Student Testimonials

"This class was one of the most interactive, entertaining, fun and very informative. I found myself very engaged and informed with all the concepts and topics within the module. I think overall the method you use of videos and even being at the sites such as Bruce beach gave me a very well vision of the class and made me curious and share with my family. I was especially shocked how fast I was actually able to absorb the information. Im not really good at history or anything but the method you used such as simple language, not too hard or difficult words and visuals, audios and links made it much easier to understand especially for me since my first language isn't English it helps when you do not use hard terminology and you write it in your own words. Overall, I can say this was my favorite online class and I am very happy that I took this class because I am taking a lot of information from this class to my future endeavors  and classes and thankfully I was able to comprehend with no problem and everything was at is simplicity." Student Fall 2025

"Honestly I this was one of my favorite classes this semester and since I have been in college.  Your class will be the most memorable due to your enthusiasm and just the way you teach.  You made class was fun and had me looking forward to class every Wednesday.  My favorite and most memorable topic was how race was originated.  It was interesting to know all the people behind it.  Not only that, but how and why they did it.  I learned that this year and I felt like I shouldve known this before.  Not just me, though, everyone should know about it because it definitely changes how you view race and how it is a social construction that society just accepted.  The was not my only favorite topic I honestly had multiple so its hard to choose from, but learning why and where Mexicans ended up in East LA was interesting.  I went home that day and asked my day why he ended up in east LA.  I found it funny because he was basically repeating everything we learned.  Overall, I believe you have an amazing class from the topics to you being enthusiastic about your craft making every class engaging." - Student Spring 2025

"I enjoyed just about every topic we discussed in class. So much so that I may even consider minoring in geography when I transfer this fall. You are a great teacher that creates a very engaging environment and we can tell that you are passionate about the subject you teach. I think one of my favorite topics was learning about the history of Sonoratown and how and why the Hispanic population ended up where they are now. I found this to be the most interesting because it is the one I can actually relate to and visibly see for myself quite often. I often find myself out in DTLA at least once a week so every time I am out there I am reminded about this concept we learned in class. It has also been great to share this bit of info with family and friends that live in the Boyle Heights area. I also enjoyed the topic of industrial development with regards to why certain railways and freeways are located where they are today. Again this is because I pass through most of these areas on a weekly basis so it's easy for me to connect what we learn in class to my every day life. Thanks again for being a great teacher!" - Student Spring 2025

"I appreciate how you were able to dive into various migration history and patterns to almost every racial group here in California. As one of your Filipino students, I am very ecstatic when you mentioned the Philippines a couple of times in class and even discussed some of the Philippine history in lecture. It honestly made me feel a sense of pride in my national identity and I felt actually seen in class, so I really appreciate you for that. In addition, I really find it insightful to learn where and why people are in their current places. Why certain issues like racism, redlining, migration, and food desertification happens and how it affects certain groups. To end things, I just really find all your topics top-tier. Everything is informative and interesting to learn. I really appreciate your teaching style and how you are able to show your passion in the subject of Geography. It was such an honor taking your class for the second time. Thank you so much, Dr. Goode! I hope your energy and spark in teaching continues to inspire more students in the future! :)" - Student Spring 2025

"This course has been really interesting and fun. I enjoyed learning and reading about anything related to race, and I think Professor Ryan did a great job teaching the class in a way that didn’t feel overwhelming. One of my favorite topics was the one about Bruce’s Beach because I thought it was a really powerful story, and I liked how Professor Ryan explained everything from beginning to end. It helped me understand exactly what happened, and I could tell he was really passionate about teaching it. I also appreciated how the modules were organized because they made it easier to follow the material. Overall, it was a great class with a lot of valuable and well-explained content. I’m really glad I had the chance to take it, and I definitely enjoyed it. This class helped me see things from new perspectives and made me think more deeply about issues I hadn’t considered before. I feel like I’ve gained a better understanding of race, identity, and history, and I know I’ll carry what I learned here into future classes and in my everyday life." - Student Spring 2025

"I really found everything so informative. I feel that as an immigrant, the class and every topic was so helpful in understanding the country...I'm so glad I took this class and learned so much. It's definitely a class that everyone needs to take. (I recommended it too all my friends attending Cerritos haha). Thank you, professor (and TA Anthony). A big factor in why I was able to understand the topics and focus on the class was because of your efforts and your clear passion for teaching." - Student Fall 2024

"...not only do I admire how informative this class was but I believe this class is essential to education and believe everyone should take it. Since joining this class I have been able to now not only understand the history of my community but am now able to pass that knowledge and understanding to my peers. After everything I learned from this class I concluded that everyone should take this class. I am actually sad to not be able to come to this class anymore, so thank you for your time, it’s been real :]." - Student Spring 2024

"Geography 135: Ethnic Studies, Space & Social Justice provided so much insightful knowledge across modules, each offering a new perspective and enriching my education experience. Despite the occasional lengthiness, the readings were engaging and I never lost interest. Moreover, the class discussions reinforced my comprehension. I always looked forward to coming to class and Dr. Goode’s enthusiasm for teaching geography shone through. I believe that this made the class eagerly interact and participate in class discussions. Participating in these discussions always felt like a safe space and the participation from others created a great energy of resonance. This class was so much fun I would 10/10 recommend it and would take it again :)" -Student Spring 2024

