AMES-511
DOCUMENTARY/EAST ASIAN CULTURE
Not in Fall 2026
Term
Overview
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that the readings, films, or examples carry real weight. Best for students who will engage with the materials instead of skimming everything. The sample is still thin, so treat this as directional rather than definitive.
DepartmentAMES
Terms offeredFall
Typical enrollment16–16
Semesters of data1
4.7
Hrs / week
13
Responses
16
Enrollment
81%
Response Rate
Evaluation Scores
Overall quality
Teaching, content, and experience combined.
4.5
Intellectually stimulating
Challenges students to think deeply.
4.5
Instructor effectiveness
Explains concepts and facilitates learning.
4.7
Difficulty
Higher means harder.
2.9
Feedback Analysis
Feedback Analysislow
Analysis based on student evaluations
Based on 26 comments across 1 sections
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that the readings, films, or examples carry real weight. Best for students who will engage with the materials instead of skimming everything. The sample is still thin, so treat this as directional rather than definitive.
Student Reports
How hard is the A?
A is doable but not automatic
The signal here is more do-the-work-and-you-should-be-fine than easy-A chatter. Students do not describe the A as automatic, but the evidence also does not paint grading as punishing.
Homework Load
Moderate homework load
Homework load looks moderate. The recurring signal is steady weekly work, but not a course that turns every assignment into a grind.
Lecture Load
Lighter lecture burden
Student comments describe this as more discussion-, seminar-, or workshop-driven than lecture-dependent. The lecture burden itself does not sound like the main source of friction.
Strengths
• Readings, films, or outside materials come up repeatedly as a real strength rather than filler.
• Discussion is a clear strength; students repeatedly describe the class conversation as engaging and useful.
Tradeoffs
• There is no single dominant complaint theme, but the feedback is not uniformly glowing either.
Best fit for
Best for students who will engage with the materials instead of skimming everything.
Watch out for
• Most of the signal comes from a limited sample, so be careful about over-generalizing.
• A large share of the evidence comes from one instructor's version of the course, so this may not generalize cleanly.
Student Responses
How to analyze a documentary. Interpretation of archival materials. Try to walk out comfort zone to learn something different.
Fall 2025 · Hong, Guo-Juin
I learned critical thinking.
Fall 2025 · Hong, Guo-Juin
I learned more about documentaries and some specific historical background.
Fall 2025 · Hong, Guo-Juin
Exposure to films, historical contexts in East Asia, methods of documentary filmmaking
Fall 2025 · Hong, Guo-Juin
It broadened my understanding of documentary filmmaking and expanded the way I think about choosing future documentary topics.
Fall 2025 · Hong, Guo-Juin
Rating History
Rating history
Error bars show \u00B11 std dev
| Term | Instructor | Overall | Difficulty | Hrs/wk | Enrolled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2025 | Hong, Guo-Juin 4.8Rate My ProfessorsQuality4.8Difficulty1.7Would retake100%Based on 17 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | 4.5 | 2.9 | 4.7 | 16 |
Instructor
Hong, Guo-JuinAMES
Also teaches
AMES-107 INTRO TO EAST ASIAN CULTURES4.8AMES-129 MASTERS OF CHINESE CINEMA4.7AMES-631 NATIONAL CINEMAS4.3