Whitman Ridgway

This professor has taught: HIST353, HIST354, HIST408E, HIST408L, HIST408N, HIST608A
Information Review
Whitman Ridgway
HIST353

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/22/2012
Yes, he is a tough professor and, yes, there is a ton of reading. However, he's extremely fair and is a good lecturer. He does expect a lot, but is also very willing to help you get to solid understanding of the material. During the last lecture, he was even willing to go over the themes he specifically said would be tested on the final. There are several primary sources to read between each class and about 5 books over the course of the semester. However, he rarely asks about the primary sources, so those are mainly for your own benefit, and he'll also narrow down the book readings before the exams and quizzes to give you a much better idea of what to read. tl;dr yes there's a lot of reading, but not very much is mandatory.
Whitman Ridgway
HIST353

Expecting a B
Anonymous
04/17/2012
This class was insane. Between the readings, the HUGE books, and the lectures, it was all over the flippin place! If you want to do well, you really need to talk to him and find out EXACTLY what he is looking for. It doesn't matter if you're right about something, it's about how well you talk about what HE was already thinking. He's very nice and will help you out if you need it, but the reading alone is insane for 300 level. The books are more important than the primary source, so you might as well just ditch those. Every day I was in this class I wanted to get out. Don't take it if you don't have to.
Whitman Ridgway
HIST353

Expecting a C
Anonymous
07/07/2011
Keep in mind I took this course during a 6 week summer session. The amount of reading required is absolutely unbelievable, if not completely impossible to get done. We had to read 4 books (approx 400 pages each) and countless articles in a six week period. He is a good teacher, and really knows his stuff, but if you take this class be prepared to WORK oh and the tests are all essay questions about the main themes in the books. so if you dont read, you fail