Anders Stephanson

I took this class as a freshman, and now two years later, I still think about it all the time. It's definitely one of my favorite classes taken at Columbia. Prof. Stephanson covers a lot of materials in his lectures, so it was sometimes difficult to keep up. But his hot takes and dry humor makes up for it! Plus, his special lecture on the World Fair was so cool. The first half of the course was about US foreign relations from the late 19th century up to WWII, and the second half of the course focused on the Cold War. We read about many of the most classic and famous historiographical debates. Beware, the readings are dense, and the grading is harsh. But I promise, it's worth it!

Stephanson is a brilliant professor with a dry sense of humor. It is quite an experience to hear him carry on in his Oxford Swedish English. The reading list is excellent and the class discussions engaging. Even though there are few formal requirements, I found myself doing all the reading out of interest. A class with Stephanson is a unique experience, he can be challenging, and his intelligence is intimidating, but it is undoubtedly rewarding. Highly recommended.

Anders is the man. No doubt about it. If you are only worried about getting an "A" in your core classes, switch immediantly. However, if you have a general interest in history, philosophy, and a handful of other topics he has a mastery of, Anders is the professor for you. Class discussions are interesting, but they dont always stick specifically to the texts. Some people here like everything outlined nicely for them, so they can calculate exactly what they need to do for an A, while absorbing nothing and only worrying about their GPA. Anders' class is not for these people. Nothing has a specific percentage for the final grade. He looks over all your grades, thinks about how he feels you did in the class, and picks a grade for you. To me, especially in a class like CC, that is much better than the alternative. His views are interesting and he is good at connecting texts to the present day and if you like a laid back style of teaching, then this is the man for you.

Prof. Stephanson stands out in the history department, and even in the college, as an extraordinarily demanding taskmaster. However, the pressure does not come from him holding your grade over your head, but from his energy and the high standards he holds for everyone with whom he comes into contact. His intellectual curiosity seems to know no bounds, and he will give lectures off the cuff on ANY subject--clear evidence that whatever he expects from his students, he expects more from himself. Although many find Prof. Stephanson to be curt and unfeeling, he is pretty good about reaching out to students who show an interest in the material, and he has been known to go out of his way for such students on more than one occasion. The best part about studying with Stephanson, though, is working through his often quite stimulating interpretations. Usually, you only half understand what he is saying when he says it, but then it hits you with full force a year later as you are walking down the street. Plus he's quite funny.

My favorite class so far at either Barnard or Columbia. Anders (lol Professor Stephanson) has some *hot* takes about the Cold War and basically everything else. You will learn SO MUCH if you pay attention and do around 30% of the reading (you just won't be able to get to the whole thing because the book list is really crazy). He is so quietly funny and his quips really make the class fly by, and he's SUCH a knowledgable lecturer. I cannot endorse this class enough. The workload is hard, but the TAs are understanding and it really isn't impossible. I would say most people who put in effort got an A-/B+. Tip: make friends that you can talk over the readings with and split them up.

Oh, Anders. Let's just say when I asked him how much our midterm would count as compared to our papers he states "Oh, but it is all but a NARRATIVE in your academic life, sometimes it goes up, sometimes down". Then and there I knew I should have switched classes. The way he teaches CC is not condusive to learning unless you have already taken many history classes and this is often the focus of his lecture. Besides from the obsure remarks he makes in class and the utter confusion you are left with at the end, everything was wonderful.

Usually pretty overwhelming. Even when the actual assignments aren't that bad, you spend twice as much time on them as you ordinarily would because you know that he's going to be going over your work very carefully.

This class is a good, good call if you're willing to put in the work. It is an absolute ton of reading, all of it rewarding, but none of it easy to get through just due to density. I took this class this semester as a freshman, and I learnt a great amount about really interesting issues, but it took up a lot of my time. Make sure you take good notes in lecture, and go to all of them - they're interesting, so it isn't hard. Also, the readings that you do (you can't do all of them, but try do most), take notes or make a summary of some sort. It'll be REALLY helpful. Stephanson is a genius. He is a very engaging professor, and has a lot of interesting material to present.

Yes, so he's not a generous grader. Despite most people saying that he is harsh and him admitting that he is a harder grader than most other CC professors, he is fair nonetheless. However, his comments on your essays/exams are not really helpful. They are sparse and unreadable, and if you ask him what they say, he admits that he is often unsure what he wrote. Still, he is an incredibly interesting professor with a unique personality. If you want to learn, be excited to have him for a professor. If you want an A, don't count on it unless he thinks you are brilliant. And I really don't know why a reviewer said that you shouldn't let him know if you have political leanings to the right because Anders is certainly no liberal. In fact, he had a UN-bashing rant (certainly not leftist in nature) which was quite comedic. My guess is that he's a libertarian, but then again, I could be wrong: he's hard to decipher.

Took this course as a sophomore, and almost two years later I still think about the major themes/concepts...yikes. The great thing about US foreign relations is that what you get out of it doesn't depend on what you think about Stephanson's personality and lecture style (personally, I thought he was pretty funny and organized, though he couldn't care less about student questions). The class is just really well-designed. The reading list is excellent--like previous reviewers have noted, you come away with a real sense of the history AND the historiography of the period, which many other history courses don't provide. By the end of the semester, I actually looked forward to doing the (huge amounts of) reading (!!). Stephanson has a great knack of balancing the US 'in the world' with domestic events and ideology. Discussion sections made the class--they're a nice opportunity to tease out the finer points of the readings. Oh, and this course completely changed the way I look at the world. All in all, probably the most fulfilling academic experience I've had at Columbia.