HIST BC1402

The more nuanced aspects of American History.

Anything assigned by her is a joy to behold. Esch, I would flivver your king,

Textbook reading and a decent sized coursepack but that's it for the reading...this is about as little reading as you will get in a history course. One 10 pages research paper which is basically on any historical topic you want after 1865 and shouldn't be too difficult, a midterm and final with terms and essay topics given out beforehand and choice on the final. Not bad at all.

Weekly readings that ranged from 20 to 50 pages; 2 x 5-7 page papers (these will creep up on you so be proactive); Mid-term and Final consisted of 4 IDs and 1-2 essays (out of 10 total to prepare for each)

I think I learned about some perspectives in American history I likely wouldn't have if it weren't for this course. There are a lot of things that get glossed over pretty easily.

Anyone who wrote a negative review of the powerhouse that is Elizabeth Esch is a complete and utter fool who probably should just stick to taking classes where they know that they will get an A without having to produce any writing that is actually of quality. Having Elizabeth Esch in front of the classroom is like having Jay-Z himself spitting rhymes of fire in your bedroom--it was awesome. Esch is firey, fierce, and the kind of professor that will not let anyone get away with saying an inane comment in class just for the sake of putting their arm in the air and feeling important. If I may, let me say that Elizabeth Esch is the dominatrix of the History Department-- she will own you, and you will like it. If you want to leave a lecture feeling inspired, overwhelmed, stimulated, and able to actually change the world, then you absolutely should take Esch's class. If you are afraid of being challenged by a paper or having a powerpoint slide not match up with a lecture, then I suggest you not only stay away from her class but that you immediately attach a bucket around your neck in order to capture all your tears that will most likely result from the realization that an essay concocted off a Sparknotes idea will not score you an A and then send me the concrete manifestations of your sadness for I bathe in the tears of such fools as yourself to stay young and fresh.

He is pretty entertaining professor who teaches in an unusual style and isn't afraid to make his viewpoints known and admits his biases and the directions he is going to take the class and why. While I found it a bit odd to be so openly opinionated for a survey class, I suppose all history is biased so admitting upfront and expressing it openly isn't so bad. Reads over a lot of primary sources in lectures and goes over them which I found a bit unusual as well, but got to be pretty entertaining. This class is not dry by any means but not spectacular either. He is also a very friendly professor and fairly easy on grading and workload.

Professor Nadasen is an excellent lecturer and given the topic, it seems difficult to make a history lecture riveting, she did manage to make the topics interesting. She does however maintain a very liberal political point of view, which she does not attempt to hide, and it is evident in her lectures. I did enjoy this class and would recommend it to anyone looking to take an introductory American history course.

I gained a strong appreciation of the perspective that history is important as a tool for understanding current events.

Moderate: plenty of reading to prepare for discussion sections, weekly discussion postings on courseworks, 2 papers (6-8 pages and 7-10 pages), 1 final exam.