Professor Blake is probably the most enthusiastic professor I have had at UCSB. She is incredibly passionate for the 8am and I respect her for that. It's an easy GE if you participate and do the readings.

Incredible professor, talked about a lot of really relevant topics. Reading is hard to keep up on but if you do it's pretty easy to pass with a high grade.

Professor Blake is clearly very passionate about her work, I found the lectures to be pretty engaging. Keep up with the reading and its all good

Professor Blake was a good professor; taking this class was useful in helping me gain a better context for life generally.

Amazing professor that is passionate about the topic at hand. The class is graded on 2 short papers, pop quizzes, and in person midterm/finals. Would recommend to anyone to take her class. :)

I absolutely love Dr. Blake and would highly recommend taking one of her classes. You can tell she cares immensely for her students and their wellbeing. Her lectures are engaging and concisely cover the key topics for the reading. Most of the grade was from short quizzes, the short answer written midterm, and the two-page papers.

Homework is just reading, pretty long but not unmanageable. Pay attention in lecture, there's important info. I'm mainly impressed with how professionally she handled the fall 2022 TA strike. She cancelled lectures in solidarity but sent weekly emails providing detailed and straightforward updates. Very competent.

Amazing professor that genuinely cares about her students and the class!!! Lectures were very insightful and interesting. There is a LOT of reading per week which is easy to fall behind on but I still recommend taking the class. Also she has pop quizzes but they are on the lecture material so as long as you have paid attention you're good.

This class was on the more difficult side of GEs. If you are willing to read I would recommend! She is very passionate and lectures were always very interesting. She does have pop quizzes every so often, so be prepared! As long as you keep up with the reading and stay on top of your work it isnt too bad.

So many readings: long books, articles etc. weekly. She is a really tough grader and is very picky when it comes to essays and what she expects. Dont take this class if in need of GE requirement, its not worth it. Nice person tho

I feel bad because if I had put this class higher on my priority list, I probably would have done better. However, there was just too much reading to keep up with that left some of the readings undiscussed or less discussed then others. The class is really insightful if you're able to put your all into it, but it was overwhelming with other classes

Professor Blake is amazing. I had her for ENGL 40BB, and I learned so much and found her course to be incredibly valuable. Definitely recommend. You can tell she genuinely cares about her students.

Prof Blake is an awesome person but online doesn't do her justice. Lectures have no slides to follow and she jumps from topic to topic a lot so it was really hard to follow. That said, she's really passionate, knowledgable, and cares a lot. The two papers are graded pretty easy and aren't long and midterm and final are moderate. Lots of reading.

Pretty challenging for a WRT GE. Since it was a mandatory 8 AM lecture (M,W only, no F lecture) with no powerpoints, it was quite hard to take notes based on just her speaking. A LOT of reading too: 5 novels, a few short films, and extra readings. 3 pop quizzes, two 2 page papers, a midterm, and a final. Papers not too bad. Great professor though!

Prof. Blake is extremely caring, compassionate, and understanding toward her students. She is a great lecturer who is very knowledgeable. She truly understands student's struggles and is sympathetic. There is a good amount of reading for the class along with 2 papers- beware of the pop quizzes! Overall, probably the kindest prof I've met so far.

Very fast paced class. Very eye opening. The professor has a great way of presenting ideas, but the class moves too fast.

Professor Blake is one of the best professors I ever had at UCSB! She is so caring and gives phenomenal feedback on everything whether it be a paragraph, a thesis statement, or a paper draft. She made every text so interesting and her lectures are so enriching. She is very approachable and makes every student feel special. Take her if you can!!

Blake is that professor you never forget, you're gonna want to pay attention to her. She's brilliant and relates text to real life in an entirely seamless way. Take her for every class she offers, she'll give you an experience you'll keep referencing back to. I hope she continues to teach forever, she's one of the good ones.

Blake is amazing. She is so passionate about the class and justice for all. I would highly recommend, as you will learn about yourself in this class

Blake is seriously an amazing professor. She is so intellectual and really knows what she is talking about in class. If you take a class with her I guarantee you will learn something that will shift your perspective on how you see the world around you. Every sentence she speaks is so articulately crafted!

Even at 8am, I didn't feel tired. She does a really good job being energetic and engaging to help keep people awake. The books we read were generally interesting, I would reread them again. I didn't visit her office hours but I wouldn't be afraid to go talk to her. She's really caring and wants everyone to succeed.

Worth the 8am. We just read four books and some articles throughout the quarter. Pop quizzes, two short papers, a midterm, and a take-home final.

Wrote my honors thesis under the supervision of Dr. Blake. She was the most reassuring and compassionate professor I have ever been in contact with, and her feedback and brainstorming sessions gave me the confidence I needed for my work. Also took her class on prison literature which was phenomenal. She is truly a one-of-a-kind, amazing professor.

Taking this class is the best choice i made all summer. Blake makes the class interesting and engaging and this is from someone who didn't care about black studies. There is a lot of reading, but is very doable considering I'm a slow reader. Take this class!!! Or English 50 with her, Blake is amazing and will help you. Covers WRT, ETH, and ENG GEs