Reviews for HIST205

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Thomas Zeller HIST205 Expecting an A Anonymous 10/20/2022	Dr. Zeller is a pretty good professor in terms of keeping you engaged and providing interesting topics to learn about. I rarely find myself bored or not taking notes in the class. However, there is a LOT of reading and work to do if you want an A. Luckily, the exams are not overly complicated or difficult as long as you study the main concepts. It's VERY conceptual. It's a class where you should understand the concepts and be able to give opinions off of them; there is no right from wrong answers as long as you can back it up. Just know what you're talking about and be strong in those ideas. Overall I think you should choose this class if you truly are interested or curious about environmental history and you shouldn't if you just want an easy A/not wanting much work for non-major classes. The TA (new one this semester) was also very nice and approachable for any accommodations or requests you need. And if you do decide to take this class, you should approach the assignments in an (especially essays) abstract way.
Thomas Zeller HIST205 Expecting an A- Anonymous 04/25/2019	Dr. Zeller is the man! He is like a encyclopedia when it comes to the information of the class, and he is always happy to elaborate or go over info that you don't understand. The readings are a little lengthy, but they are usually pretty riveting (Especially the Cronan piece). Justin (The TA) is also super knowledgeable and dedicated, and discussion sessions with him were always worth going to. Overall a really great course, and not overly difficult either.
Thomas Zeller HIST205 Expecting a W Anonymous 11/01/2018	The grading expectations for a 200 level course are too high. There are weekly readings with a corresponding writing assignment - 200 words. There's no rubric yet he expects essay-level writing without contractions, first-person, generic identifiers (people, individuals), etc. I ended up spending 3-4 hours a week on this minimal assignment. Every single returned assignment was littered with criticisms, and never once did I get positive feedback. I was not the only student who did not understand their expectations; the average was between 50-80% each week. There are two papers - both of which are 80% graded on writing style and 20% content. We were told numerous times to go to the writing center more than once. I went twice, and even had my former composition professor read through it. I edit textbooks as my job, yet I somehow only got an 85% on the paper, lowering my grade to a B+. I read through their critiques and disagreed with nearly all of them. I met with the prof and the TA multiple times before the paper and received zero guidance other than being told, "If you cannot write at a collegiate level, you must go to the writing center." The material for the class is interesting, but there's a reason why a 200-level course has so few A's and so many W's. I am a senior and this is the first class I've ever dropped.
Thomas Zeller HIST205 Expecting a B Anonymous 12/22/2017	I like Zueller as a person, and at times had lower energy humor that put a grin on my face. But I felt my time was wasted in his lectures. Zueller's format is 45 terms he covers in lecture throughout the semester, so you need to go to lecture right? Well..the terms for the most part lacked elaboration/historical context which is necessary for the final. You need to go to discussion though, Justin the TA does a better job setting the historical context. Word of warning though the readings at times were extremely dense, and made the class extremely boring. I learning a decent amount given the class' subject, but I would only recommend taking it if the topic of environmentalism/the environment is a passion you have.
Thomas Zeller HIST205 Expecting a B+ jcampb14 12/22/2015	I absolutely love this class. As an environmental engineer, it was extremely helpful to take this class before I graduated. I definitely feel better informed about our environmental history to better prepare for projects now. Dr. Z was an interesting guy, the lectures were a little boring, but most are. All of the books were great to have on had and really supplemented the class well. Just was the TA that semester and really helped bring the class full circle.
Thomas Zeller HIST205 Expecting a B rose11 12/20/2010	Dr. Zeller is a very nice man. He does have a German accent, but he is not difficult to understand. The class is challenging. Assignments included weekly page-long writings due in discussion, two papers, one midterm, and the final. Discussion is mandatory if you want to receive a decent participation grade. Attendance is taken every week. I was disappointed in the grading of the second paper. The TA said it was a challenging assignment, and would therefore not be graded harshly. This was not the case. I received a C and have never received below a B on a paper in college. Other students were not pleased with the assignment either. Be prepared to study for the exams, also. They involve a large amount of writing. I preferred taking this course for my SH core because it was not a history class on a specific country. The material covered involved countries around the globe.