HIEU 1502

*Semester was actually Fall 2023* This course was probably my favorite of my first year, but don't let the name fool you - this is not a history class. The topic is more akin to looking at how historians interact with the past, rather than on actual history itself. Since it fulfills the second writing requirement, there is a fair amount of reading and writing involved, but you learn so much it is worth it. The class structure is one reading a week, usually a book of about 200-300 pages, although if needed, you could probably read only the first half, since the writing report (about 500-1000 words) is completely open-ended. The style of reading and writing takes some getting used to, which is great since it forces you to think in a new way. The class is also pretty easy, since you are only graded by a portfolio of your works at the end of the semester, affording you the opportunity to edit and fix your reports.
If you don't mind putting in the work and are interested in history, then this class is extremely awarding and you learn a lot. Definitely recommend. #tCFS24

It's definitely not an easy course, but if you put in the work I found it extremely fulfilling.

This is how the course is structured: there is one reading a week that you write a response to before the next class. A lot of these readings, although (especially with the more theoretical works in the latter half) were indeed work to get through, but I would say all of them were interesting, or at the very least, thought provoking. In addition to these reading responses, there are 2 "think papers" were you pose yourself a question and then explore it.

Then, towards the end of the semester, you revise the work you want to revise (think paper 1, 2, and good responses) and submit that for final grading. The benefit of revising at the end is that I could choose to expand upon previous thoughts that were undeveloped but interesting with all of what I learned from the course. Megill provides extensive (though pretty brutal) comments on your writing but it's not without warrant. Using his feedback and revising really helped me "aim for precision and clarity" and I feel that I'm now a much more exact and clear thinker/writer.

The discussions themselves were pretty great too -- Megill would prompt us to discuss about the text and then after a break he would explain some of the more general ideas of history found implicitly in the texts. A lot of the knowledge he brought to class was extremely thought provoking and he had a certain frankness about his ideas that I enjoyed.

Take this class if you don't mind putting in the work to gain the better critical thinking and writing skills which are essential to almost every career.

Recommend. This is more like a theory of history class rather than the conventional history course which focuses on facts. If you are a theoretical person, and you love more abstract way of thinking, I will definitely recommend it!
Many questions we have discussed in class become things that I am really interested in, such as memory, objectivity/subjectivity, affects in historical writing, ethics of writing.
I am especially touched by his fourth class, when he commented on our reading response about Collingwood's The idea of history. He said, Collingwood’ s text is very complex, but many of us ignored the contradiction and tried to make the text smooth, coherent, and consistent, thus erasing the complexity and subtlety of the text itself, turning it into a thin piece of paper. "Try to hold yourself back. When you don't know where the text goes, it is where positions open," he said. That really touched me.

And I also really enjoyed reading Midelfort’ s the Exorcism and Enlightenment and other texts he assigned. When Midelfort talked about the enlightenment and the priest's Exorcism in Germany in the 18th century, he did not simplify the story (and the reality). It has depth, but not necessarily has a position. When I first read it, I thought it was a story of science vs. religion, faith vs. reason. But it is not. Midelfort talked about how the boundary between one thing and the other is vague and almost nonexistent; how people living in three centuries ago understood the world around them. He does not to erase the contradictions and the complexities at all. And I was also so impressed when he talked about Heidegger, Hannah Arendt, their separation, and their reunion. “ Passion means both 'love' and ‘suffering’.”
Many readings, and 500 words reading response each week. Two thinking pieces (one 1000 words, the other 1500 words). Megill is knowledgeable, prideful, energetic, and humorous in a weird way. Definitely go to Office hours to talk to him. And he will probably say that your writing has stylistic issues.
I've taken almost 20 classes at UVa till now, and I love all of them; yet, I would say this class, a class in Religious Department, and another class in Anthropology department are the most life changing courses to me. They are not just about facts or knowledge, but about ways of thinking and the perceiving, touching, feeling of the world (and also what it means to be being-in-the world).

Megill will help you, as he says, write, think, and speak "intelligently." The reading was generally interesting and some of the books even verged on entertaining. He also brought us sandwiches on the last day of class.