David Sartorius

This professor has taught: HIST250, HIST319M, HIST319X, HIST339A, HIST408Q, HIST408Z, HIST419O, HIST473, HIST477, HIST601, HIST608I, HIST608N, HIST638L, HIST639N, HIST819Y, LACS250, LASC250

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David Sartorius HIST250 Expecting a W Anonymous 01/03/2025	First off, I know that this is a lot to read and some of it may just be personal opinions, but some of these points seem to be echoed by other reviews. Additionally, I was only in the class until the third week. Therefore, this may not be an accurate reflection of the later stages of the course. However, just from those three weeks, I wish I had dropped the course within the first two weeks. I will begin by discussing the main points I gathered from the first few weeks. The amount of material expected was a lot more than I expected. There were three books for the semester which seemed like a lot at the time. I have never been the best at note-taking in general, but I have taken history courses in high school which were generally fine. The workload in the course was more than in any of my other courses. There were weekly readings that we would be quizzed on the following week. I don't have much to say on them as I wasn't there for too long, but it did seem like a lot of reading for a quiz that had three questions each. While the workload seemed to be more than I was expecting, and was more than I think should have been expected in a 200 level course, it seemed like it would have been manageable for dedicated students. However, my problem wasn't necessarily with the workload, as it was it was not a good fit for me. My real problem was with the professor. There were some quirks he had that I think were justified. He had some rules like no eating, showing up on time, and no phones which are fair. He wanted to make sure people were there and would check who came to each class. He would also call someone out if they were on their phones or were asleep, which I have seen from other professors. He wanted people to participate in class, but it sometimes gave an impression that he was running out of things to say. I don't know if he continued this after I left, but he read off his slides almost verbatim, and made it seem like he was waiting for someone to say anything. It was almost as if he was underprepared and trying to fill time in his 75-minute class. I will also say that he portrayed himself as approachable at first. For the first week he seemed fine. While the course load was small for the first week and he just went over how the class would be structured. He definitely wanted to appear as if he was a fun professor. He also did seem qualified to talk about the subject matter, and was passionate about what was covered. While there are a lot of things about him that make him qualified to talk about the material in general. I do not think he was good at teaching. As mentioned previously, the first week was mainly a summary of the course in general. While there were some things that were unsettling, I thought that they weren't unusual as some other professors have similar quirks. Due to his rule about no electronics in class, I informed him after the first class about my ADS accommodation allowing the use of a computer to type notes and for exams. He said that that should be fine and to make sure that it gets to him as soon as possible. I got it to him the next week. When the second week came around, I had been anxious about the reading quiz because of the amount of material covered. I did complete it, but it took me way longer than I would have expected, only for me to get half marks. This week was still fine, but I started to uncover his personality. He started to become really passive aggressive with people in the class, and while he always tried to seem positive and happy, it became apparent that he had a temper. I sent him my ADS file confirming that I was allowed to use a computer for note-taking on the second week. While he never explicitly said anything, I knew from his looks that he was not happy with this arrangement. I understand that he had a fear of people being distracted by computers and other stimuli, which is why he was against anything that wasn't hand written, but this was excessive. The first class on the third week made it more clear that this class was not for me, as he began to get more passive-aggressive both with other people, and with my usage of a computer. I participated at least a few times during that class to show that I was paying attention, but it didn't seem to matter. Given what I have seen in previous posts, it does seem like he has had similar issues with other students, and can have control issues at times. You never knew what to expect from him, as his mood could be unpredictable at times, which ruined any interest I had in his class. This was really a shame as he seemed a bit more personal and understanding outside of class. While it does seem like he is trying to become more calm, it is rather evident that he can be easily irritated by his students and is can be impatient with anything that disrupts his sense of order and control. I should reiterate that the class seemed fine. While it was not a good fit for me, I think some people would be fine with the material covered and the workload expected. I would not say it was an easy class, and if you are looking for that, look elsewhere. However, for someone with a passion for Latin American history and a strength in reading and thorough note-taking, it may be for you. However, I really think that there should be an alternative professor for this class. The biggest problem for me was his personality and his sense of irritability. That and his intolerance of ADS-approved computer use made me detest his attitude. It really seemed like an interesting topic to learn, but his performance as a professor was disappointing.
