HILA 2001

This class offers a strong overview of pre-independence Latin American history: background on the Aztec/Inca/Maya, brief history of Iberia before 1492, a discussion of the "conquest" and conquistadores, some time on colonial Spanish society and how indigenous peoples interacted with the Spanish, a history of the slave trade, and finally it wraps up with Latin American independence from Spain/Portugal. Professor Klubock's lecture style can be polarizing, but I really enjoy it: he tends to go in depth on a few particular topics from the lecture slides. I recommend going to office hours, especially before exams, since Klubock knows his stuff and wants to see everyone in the class succeed.

The readings for the class aren't bad and offer some really interesting historical perspectives. My two favorites were Religion and Empire, which essentially explains the fall of the Aztec and Inca as a product of internal political strife resulting from various policy choices, and Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, which offers an Afro-centric history of the Atlantic world & slave trade. The books introduce some controversial ideas (which Klubock acknowledges) but are great to critically engage with.

I heard some bad things about one of the other discussion sections, but my section was excellent. Met some chill people & we always had a solid discussion going. Hector did a good job. And by the way, this class is really easy. Two exams and a final are the ONLY assignments you actually have to do all semester and they're really easy. You choose 5 keywords (10 for the final) from a list of 15 or so and write about their historical significance. The keywords always align with the focuses of the class. Would strongly recommend this course to anyone interested in Latin American history at all.

#tCFF23

I am currently in this course and decided to actually make a course forums account to write this review. This class sucks. I am a history major and this has been my least favorite class in the history department so far. I am shocked that so many of the reviews are positive about this class because it has been so bad for me. Don't get me wrong, you can get a decent grade, but be prepared for the most unorganized and uninteresting lectures you have ever been to. Your entire grade is based on three exams which are identifying some of the "key words" that he puts on the board once a week, but he goes over probably 15% of these in class and the rest are in the readings. To do well, just make sure you have all the keywords (he doesn’t post them so you have to go to lectures) and command F them in the online textbooks. Klubock seems like a nice guy, but will repeat the same thing over and over again in lecture to the point that we are over a week behind in lecture so the readings don't even line up. There is no organization so you will never quite be sure whether he is talking about the Aztecs, Incas, or even Spaniards. The actual material is pretty interesting, but it is quite hard to learn from lecture. I am taking Early Modern Europe as well and learned about the Spanish conquest mostly from that class than this one.

The rest of your grade comes from your discussion grade. If you can get Josué as your TA, try to do so. He is very knowledgable and helpful and will spend a lot of discussion going over the things in lecture that did not really make sense. In conclusion, if you need to fulfill a requirement with this class, you probably can get a decent grade with not that much effort. If you are a history major like me and want to really gain something from your history classes, avoid this one at all costs. #tCFfall22

Professor Klubock and the TA, Chloe Porche, was excellent this semester despite the online structure. Simultaneously, there were points where Klubock's lectures became a bit inconsistent, going off on tangents that sometimes became irrelevant to the subject matter. Almost every week, Porche led discussion sections with extreme enthusiasm and passion for ensuring students succeeded and understood the material. She inspired me to participate in discussions actively and to interact with my classmates. She is truly a gem. I recommend students take this class. The exams consisted of five terms with a bonus term, although they were closed-note and had only 50 minutes to complete the exams. Nonetheless, if you adequately studied for the exams and participated in discussions, it is hard not to earn an "A" in HILA 2001.

This is one of the most boring and mindnumbing classes I've ever taken. The professor speaks super quietly and sometimes spends all class on one slide talking about whatever he feels like. Midterms are just term defining so it's not terribly difficult but get ready for a mindnumbing semester of latin american history for 3 hours a week.

Interesting material and Klubock is a great professor who really strives to ensure that his students understand the material. He is a good lecturer, although he sometimes talks fast so be ready to take notes. There is a fair amount of reading for this class, but it is doable. Your grade consists of participation in discussion (which sometimes includes questions/quizzes on the reading- very easy!!) two midterms and a final. The midterms and final are identification/ short answers concerning major terms and he gives you a study guide in advance. If you go to lecture, do the readings, and participate in discussion you can get a pretty easy A.

Professor Klubock really makes the material come alive, and the lectures are very interesting. Sit near the front because he speaks quietly. The class is graded on discussion attendance, two midterms, and a final. They are short-answer and very straightforward and easy to study for. I really recommend this class, and I'm in the second half of it (2002) right now!

Easy as long as you do the reading (there's a lot of it though)

This class has lots of weekly readings that you have to do in order to participate in the discussions. If you do the readings and go to lectures, the midterms are so easy. Klubock is a really good lecturer and clearly knows his stuff

I will start off by saying that professor Klubock is no Paul Kershaw -- if you're looking for dramatic action-packed lectures, this is not the place for you. That said, prof. Klubock is very knowledgeable. His lectures are clear and well organized and he regularly asks to make sure there are no lingering questions or issues concerning the course material. The course material: Klubock spent the first month on pre-conquest Latin America (read: Aztecs, Maya, Incas) before moving on to the Spanish conquest itself and colonial rule. The course is broad but Klubock is good at finding specific events and issues to talk about, so despite being a 200-level class, you feel like you are getting more depth. For a 200-level class, however, there is A LOT of reading, close to 175-200 pages a week. Reading is crucial to the course because the midterm, the one 5-page paper, and the final are all based on the reading. The midterm and final, however, are essay tests and prof. Klubock gives out the questions before hand, making it relatively easy to read what you need to read, write an outline, and go into the tests knowing what you will write. The reading is also all secondary sources so it can be dry at times but if you are interested in this period, the reading list provides a good sample of what historians think about the times.

A note on Chris Cornelius. He was the best TA I've had at UVa. He is writing his thesis on colonial Latin America and is therefore more than qualified to TA this class. He knows the stuff in and out. Discussions are worth going to because Chris won't just rehash the reading or the lectures, he'll actually give you a better understanding of the material himself.

Awesome class, Cornelius rocks.

If you go to lecture and do at least some reading you will get a good grade