HIEU 2004

I loved professor Kunakhovich and he was really great to get to know during office hours and in lecture. Overall this class was super interesting to me as a history minor and covered lots of information. The midterm is very heavily on ID memorization but as long as you grind for that and have essay prompts prepped you can pull out an A. The essays were slightly more challenging, especially the one on “Letter to the Frankfurt Parliament" and I found I didn't fully understand the text. The second essay is an op-ed where you choose the topic and is much easier to do well on. The final is three hours of writing with IDS and essays. Overall an easy A- class that I found super interesting. The weekly readings are 100+ pages that I skimmed to have something to say in discussion but definitely not mandatory. Discussion was painful but once I spoke once I zoned out. the 9am time is also slightly painful but doable. Highly recommend for history students!

I really enjoyed the content of this course and Professor Kunakhovich's lectures. I did not realize just how much reading there would be. There was 40-50 pages of readings due for each class of this course. All that is done in the discussion section for this course is discuss these readings. You get a participation grade for attending and participating in these discussions, so you have to do at least some of each reading. I also was not a fan of the only grades being a small amount participation, two essays, a midterm, and a final, especially since you get letter grades but not numbers for each. I found it difficult to tell how I was doing in the class since I had so little to go off of. When deciding to take this class, weigh if the good lecture and interesting course material is worth writing many essays and doing long readings.

I really enjoyed this course! It's also a really popular one for non-history majors looking to fulfill a requirement. Professor Kunakhovich is an extremely nice guy who really cares about his students and wants them to succeed. He's also a very good lecturer. I never minded going to class because he makes it feel more listening to a story rather than having someone talk at you for 50 minutes. There is quite a bit of reading for this class and most of it is dense, but you could probably get away with doing none of it as long as you attend lecture. I personally did all of the reading but it wasn't necessary for the midterm or final because you can pull everything directly from lecture. The grade breakdown is: 10% discussion section, 5% map quiz, 10% each for two papers, 15% midterm, and 30% final exam. Both papers are five pages: one was a close reading and the other was an op-ed on a topic of our choice. The midterm and final exam consisted of ID questions and essays. Professor Kunakhovich will tell you exactly what you need to study and distributes possible essay prompts before both exams. I will say the midterm and final will be a bit difficult if you don't take good lecture notes but if you pay attention they should be a breeze. (The powerpoints are only pictures but Professor Kunakhovich distributes a list of keywords for every lecture so you know what's important). He also offers extra credit opportunities. Overall, this class is very interesting and the material is very applicable to today if you're looking for a history class with a bit of politics.

Professor Kunakhovich is amazing. I am a first year intended history major and this was my first history class I've taken. It did not disappoint. The content was very fascinating. The lectures were very easy to take notes on (although the powerpoints only contained pictures so you REALLY have to pay attention in class). And the perspective the professor had on the content was really interesting. He grew up in the Soviet Union so when we would discuss Russia in lecture, he would be able to tell us first hand accounts of what he experienced. The work for this class was also pretty reasonable. There was a good amount of reading but to do well in discussion, you never had to spend a crazy amount of time on it. The midterm and final exams/essays were challenging but again reasonable. I really loved this class.

This class was by far my favorite class this semester, even though it was all online. Professor Kunakhovich is extremely passionate about the subject, and he does an excellent job of explaining concepts in a simple way. He gives you everything you need to succeed in the course, and the TA is also helpful. Lots of reading, but you don't need to read everything in its entirety. Every assignment in this class has to do with writing, but it is never anything that you should not be adequately prepared for. Overall, this class was very enjoyable and I'd highly recommend it and the professor, although it was sometimes a bit overwhelming. #tCF2020

The teacher is exciting and excitable, while the lectures were very narrative based and necessary to attend to do well in the class. He loves the subject, practically bounces around the room, and really wants everyone to be as excited and informed as he is. For the midterm and final, he gave us all of the potential keywords for the short answers and all potential essay prompts. However, there are so many that it is still incredibly stressful and takes a long time to study for. The class was enjoyable, though a bit difficult.

An excellent course with a passionate and engaging professor. Professor Kunakhovich is extremely well-versed in the subject matter which the class covers, and lectures are interesting and informative. There is no confusion about what material will be covered on the exams, as the professor makes the key terms available on Collab and is himself readily accessible if students have questions/concerns. Writing assignments are also clear with regard to instructions and objectives. A very reading-heavy course, but overall extremely worthwhile and intriguing even for students who, like myself, are not history majors. As an aspiring politics major, I found this class to be very relevant in today's political climate. Would 100% recommend the class and the professor.

This is my second class with Kunakhovich and I'm not even a history major - I just really enjoy him as a professor. His lectures are always fascinating and he is a very enthusiastic, approachable prof as well. The tests and essays are all very fair and graded fairly too, and he gives ample review material which makes failing quite difficult unless you're putting almost no effort into the class whatsoever. Highly recommend this course and this professor!!!