David Sartorius HIST250 Anonymous 12/14/2024	Genuinely the worst professor I've ever had. The negative reviews here aren't exaggerating at all.
David Sartorius HIST250 Anonymous 12/11/2024	Genuinely, I think that he was the worst professor that I’ve ever had here at UMD. He repeatedly acted as if he was doing us favors then expected us to thank him in class, even waiting for us to do it verbally before continuing. The readings were often long and even if you understood the reading, you could still easily not get full credit for the comprehension quizzes (one week, you had to of memorized the subtitles within the text). These reading quizzes were also graded as either 100% (everything right), 0% (nothing right), or 50% (literally everything in between). You could get 4/5 right but that would count and a 50%. He would often subtly shame some students for either not taking notes or actively participating in discussion which just wasn’t cool. He wouldn’t post grades in Canvas because he’s a “low tech guy”, so you don’t have a real clue your position in the class (makes it feel really subjective too). For the same reason, we had to print out our essay so he can do handwritten critiques. Printing isn’t free; so we have to pay because he’s technologically inept. And since he “…hates it when people just look at the grade and ignore the critiques that he worked so hard to do”, he didn’t give us our score until later that night, leaving us to look at everything we did wrong and to wonder what that would get us on the essay that’s worth 25% of our final grade. It’s honestly ridiculous. Then he decided that the midterm would be a take home midterm in the form of an essay because I guess our essays weren’t up to standard. I mean this in the most genuine way, I have taken professors which have the worst reviews on this platform. I’ve done well in those classes and genuinely think that some of those are reviews are over exaggerations or just students who write a bad review in retaliation. However, I absolutely think that this professor should have a way worse rating on here and should honestly be banned from teaching anything or anywhere. Every bad review I read on here truly had been completely accurate. Genuinely, NEVER TAKE THIS PROFESSOR.
David Sartorius HIST339A Anonymous 12/09/2024	This class challenges how to think about the world and teaches you so much--exactly like a history class should. This class requires a lot of work, but it's worth it.
David Sartorius HIST250 Expecting an A VarunS924 10/18/2023	Professor Sartorius was an amazing history professor with enormous talent for teaching. I took the class in my first semester of freshman year, and I was thrilled that his teaching style combines English and history together. The class involves many hours of close reading - sometimes more than 100 pages - along with weekly mini-essays (but you do not do one every week, you choose which seven to do throughout the year). If you do the class, be prepared for lots of readings, improving your writing, including developing your own argument in everything you write, and participating in class. Sartorius takes attendance and puts class participation as part of your grade. The readings in the course are argumentative essays by historians and primary sources that contradict each other. You will need to synthesize these sources together and think very critically when you write. If you come to class and stay engaged, it is a lot of fun, but be wary of using electronic devices, which he is picky about. I used paper notes and printed out readings the entire year.
David Sartorius HIST250 Expecting a B+ HannahRasmussen 12/15/2022	At the beginning of the semester, I only took this class as a “easy” gen-ed without really caring at all about history. However, this class was far from easy. There is a lot of homework and it takes a lot of self initiative to do it well. It is true that the professor insists on being early to class, go to the bathroom before class, and have phones turned off, but is it really that difficult to follow these rules? He does have a little temper but he got better throughout the past semester. I believe that most students who don’t like him came with different expectations for the class and would have preferred better communication. That’s how I felt. However, I went often to his office hours and he helped me understand and learn what I should be looking for. This class is for someone who wants to greatly improve their writing, reading analysis, and their critical thinking skills. It is not for those who want to “breeze” by. I am now reaching for a LACS minor and while it was difficult, and filled with many late nights, I would take this class again. The syllabus is key to understanding structure and being prepared by reading ahead.
David Sartorius HIST250 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/15/2022	The professor is a strict but fair teacher. It is true that he does not like screens, interruptions, and he can be intimidating. However, just by following a few rules like being on time and turning your phones off, the class becomes quite enjoyable. I honestly did not like history before I took this class, but now I’m getting a minor in colonial Latin America. As long as I did my work, I enjoyed the professors little quips and passion to teach his favorite subject. Don’t get me wrong, his class is hard and can frustrate some students, but through his office hours, and notes I believe anyone taking this class will be fine. You just need to put in the work and adapt. If you are not the student to work hard and learn from this class, I suggest you take an easier one. This class challenged my writing, reading, time management, and critical thinking skills every single time, and while it was not always fun, I believe it was worth it. I believe that he often times gets a bad rap due to his demeanor but once you get into the groove of the class, his little jokes and love of history can make the class enjoyable.
