. Prieto is one of my favorites at UCSB, not because his lectures are particularly fascinating but because he cares about his students' success, is pretty funny, and a very genuine person. I would recommend taking upper-div French classes w him bc he gives good feedback and is more understanding about mistakes non-native speakers make.
This class was one of the most fascinating ones I've taken! Prieto is subtly funny which is a bonus, and the books were so good I actually bought them (for reference, I've maybe done the assigned readings for one of the classes I've taken). He teaches using novels instead of just literature so the material is way more enjoyable to understand.
His class made me really consider a comparative literature minor.