Professor Mendez is very knowledgeable about Latin American history, however, her methods in teaching are a bit disorganized. The TAs carried the class, filling in the context of the week's lectures (and explaining more than Mendez). We had weekly quizzes, weekly discussion posts, and 2 papers. Overall, it is manageable but become close to your TA!

Professor Mendez is the absolute worst professor to teach history. Her lack of fu''ing showing up to class on time shows that. 30 minutes late lol. she never helps at all! Got my section switched and emailed TA and prof, numerous times. No response to any of my emails!! Prof Mendez is the perfect example of being the worst teacher!!! TA, no bueno!!

Avoid this class. Lectures are confusing/hard to follow and she doesn't grade any assignments. UCSB should improve its hiring process because being a professor does not ensure good teaching. It is unacceptable to receive substandard education given the high cost of tuition. I took this class Winter quarter 2023. GRADES HAVE NOT BEEN SUBMITTED YET.

This professor is not prepared for her courses. She did not release her syllabus until the fourth week of the quarter and misled students countless times on assignment information. Moreover, she was a hard grader and expected much while not providing any useful information in the class. There were two weekly assignments and one final paper.

Never take this Professor she is awful, gives feedback too late and doesn’t post grades. She is so disorganized.

At first I thought that this course would be interesting and don’t get me wrong, it is. However, she did not give us the syllabus until week 5, expected a lot from us while providing vague instructions for assignments, and she assigned many of us to read about two whole books in the span of one week for our final paper. Please avoid her classes.

She is a well respected professor. She is also a talented historian. She can be intimidating because she had high expectations for her students. Assigned readings included a full dissertation, an entire book, and a series of articles and book chapters. She takes a while to grade work. Her grading is tough but fair. Not got the faint of heart.

Horrendous.. I'm sorry she seems very passionate during her lectures. But is a mess when it comes to grading, the last project she made us do for the first time in her class. I understand she wanted to give us freedom in writing but also very difficult in her expectations. too many "books" she deems as necessary

I respect Prof. Mendez, she obviously has extensive knowledge about the course. But her lectures were so so unorganized, they were hard to follow at times. The assignments were usually vague, and if you don't have a good TA, start digging your grave because you might not make it out.

This was such a weird quarter. Professor Mendez was disorganized with her work and timeliness to lectures. Sometimes, I genuinely questioned the credibility of what she says in lectures or if its just a translation error. However, I can say that she is very respectful of students opinions in class. The TAs were amazing and made up for all of it.

This was the first GE class I took my first quarter of my freshmen year. A ton of reading. Most of it really isn't necessary. Lectures are disorganized and she is a spitfire to say the least. I thought she was funny. I did the work and cared and got an A- . If you are a hard worker then take this class if not then don't lol

She's horrible. Walked up and down the aisles in class wanting to take students' phones away like we were high schoolers. Course material was interesting but she really frustrated most students with her actions.

Too much reading that isn't really required. Lectures aren't organized and will not cover everything needed so I had to research things myself. I personally wouldn't read everything she gave us weekly and would research the topic myself because it was too much and I would still get a good score. I did pass/no pass and ended up Passing.

When I look back at this class, I can't help but feel so disappointed. I came in eager to learn about LA History and willing to read, but this class was too much. Readings were overwhelmingly long to a point that I would regard as inconsiderate to the well being of the student. Lectures were often very messy. I like prof Mendez but hated the class

Worst class I've taken at UCSB and I've taken some pretty bad classes. She is very unorganized and has even showed up to class 20 minutes late. Her lectures are weak and she assumes people understand her point when they really don't. If you don't need the class don't bother, I wouldn't even recommend it for those who need it, there are other ways.

Alright so this class is probably the worst Ive taken. The material itself is interesting, but she really is all over the place when it comes to lectures. For a GE, there is so much readings to get through. I thought Interest alone in the subject material would be enough to do good, I was wrong. Dont recommend this class with this professor lol

The course material is so interesting but she does not know how to teach the class in a comprehensive way. There is so much unnecessary reading. If you need a GE class take this class with a different professor. I put in the work, but Im lucky I had a nice TA to save my grade.

There is an immense amount of reading required. The lecture slides are not made available. No laptops are allowed in lecture so take very good notes. The weekly responses to the reading can be easy points so don't forget to do them. Professor has a thick accent which may be hard to understand, recommend recording lectures but hide your phone!!

She is not a good lecturer. I learned next to nothing in her class. She did have any sense of humor and yelled at students for doing nothing wrong. She is very strict.

The assigned readings and homework really shocked me. Who else gives so many works to students in a GE class???????? you are absolutely required to attend lectures and sections. sections take attendances and ppt in lecture will not be uploaded. there are pop quiz asking you to memorize map(how crazy). one essay every week .

Interesting class, professor Mendez is passionate but there is a lot of reading due each week, don't take this class if you hate reading. If latin american history interests you, not a bad class to take.

Bad teacher. Bad TAs. If you enroll in this class, PLEASE find a way to drop out before its too late. She may be nice, but she is very unorganized and expects you to know all of the History like its the back of your hand. Lots of readings, mandatory section and lectures, and an 1800 word paper. Not even a Latino/a could pass a class this ridiculous

She makes you purchase four different books and an e-reader. (So if you're on a tight budget consider this). She does not teach in chronological order of history, such a hard lecture to follow, slides aren't helpful, she speaks very fast. We have to read hundreds of pages each week. Mandatory sections and lectures. Very nice lady, but HARD class.

Mendez is passionate and well-educated about the history of Latin America. This class was one of the most difficult I've ever taken, but also very rewarding and I feel like I learned a lot. Would not recommend as a GE, unless you are passionate about the subject and aren't taking a heavy course-load otherwise!