HIUS 3150

This class sounds super interesting, but Professor Ray does a disservice to the material. With something as fascinating as the Salem Witch Trials, you have to try to make it boring, but Professor Ray somehow accomplishes just that. He seems like a nice guy, and definitely knows his stuff, but his lectures are dry and disorganized. Lectures are pretty pointless anyway, as the grade comes from forum posts and essays that are based mostly on the readings. There were no tests, which was nice; this course was pretty easy overall, but there are definitely more interesting history courses at UVA.

This was easily the most fun class I've taken at UVA. Ben Ray is an expert on the Salem Witch trials, and very passionate about what he teaches. There are NO TESTS and no big papers to speak of, only short posts on collab (you choose 6 out of about 8. This is an alternative to a classroom discussion), and 3 blog posts (about 2pgs of writing each). Because of the "virtual discussion" assignments he usually lets you out after an hour. Grading is very easy, reading is very light and you don't have to do much, class is very easy to sit through, and the workload is extremely light. The lectures can get a little repetitive, so you can skip some and still get an A. Overall, a great "fun course" if you need to lighten your load or boost your GPA.