HIEA 2031

This class is the best class I've taken at UVA thus far. I took this class on a whim the first semester of my first year. Reed is an incredible professor, I always looked forward to class. The class consists of one midterm, a final, a paper and discussion. Definitely do the reading before discussion. As long as you really prepare for the midterm and final, it's relatively easy to get an A. He will tell you to write 2-3 sentences for the ID questions on the test but definitely write at least 5-6. It's better to be safe than sorry. This class was just plain awesome. I learned so much, put in an average amount of work and came out with an A.

Prof Reed is very knowledgable of the topic. He knows what he's talking about. If you think you might be interested in the history of modern china, go for it! if youre not a history person like myself, don't take it. You're grade depends on your TA. You'll have a midterm, paper, and final. For exams, your given a pretty clear study guide. The exam itself is not mc and is free response/short answer. Thus, bias of your TA might take place, but if you go to discussion and participate very actively, then there should be no negative bias against you.
there's a lot of reading in this class, but I wouldn't say theyre necessary to survive, but definitely helpful if you keep up with it. class is lecture based for the most part, so to do well youre going to need to be alert and giving your full attention during lecture the entire time. If you miss one thing he says, you'll be lost.
if i could turn back time, would i take this class again? No. but thats just because i don't think this class was meant for me. :)

This was definitely one of my best classes of the semester. Professor Reed is a highly underrated professor - his lectures are amazing and crammed with information, so you really get the feel that he understands this topic deeply. I'm not a history major, but this class has definitely made me think about wanting to become an East Asian Studies major. Since he gives you a study guide for the midterm and the final, it's easy to do well as long as you study beforehand. The essay was also do-able if you don't start the night before, but your grade depends a LOT on the bias of your TA. Honestly, it's not that hard to do well in this class as long as you put in the work and soak in the information from lecture. However, you CANNOT miss a single lecture because there are no recordings or notes, and all of the essay prompts are based on material that he goes over in lecture. I think the readings depend on how much you pay attention in lecture and your TA - my TA always asked us questions about the assigned Schoppa readings, so I only read those and the Lu Xun stories. I stopped reading Cheng after the first exam because it's basically the same as lecture, and I only read Age of Ambition for my essay. Overall, I would recommend taking this class just because Reed is an incredible professor and the topics are important and relevant to worldly current events.

I went in expecting it to be the easy A class everyone said it was going to be, but fun fact it's not an easy A. I didn't get the grade I was expecting so that was little disappointing but as others have said it does depend on your TA and how tough of a grader they are. On the other hand Bradley Reed is a great professor and the material is interesting.

I highly recommend this class to anyone looking to take an interesting history class and willing to put in some effort. This class is not difficult if you go to lectures and take good notes, participate in discussion (actually do the primary resource readings and talk in discussion), and make a good study guide for the midterm and final. Professor Reed is an extremely fascinating lecturer and the material is equally as interesting; I did not have any interest whatsoever in China until I took this course yet found myself very intrigued during every one of the lectures. Overall, I am very happy I took this course and feel that I learned a lot.

Bradley is a fantastic and intelligent lecturer! He knows so much about China, and his passion for the subject permeates every lecture! But I rarely did the readings. Even in discussion, I could skimp out on the readings and comment mostly about things Reed had mentioned in class (I had Qu Wu - easy going TA!). Grades are determined by one midterm, one final, one paper, and discussion participation. The midterm was surprisingly difficult since they required so much information, much more than expected, in those identification terms. The final was similar style but maybe with less difficulty, since we've seen this testing format by then. For the final paper, some TAs graded harder than others. I'd recommend going with the prompt that is based on the readings. I had done the Lu Xun readings and I stayed up all night to read the Osnos book. But I got an A on the paper, which I think is because my sources and my opinions were rooted on something tangible and focused like those Lu Xun and Osnos books. Although the other prompt didn't require any readings, the open-endedness of the prompt left opportunities for wild grading. The grades mostly come from the TAs so make sure to attend discussions. If you don't read anything else for the class, read Lu Xun and Osnos books.

Professor Reed certainly knows about China, his lecture is well-organized with inspiring ideas. Also recommend TA Mina Lee, she’s awesome and is able to organize fantastic discussion that worthy going on Friday 8 a.m.

Professor Reed is an amazing lecturer. If you're a first year I'd recommend this course as your first history class. The lectures are very interesting and the exams are very fair. I heard all the TA's were great but I had Crystal and had a great time in discussion. Definitely a course you should take.

Professor Reed is an AWESOME LECTURER and he truly care for the students! The problems are that first, the lecture pace is incredibly fast and if you have no knowledge about China history before, it's going to be tough, and second, the grade depends on the TAs a lot so choose GOOD TA! Reading is a good source to find information for the study guide.

Definitely an awesome non-western perspective class. I loved this class. Professor Reed did an awesome job engaging us with Modern Chinese history. I have taken many history classes before and this one was one of the best. I realized how little I knew about Chinese history and how important it is to the modern world. The only homework is weekly readings and then posting a few discussion questions. It really isn't that bad but I always put it off until the night it was due. Total work is about 2-3 hours of reading a week if you choose to do it all and then there is like one or two papers due the semester. The tests aren't that hard if you study, just make sure you finish in time for the essays. Definitely recommend.