Reviews for HIST110

Information Review
Eleanor Drummond
HIST110

Expecting a B
Anonymous
05/25/2023
She's kind of quiet when talking in discussion, but she led my discussion section well. I think she picked up on the fact that barely anyone talked, so she had us start splitting off into small groups each discussion section. I thought this was a good idea, and as someone who's more shy it made it easier for me to contribute. She was also good at answering questions in class, she had a good grasp on the subjects discussed.
Jeremy Simmons
HIST110

Expecting a B
Anonymous
05/24/2023
He was an amazing professor, very passionate and knowledgable about history. He never makes eye contact with students during his lecturing, but that's not really important. He paces the class and the assignments well. You should have the ability to do really well on the exams because he has review and a study guide. Just plan ahead and pace yourself. There are a lot of notes, lots of reading, but it's all worth it (I think). He also grades pretty easy on essay assignments but gives enough critical comments for you to know where exactly to improve. And there are a couple opportunities for extra credit.
Elizabeth Conner
HIST110

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
04/22/2023
Her weekly coursework was really easy, but her exams were essays- which I'm glad for. But I followed her rubric to a T and wouldn't get the best grades on them... and I'm a straight-A student. If this will be a filler class for you, I would look elsewhere. Her grading the essays as she did really didn't make sense and was very frustrating.
Elizabeth Conner
HIST110

Anonymous
04/26/2022
I don't know about the reviews for the other classes but for HIST110 she is not that bad. Don't not take this class because she is the one teaching it. The only bad thing I could say is the tests. The questions are complex to begin with and they are worded in a way where you are always second guessing yourself if you are answering it how she wants you too. But for our class she noticed and switched the last 2 online so they were much easier.
Jeremy Simmons
HIST110

Anonymous
12/23/2021
Dr. Simmons is one of the best professors I've had. He is extremely passionate about his material and explains it very well. He's understanding and accommodating if you have any issues, especially with COVID. There are a good amount of readings, but they do help with understanding the material.
Elizabeth Conner
HIST110

Anonymous
12/02/2021
Professor Conner is a very considerate and flexible professor when it comes to student needs. The course work isn't too difficult, and you can find it interesting but only if you intended to be interested when signing up for the course.
Arthur Eckstein
HIST110

Expecting an A
Anonymous
03/16/2014
This class will end up feeling more like an English class than anything else. Eckstein is a good teacher, but he delegates all control to your TA, which can either be really good or really bad, depending on who your TA is. The most important thing about the class is that you read the two books he assigns. They're actually fairly interesting, and you're going to have to use them for an essay and for the two exams. My TA was somewhat erratic. I got an A in this class, but our entire section received horrible grades on our essays because our TA had decided to grade more strictly than the other TA's, which is unbelievably unfair. He had a very specific argument in mind for our papers; if we didn't argue using his points, we (in his mind) were wrong. Since when can you grade an argumentative paper with a checklist? My TA also had a bad habit of getting upset if he thought students weren't reading the material. I'll admit, only about half our section put forth any effort, but our TA would storm out of the classroom and get all angry if he called on a student who didn't seem like he/she knew much about the readings. It was EXTREMELY frustrating for those of us who had read.
Arthur Eckstein
HIST110

Anonymous
12/30/2013
Poor lecturer. He has some very interesting insights, but they're few and far-between. Admittedly, this is a 100-level course, so I was not expecting any content intended to be taken particularly seriously. The course covers far too broad a swath of history to actually learn anything worthwhile that couldn't be gleaned from Wikipedia, though Eckstein is absolutely vehement about students not getting their information from the internet. Three assignments for the whole semester, all take-home essays, totaling maybe 8-10 hours of work. There's a moderate amount of reading assigned, but you can get away with skipping most of it, as only a fraction will actually be required on the assignments. Pay attention in recitation, lest you do poorly on the essays - they'll want you to regurgitate buzzwords/phrases that you'll go over in discussion. That said, I managed a decent grade with definitively D-grade essay writing, so don't sweat it. Again, 100-level courses are a joke, and this is no exception.
Arthur Eckstein
HIST110

Expecting a B+
wombat
12/08/2012
Dr. Eckstein is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the subject. Likes to relate to current / recent events, rehashes lecture material a lot in case you missed a class, and is friendly and eager to answer questions. His cynical attitude towards Christianity was the only thing that turned me off, but who can blame him, what with all the Bible pushers out there these days. When I took the class, it consisted of two exams (midterm and final) and a paper. Both exams consist of two essay questions each. Apparently he grades them based how many of the key points mentioned in lecture you are able to include, so definitely attend the lectures. Discussions consisted primarily of participation, along with some short reading quizzes.
Arthur Eckstein
HIST110

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
12/22/2011
Well it is hard to describe him. If you don't find history interesting then his lectures will e miserable. If you do he is great. I happen to be a history major so I felt that his class was very interesting. He comes into class and teaches like he is telling a story, very enjoyable if you find it interesting like I did. Mid-term was a take home and the final was in class, neither were particularly hard.
Arthur Eckstein
HIST110

Expecting a B
Anonymous
12/04/2010
He's a very knowledgeable man, and you can certainly learn a lot from his lecture. That is, assuming you can focus. He is very monotonous and uses no visual aids. In addition, while he explains a lot of great things in class, none of it is really ever relevant to exams. The exams rely on your ability to write endlessly about some random passage taken from a book that was required for the course. As long as you go to discussion, do all the readings, and study, you can end up with at least an ok grade. The lectures are not helpful at all
Arthur Eckstein
HIST110

Anonymous
09/30/2009
His lectures are really boring, and you need to rely on your TA pretty heavily to get the big picture. He likes to focus on little details in lecture that might not matter for the papers or exams. The readings are also pretty dry since they are largely political papers. Unless you like Ancient politics and don't mind monotone lectures, I really wouldn't recommend this class.
Arthur Eckstein
HIST110

Anonymous
09/12/2009
For the most part my CORE classes have helped me develop as a thinker outside of my major (engineering). However this class simply made me want to knock down the key building. The lectures were awfully boring. His voice was at a constant for the whole semester. If that was not enough the lectures were pretty pointless when compared to the exams. The graded work was suppose to look into how we interpreted and dissected the material of the course. The grade you receive is actually how well you articulate his ideas into your own words so no free thinking in this class if you want a decent grade. He also comes off rude as far as not wanting to answer your questions. He pushed me off on the TA the handful of times I did try and ask a question. If you need a HO CORE...look somewhere else.
Arthur Eckstein
HIST110

Expecting a B
Anonymous
02/10/2009
Horrible professor He teaches his course by using overly simplistic stereotypes. His teaching methods also isn't very effective, since what he teaches in class rarely shows up in the actual exams. He also likes to waste time by going off topic, and expects us to cover the time lost with our own time. For example, he started the semester off by pointing to a few black students in the class, and claiming how the campus belonged to them since the "original campus" that was burned down decades ago was built by slaves. The funny thing was that the black students he pointed to seemed like transfer students from the Caribbean or Africa. Case in point, the class is pretty pointless, since you don't learn anything besides history stereotypes. And you'll probably end up getting a not so decent grade as well.
Arthur Eckstein
HIST110

stealingsheep
12/15/2008
Does not have any visual aid so you have to pay attention in his lecture. He is thoroughly knowledgeable of the subject and while sometimes he speaks a bit fast, he does repeat the main points once or twice. He does not like or answer questions he sees as irrelevant and can come off as a bit rude. He does really glow with happiness when he's covering a subject he likes, although sometimes his "uhh's" can be a bit annoying.