Dear Future Students,
HIUS 120D, or the Race and Oral History of San Diego class, is one that I recommend everyone taking! Personally, when I first looked at the syllabus and heard that I would be having to go to a community site (for me, the Barrio Logan College Institute) every week, I thought it would be an overwhelming amount of work. I thought the class would be stressful and the assignments overwhelming. However, this class proved me wrong.
The workload was very doable and enjoyable. Especially in comparison to your average UCSD class, the work felt meaningful in that I knew it was contributing to the community and that I was writing on “real people”. The team members that I worked with were also very kind and helpful, and I feel we were able to develop good friendships through our experiences together! One other thing I really enjoyed about this class was the opportunity it gave me to step outside of the bubble that is La Jolla and experience the San Diego community. On one of the days, we were able to go to Chicano Park and sightsee while learning about the history behind the area. Combining the academic world with an actual place really made the place come alive to me.
At the same time, if you are to take this course, I recommend not procrastinating. Get your interview, do your assignments, and get started at your location as soon as you can. The ten weeks goes by very quickly, and executing all the things you need to do is very important. The time at your site feels very short, even though it may feel long at the very beginning. So take advantage of the time you have there and please enjoy the class!
Sincerely,
Madeline Park