David Sartorius HIST250 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/18/2021	Professor Sartorius's HIST 250 class offers a unique opportunity to understand how society works with history as context to "hegemony" which is the main theme of the course. This is not an easy lower level history course! It was harder than one of my 300 level history classes. He is strict and does not take well to eyes on computer screens, and phone usage. He can also get flustered if there is not sufficient participation from numerous students. However, if you show up on time, go to all classes, participate and do all your assignments to the best of your abilities, there is no reason why you should not walk away having passed the course. While he was strict and had high exceptions, your writing significantly improves throughout the course. I would lastly recommend, an interest in the Latin American region as a precursor to this course. I would give this class a 3.5 but that is not possible with this rating system.
David Sartorius HIST339A Expecting a C- Anonymous 01/26/2021	He does not tell you a single grade throughout the entire semester- no way to tell your stance in the course nor measure your progress. Excepts way too much from his students, especially during a pandemic, and can be outright rude when there are differing opinions between him and the students. He used the pandemic to justify being behind on grading, but would rarely give out any extensions or accommodations for students who had been personally impacted by COVID. There was one student who had to get an emergency surgery one week and they asked for an extension on that week's work and he responded that it would be more convenient for him if she didn't get an extension. So clearly no empathy towards his students. Some interesting readings though.
David Sartorius HIST339A Expecting a C+ Anonymous 12/22/2020	this dude is the absolute worst. he doesn't tell you what he expects or the parameters then he will take off based on parameters he makes up after the fact. he's the worst professor I've had at UMD as a senior & he assigns a project to add to Wikipedia & takes Wikipedia as a reference.
David Sartorius HIST339A Anonymous 12/04/2020	One of the hardest and most stressful classes I've ever taken at UMD. Not sure if this is a problem he only had with online teaching, but he refused to update grades at all. When you were lucky enough to find out your grade on one single assignment, it would be a vague letter grade. The assignments never made any sense. Especially the final wiki project. Some of the readings were interesting, and a good professor could have ran with them, but I never felt like he taught me anything. He also just is not very empathetic and accommodating at all.
David Sartorius HIST250 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 12/17/2019	He's a very squared guy. Treats course as a 400 series history class. Very passionate about the subject. Harsh grader. It's unclear what he is asking for in his exam.
David Sartorius HIST473 Expecting a C+ Anonymous 07/13/2014	the Good: he knows a lot about Caribbean history and is very passionate about it. the Bad: Extremely tough grader who plays favorites. I consider myself a pretty good writer (if the grades in my other courses are any indication) but i could never figure out what exactly he wanted out of an essay. i think my best essay grade was a B- and I thought it was an A or A-. Also come to class prepared or he will embarrass you just to make a point. if you take his class make sure you read everything, go to every class and talk to him about what he's looking for out of your writing but even if you do all of that your grade might just be average.
David Sartorius HIST473 Expecting an A- Anonymous 04/17/2012	I had Prof. Sartorius for HIST 473, and I didn't think it was too bad. He says on the first day that the class isn't about beaches and drinking in the Caribbean, and he means it. He can be tough, so get ready to read, but I didn't think the amount of reading was anything extra insane. He wants arguments and interpretations about history, not just facts or summary. So if you can't come up with arguments for weekly assignments, watch out. My biggest issues were some of his classroom policies. If you aren't there when he calls your name on roll but come in literally 2 seconds after, you're done. If you have food or a loud drink, you're done. If, Heaven Forbid, your phone goes off, you're REALLY done. He also hates sleepers. So you have to make the choice to either bring a drink like tea or pepsi, or sleep. Oh, and don't ask any questions, interrupt him, or dare to get up and use the restroom. He'll either be a loose cannon about stuff like that, or say nothing. But you know what he's thinking-"that you're sooo done." All in all, its not easy but you can learn alot. It's a pretty good choice if you have to take a 400 class, but remember it's 400. Make sure you participate EVERY LECTURE, and you'll get through it. :)
David Sartorius HIST250 Expecting a C quinnmt 11/10/2010	This guy is brutal. If you want a lot of reading and a douche bag professor then take this class. More reading than a 400 level class.