Sweetest Professor. She always stops to say hi to me years after taking her course. She planned great conservative and interactive lessons and the class felt very open and accessible. Best Prof I have had.

Prof Lewallen teaches the Japan weeks and is really nice and available to talk to during office hours/after class. I took this class online during COVID, and they offered 12% of extra credit this quarter, which probably wouldn't happen again(midterm average was 68%). Be ready to do a lot of readings, attend lectures, and write (midterm and final).

This class was taught in conjunction with another prof. I preferred when it was Lewallen's week to lecture. Her slides aren't too text-heavy, but contain still the main points. It makes it easier to actually listen to what she's saying to take additional notes. Material is interesting and presented in a clear, easy-to-understand way.

The most underrated professor in the Japanese program and one of the nicest professors at UCSB. Her lectures are important but the readings which may seem dense are supplementary for the most part. As long as you follow her lectures and instructions, you will do extremely well.

So I was taking her class and it was quite a lot of readings. She did not offer too much notes on her PPT so students needed to pay a lot of attention. She is very strict, which can be good and bad. If you are willing to take an essay class, do not take her class, because you really need lots of efforts.

She's a nice lady who means well. You can tell she is really passionate about the topic but goes on long tangents and seems to interrupt her own thoughts. As far as running an efficient class where you can understand concepts easily... it's not the best. LOT OF READING. and she gives quizzes. and takes attendance. Overall, the class is very doable.