HIEU 2061

Exceptional class...Kershaw is a great lecturer, but it helps to sit in the first few rows so that you can fully understand his accent...the reading is heavy and sometimes boring, but it pays off and needs to be done in order to succeed on the exams.

I really loved this class. The lectures can take some getting used to because he jumps around a lot, but if you keep up with the reading, he's easy to follow.

This class was well taught and Kershaw was clearly very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about what he was teaching. There were 3 papers due throughout the course and they weren't too hard. The midterms and final require a bit of memorization, but nothing cramming can't solve.

Kershaw is a very enthusiastic, knowledgeable lecturer and he makes sometimes tedious topics interesting. There's a lot of reading and four papers due over the semester, but it is definitely manageable. If you like European history, I'd recommend this class.

I love love love the class! Definitely my favorite class during this semester, being a pre-comm student. Kershaw really enjoys teaching it, so you're more likely to listen yourself. He makes jokes and tries to portray the subject as interesting as possible. I would recommend some interest in history though, because there are 4 essays required throughout the semester.
I definitely encourage everyone to take it!

Professor Kershaw is the best! He's very interactive and funny, especially during his lectures and his accent and humor makes the lectures more interesting. On the other hand, his lectures can sometimes be a bit random or not pertain to the material on the exam. The lectures also become difficult to sit through as the year progresses. You need to write 4 papers total (2 before the midterm). Those are the worst part (along with the amount of reading) because you're expected to do quite a bit of reading a week and then contribute to discussion. I'd recommend it though because it's still a good class.

You have to be really interested in early European History to take this class. It covers the mainly the Middle Ages (roughly from 200 - 1200 AD). Lectures are very random and jump around a lot. Profesor Kershaw is extremely funny and personable, but it is very difficult to follow along during discussion. Halfway through the semester, he banned laptops from the lecture hall, which made it difficult to take notes. You have to write 2 essays per semester, which aren't too bad, but require you to analyze an extreme amount of reading for the week.

This class was definitely a challenge at first, but got easier throughout the semester. You have to interpret difficult primary sources and write 4-5 page papers on them (four throughout the semester). The grading is done by TAs. I had D.H. Dilbeck- I highly recommend him! The midterm and final are all about memorizing a list of about 35-40 terms and being able to write their importance on the exam. The exams also include passage IDs that are fairly easy on the midterm, but get a little tricky for the final. The final also has an added medium length essay that is not too difficult if you study. Overall, this class is worth taking if you have somewhat of an interest in European history.

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS IF YOU ARE NOT EXTREMELY INTERESTED IN EUROPEAN HISTORY. I took this class to get a requirement out of the way and completely regret it. It is extremely boring in the lectures and impossible to follow- Kershaw talks extremely fast, using vague themes & jumps back and forth between topics making taking hand-written notes almost impossible. Discussions are hard to participate in if you do not completely understand the readings, which are EXTENSIVE each week. Primary sources that are hard to follow and require a lot of concentration to get through.

worst class ever, i hate my life