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.

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.

He clearly likes to hear himself talk. He spent an entire class talking about his trauma, which boiled down to his parents divorcing and his grandmother dying. While is clearly very well informed, he is self-aggrandizing. Lectures are not mandatory and honestly could just be skipped, as he posts the lecture slides. Just an annoying class all around

Shoutout to Ralph for being one of the best professors I had in my first year, very passionate teaching the material. Lectures were being resonating and emotional at times. Easy GE or major course to take as long as you pay attention to his lecture and readings. Exams and creative essay were easy to understand as long as you follow the prompt.

Although attendance wasnt mandatory, I would go to his lectures because of how inspiring and passionate he is. By far my favorite professor and he cares about his students and what he teaches. HIGHLY RECOMMEND IF YOU WANT TO TAKE HIM! Reviews are STRAIGHTFORWARD exactly what will be on midterm/final. There is also a creative paper which was fun!!

Best professor ever! Really interesting lecture and generous grade. Two tests and a 6page essay plus section attendance. I missed the final but he immediately let me make up. Caring and nice person. Recommend to take.

He really cares about his students and the material. This class talks about all Chicanx history, and some of it might be hard to believe/understand if you have never been exposed to history being explained in this way. It is very different from history classes taught from a pro-US imperialism viewpoint. You can learn a lot if you are open to it.

One of the best professors I've known at UCSB. I enjoyed the small class setting, easy to engage with one another and talk about our personal experiences as Chicanx students, readings were inspiring and resonating to understand. He puts a lot of thought into the material, talking about the importance and development of Chicano activism at UCSB. :)

Best teacher at UCSB. Truly inspiring. If I could take every class with Ralph I would.

An inspiring professor who really cares about you and warms your heart! Different from boring lectures, Ralph's classes are mostly chatting and telling stories which are so engaging and give you a good contexualization to Chicanx history. Definitely try his class!

Best professor at UCSB thus far (granted I have been there for 3 quarters). He is beyond amazing and educated in the topics. He makes lecture so interesting you want to go and is extremely considerate of any situation. His workload is not bad at all, he provides a few films to watch and has you write paper for the final TA grades.course summer 2021

Professor Ralph is the most understanding and compassionate professor I've ever had. I'll miss him!!

Summer B. I loved prof as person and class. 3 short essays +1 EC. Really made me think. Biased against opinions that are not his. However TA Nava was a nightmare. He yelled and ranted about unrelated topics. Made class afraid to talk or interact. Dreaded attending section. Took away from class greatly. Would take prof again but with another TA.

BEST professor at UCSB. Truly cares about YOU and the material presented. Oftentimes cries during lecture, making you cry. Not only a good professor, but an even better person.

Extremely compassionate and passionate professor. So were the TAs. Lots of papers (three 3-pagers) and had a weekly discussion post. But an interesting and great class about social issues. But warning: if youre conservative-learning, you might roll your eyes at this class. Or leave with a new POV. Who knows. Fairly easy A if you put in the effort.

One of the most passionate professors out there. Attendance isn't mandatory, but it can be helpful at times. Class was graded on one midterm, essay, and final (there is an easy extra credit option, too!). I skipped about 60% of the lectures, and still got a 100% on the essay and finished the class with an A. There is some reading, but pretty easy.

Prof Armbruster is an emotional guy, but you come to see that as just another piece of evidence that he genuinely cares about his students and the subjects he teaches. He is super accessible to talk about the class and grades, and he also stays accessible when the class is over to talk about anything. I haven't had many profs who were as impactful.