HIST W1004

2 5-paged double-spaced papers (10% each), 1 midterm (20%), participation in TA discussion sessions (25%), final exam (35%)

I was kinda scared before going into the class based on the very old reviews, but I actually ended up really liking the class. Professor is an old guy who talks a bit slow paced during class, which made it easy for me to catch myself feeling sleepy in class and dazing off. However, he is a really funny guy with a great personality, and sometimes when least expecting, he'd say something funny without trying hard and would make the class laugh. If you are into watching long boring documentaries with interesting content, you might love this class. In my case, I never fell completely asleep in class, because I have always found interest in the content of ancient Egypt but never took such a class until now. Sure, his lectures might be long or "boring", but if you're interested in the subject and enjoy learning from someone who is passionate and knowledgeable about a topic, take his class. It was not bad! More good than bad! Professor likes to do small tours at the Met's Egyptian Wing for his students within the class, and it's cool to tie what you learned in class to what you have easy access to a nearby museum. I like how compared to other Global Core classes of 4 credits, this class was one of a very light workload with only 2 papers, midterm, final, 1-hour long weekly discussion sessions, and about 20-40 pages of reading a week from Professor's own textbook. The textbook basical…

Final examination (30% of total grade), Midterm + 2 research papers (45%), Participation in TA sections (3 pop quizzes, dropped lowest quiz) (25%)

This class is a waste of your tuition dollars. I took this class to be an easy global core. I started out going to every class - doing all the readings before class and taking thorough notes in class and discussion section. Then I realized class is completely pointless.... Reading the book and going to discussion section gets you an A. Discussion section was annoying. My TA was not familiar w the subject and basically prepared by reading the book. From the vibe I got, a lot of TA's were also TAing the class w/o any background in Egyptian history so everyone was kind of in the same boat and they couldn't answer questions. Also, the textbook (written by Professor Mieroop_ is all over the place (just like lecture) and its impossible to know what to focus on from the readings...the TA is incapable of prioritizing info... class is basically Professor Mieroop's random tangents. Bust I will say its fairly easy to do well in the class. tests are random terms (there is choice) and a large essay question thats usually vague and you can kind of BS your way through. To reiterate, this class was super disappointing for me - I went most of the semester doing all readings and participating to fullest extent just to realize it was a complete waste of time. Discussion sections are also super annoying bc there are pop quizzes made up of random terms that he never mentions in class and are menti…

Final examination, Midterm, 2 papers, and readings for every lecture

After this I will definitely avoid his classes. He is an extremely boring lecturer by going on about the most boring parts of the history. The lectures are almost pointless with the mandatory discussion sections. In 50 minutes the TA will go over everything important about the lectures for the next week. The lecture is just a longer, drawn out version. They are absolutely pointless. A new addition to the discussion sections are the spot checks (pop quizzes on readings). There is not set limit but there will be less if people do better. Also while this may not bother everyone he is late for every single lecture but he usually still ends on time.

2 papers worth 15%, each around 5 pages 15% midterm (ID's and an essay) 25% discussion section participation (what this entails depends on your TA; for me, this included weekly discussion board posts and verbal participation during section) 30% final (ID's, primary sources, and an essay) Again, really easy to do well. You can get away with just reading the textbook

The class for me was pretty split. Professor Van de Mieroop was actually wonderful. He's incredibly knowledgeable about the material, his lectures are clear, straightforward, and focused, and he's also very enthusiastic about the material. If going to lecture every day isn't your thing, you also luck out because Van de Mieroop wrote the textbook for the class. So he doesn't cover anything in class that's not already in the textbook. It's a great Global Core class to fulfill requirements and you can avoid going to class and just reading the textbook if that's more your style. The kicker comes with the discussion sections, which was a new addition to the class. Discussion sections basically go over various primary sources that were either briefly mentioned during lecture or have to do with the time period discussed in lecture. Part of your grade in the class depends on your participation in the discussion section, and that really depends on the TA you get. Personally, by TA was wonderful, a fairly easy grader, and was really enthusiastic about encouraging people to speak. But I also heard close friends with TA's who weren't helpful, were tough graders, and didn't help them in the class. Unfortunately, that's a toss up and you're just going to have to hope for the best with that. Overall, a really simple class, not much you have to worry about. My suggestion would be to talk to y…

2 x 5-page papers - graded harshly for me 1 midterm - it was ok (5 definitions and 1 essay) 1 final - harder (5 definitions, 2 short essays on direct quotes from the text, 1 long essay)

I, presumably along with the 350 other students, took this class since it was a 1000-level history Global Core that I needed out of the way. Most people never showed up to lecture since Van de Mieroop is really boring and drones on about inconsequential details of the lives of Egyptians. It was far from riveting. Though this was a 1000-level 3 credit class, it had a fair amount of work. It was perhaps Van de Mieroop's way of making the class harder to hurt everyone who took this thinking it was an easy A global core. We had to attend mandatory recitations with 3 pop quizzes, were actually forced to do the readings every week and submit a short write up about them online and lead the discussion for one recitation. It was an awful waste of time since the TA didn't really know much about Egypt nor did anyone really care. We cover the whole shabang from origins of Egypt to the Greco-Roman period in excruciatingly boring detail. Everything he says in lecture is word-for-word in the textbook so a lot of people skipped it though you learn the things he focuses on in tests if you attend class. About 50-70 pages of light reading per week that you can skim through since it's just a rehash of class. Your grade entirely depends on your TA who manages everything for you. I took this thinking it was an easy A but somehow only got an A- even though it was total BS. Grading was harsh for a cl…