"Overall it was an amazing class, every topic you went over was always interesting. When the class went off course you still managed to make it correlate to the topic you were presenting. Since the things we talked about in class were topics that the whole class wanted to hear then it made it even more enjoyable. What I enjoyed is that the class was a safe space to talk about their own opinions and we had nice and small debates. This didn't lead to argument and led to a nice area to learn different perspectives. I apologize that this isn't really a topic but I really enjoyed the class overall." - Student Spring 2024

"It is to the end of the class so I want to say some word to our Professor. To be honest, this is the best Geography class I have ever studied in my life. I was surprised and excited to each module came up because of our Professor Goode's interesting lectures and questions. Every questions you gave us were unique which made us to put true work on them. I like how Professor Goode put a lot of effort to create his lecture like he truly came to the historic place to gave us the reality and knowledge of the history. I would like to say thank you so much for giving us the most passionate Professor and the coolest class ever." - Student Summer 2023

"This class has been by far one of my favorite classes that I have taken in my college career and that is without exaggeration. Especially being an online class, I feel that I have learned more here than I have learned in any of my in person classes/lectures. This class has taught me lots of useful information that I am going to remember for a very long time. I found myself repeatedly telling my mom throughout this course, “did you know…” - Student Summer 2023

"I really enjoyed this course and I learned a lot of new, valuable information. I think what made this course so captivating (at least for me) was the Professor's obvious enthusiasm for the subjects and the real-world experiences we could see through the pictures that he took when visiting the sights for himself. I will definitely be recommending this class to future students. Thank you!" - Student Summer 2023

"I thoroughly enjoyed learning from this class. I really appreciated how much time and effort professor Goode put into writing each module and always making sure the students understood the material. For being such a short course I learned a lot of useful information! I also really liked how in some discussions professor Goode allowed the students to record a video for their responses. It made everything feel a lot more interactive, fun and like a community. I also loved how the professor incorporated many self-made videos and used their own life adventures into the modules, it really enhanced the learning experience." - Student Summer 2023

"This class helped me gain the confidence that I am a capable human being as much as everyone else and that there is no one superior to me simply because of their race.  So that's my hope that everyone else who takes this class gains this same perspective too. That the false belief that the white man is superior becomes more and more disqualified, unaccepted and unwanted,  so we can all begin to embrace our unique cultures and bring our best to the society in our own individual way because we are all equal. we are all HUMAN." - Student Spring 2023 

"I really enjoyed the class and learned a lot. Dr Goode tells it in a way that is easily understandable and captivating. I had a lot of eye opening situations about how life is really like for some people. My appreciation for others has definitely been strengthened even more." - Student Spring 2023 

"After a two-year break from college due to experiencing burnout and the pandemic, I can honestly say that this course reignited my interest in learning again. This course asks and answers a lot of 'why?' questions, and I found all the topics to be compelling and insightful. In particular, I enjoyed learning about the topics of nationality, ethnicity, and the cultural landscape: exploring the Indigenous, Spanish, and Anglo Plazas of New Mexico; the geography of memory: the civil rights movement; and the racialized geographies of U.S. migration... I can see how this course is beneficial to students in that it provides access to the full spectrum of knowledge and not just parts of it." - Student Spring 2023

"...the identity and race module helped me figure out some things about my ethnicity and how to identify myself. Overall both of these modules were not only interesting but contained facts that I told almost my whole family about, and they helped me understand the idea of race, where it came from, and how it affects our society. From these topics, I saw how I, as a person, can help and contribute a solution to the problem of our society that was created to push others down. Not only the two topics I mentioned but all the topics were essential to my understanding of how the concept of race is perpetuated to this day.  Thank you for all your feedback on the assignments and exams, I had a great time in this class and honestly, I would take it again because of how interesting it was." - Student Spring 2023. 

"This class was nothing like I expected it to be. It was a fun, interesting and thought-provoking class. I liked that this class taught us about history, geography and ethnic studies all in one. While reading, I get so glued to my screen and most of the modules involved reading. I also like to write and this class consisted of a lot of writing.  While reading some of my classmates responses, it was interesting to see all the different perspectives and how each of us have different ideas, which was really cool to see. Doing work for this class seemed more like doing fun educational activities as opposed to work that needs to get done. I’m not saying it was easy, but it is easier to learn and do assignments when you actually enjoy it. I think everyone should take this class before graduating because surprisingly, a lot of people don’t know or understand some of the topics discussed in this class. It is important that as Americans, we learn about these sensitive subjects, the real history of our country and the way race and geography are related." - Student, Fall 2022

"Thank you for a wonderful class. I'll admit I was initially dreading taking this class due to an interesting experience I had taking a similar class at another institution. However, as the class progressed, I saw the subject matter covered was objective, apolitical, and not agenda based. I appreciate your promotion of critical thinking, dialogue, and open discussion. It was very apparent in the Race and Migration discussion board that you were not here to crush students for a difference in political opinion, and I appreciate that." - Student, Fall 22