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 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.