Hey y’all ! Welcome to the Race and Oral History in San Diego class. HIUS 120 is definitely one of my favorite courses that I have taken at UCSD. It is not like your traditional class where you attend lecture and take exams. Instead it is a class where you are able to do much of the learning and work out in the community. This class and its assignments can become time consuming however I found that doing assignments ahead of time is best. It can become extremely overwhelming if you procrastinate! Also make sure to meet with your community partner as soon as you can to begin building relationships. These relationships will allow you to get the most out of working with your community partner as well as allow you to have conversations with people that you can interview for your oral history project. I also recommend if you have the opportunity to explore the area that your community partner is in then do it! My community partner was Barrio Logan College Institute (BLCI) and exploring the area helped me get a better understanding of the community that many of the students at BLCI come from. This also allows you to understand the history of the community a little more plus you might find cool places ( I found a little cafe in Barrio Logan and it became part of my Monday routine). Also keep in mind that their is weekly readings aside from the projects you will be working on. These readings are fairly long but definitely interesting and informative.
Honestly you’ll get what you put in from this class. If you manage your time well and keep up with your assignments you well do good and gain a lot out of it. Also once again meet your community partner as soon as you can and start building a relationship with them! Make sure to be committed and go weekly, or stick to the schedule you and your community partner come up with.
Overall I am super glad I took this course. I was able to learn so much about a community I knew little about as well as create relationships with people at BLCI. I also had the opportunity to learn about San Diego in a nontraditional way which was awesome. Hope you enjoy the class as much as I did just be prepared to put in the work and time!
