HIUS 2001

This was my first history course at UVA and was definitely a great one to start with. Taylor is a true historian and you read the books he's written in the course. The course is solely focused on IDs, like most history classes at UVA and if you know those in depth, you'll be good for the exam. My TA Ethan was super chill and made the readings interesting. You need to do the readings because you are tested on IDs from the books but they weren't bad - I highly recommend finding an online PDF version so you can command F terms during the exams, which are all online at home and very writing intensive. For the papers, he has a very strict writing guide that you NEED to follow to do well. You can't use any form of "to be" which is a little excessive in my opinion but definitely made me a better writer. Overall great general history class, similar to APUSH so that helped me and I recommend to fulfill a requirement or for people looking to get into history.

I thought it was a very interesting class but I would make sure you're interested in the topic. The class is lecture style and a lot of the class is based on your TA. My TA was very good so I enjoyed it. Reading isn't too bad if you like the topic. IDs are kinda annoying to do but if you do them each class instead of waiting until an exam it helps a lot. The only downside is there aren't that many grades so you have to take each assignment pretty seriously. Overall I really recommend the class and think Taylor was really interesting and pretty entertaining.

I highly recommend this course for anyone who is a history major or needs to fulfill the disciplines requirement. There is one paper, a midterm, and a final. But other than that, there is no other work to turn in. Going to lecture is a must, as well as a discussion section. There are identifications given during the lecture and found during the reading that the final and midterm are based upon. The discussion section is based upon reading a few documents (under 30 minutes). There are two additional books assigned throughout the course. Reading them helps, but you can make it with a decent grade without touching them. I read the first, skimmed the second, and ended with an A-. Alan is a great lecturer and made the material interesting and easy to listen to. He can be somewhat of a tough grader, but include as many details as possible on the exams and edit your paper thoroughly. #tCFfall22

My review of this course dives into somewhat of a different opinion than other reviews I've read. Just like another review I read here said, we were required to be ridiculously specific on exams, but the TA didn't seem to be able to explain how we could improve. I found it extremely frustrating when I went to the TA's office hours to have my midterm grade explained and he couldn't tell me directly why I got points taken away or how I could avoid making the same mistakes on the final. Along the same vein, the writing assignments were inconsistently graded. The assignments build off one another, meaning that if you do well on one part in the first assignment it stands to reason that you should do well on that part in the final assignment, I had points taken off for something that I was told was "perfect" in my first draft. Despite the annoying grading, I found that the lectures weren't all that engaging, at least with the class being online. I love history, so most of the time I could keep myself engaged, but there were many times I found myself zoning out or losing focus. More often than not, the 1 hr 15 min length felt twice as long. Alan Taylor did have his moments where he managed to make me laugh, but don't go in expecting him to be funny and joking in every lecture. Overall, I think this is a decent course as it had a manageable workload that consisted of weekly document readings, 3 writing assignments, and 2 exams (the final was open note). My tips for this course are that it is CRUCIAL you understand EVERYTHING about the IDs and read his assigned book in-depth prior to the midterm. After the midterm, I slacked a little on the assigned book readings but was fine on the open book/note final. For me, the class was an easy and sometimes frustrating A, but I would not recommend taking it if you're looking for a class that is going to give you clear grading expectations, consistently engaging lectures, and interesting readings. I would recommend it if you're interested in the history major and want to get your feet wet in the department or are invested in that area of history. #tCF2020

I have a slightly different take on this class than some of the other reviews. The biggest disagreement I have is the exams. Especially for the mid-term, we had 90 IDs to memorize and were tested on 5. It makes sense that we have a lot (it is a 4 credit course) but we were also required to know very very specific components of each one. This seems to be counter-intuitive as with an increase in IDs, one would expect to see a decrease in specificity required on the exams. Grading is very subjective and when I discussed it with the TA, he seemed to have trouble explaining some of the marks off. Comments were also general and often did not state what I needed to add to my response. If the requirement is that we be specific in our exams, it seems only fair that the grader also is specific on where we went wrong so we can improve our performance. I also wish there was more information on the slides. Not word for word, but more than just pictures would be helpful so that, at the very least, we have context when we review them. Now, I completely agree that Prof. Taylor is a phenomenal lecturer and does manage to make the material we have been taught since the third grade very interesting and the lectures humorous. I also believe he gave a very balanced perspective on American history, which is refreshing (not to one extreme or the other). Not too much work except when preparing for the exams. I would recommend this class to someone interested in American History, but I would tell them this is not an easy A and to be prepared to study hard for the exams.

I have taken many courses at UVA with great lecturers, but none have been quite like Alan Taylor. Even in COVID online class, he had me completely engrossed from start to finish, 1hr 15min, every single time. Prof. Taylor doesn't put notes on his slides (so you have to pay attention), and instead puts a painting or map up and from there tells a story. I had never really learned about 19th century America in high school, so there was lots of new fascinating material. Also, he tells a very honest take on American history-- he holds the people accountable for slavery etc. but believes in the principles of the American founding and in being good historians. This is a really great class for first years, as he has a couple of assignments that help walk you through a 5-6 page term paper over the semester. The readings are split up by week, not by lecture, which makes things manageable. There are extra document readings for discussion section but they are super short. The tests are not easy and require a lot of studying because they are based on IDs that you write out and then relate to each other, but they are straightforward and as long as you pay attention and take detailed notes you will be ok. I could not recommend this class more. Prof. Taylor is incredible.
#tCF2020

Alan Taylor is a legendary professor who is unbelievably well-qualified to teach this course. The subject material itself was presented in an original way that didn't make this class feel like a repeat of the APUSH courses I took in high school. The work isn't difficult either. Discussion sections require a bit of beforehand reading but they're usually quite short. Professor Taylor's teaching style is humorous and engaging and he really is a phenomenal professor.

The professor is super knowledgeable and the workload is doable, especially for a history class. Basically, you have to do document readings every week and sometimes a reading from a book but they aren't very long. There are three writing assignments and the professor makes his grading system very clear so you know what he wants in the essays. I highly recommend this class if you're at all interested in American history.

Professor Alan Taylor is a great lecturer and adds in bits of humor to keep you entertained, however, the material itself can be bland. If you are also looking to learn a lot about the Civil War, this is not the class because it is only briefly covered. It is ESSENTIAL that you understand the "IDs" because there are frequent quizzes on them and their relationships with each other. For example, an ID can be Thomas Jefferson, and the other one can be Sally Hemmings. You need to know what the ID is, when it occurred, where it happened, why it is important, and the relationship between the two IDs. This class is honestly not that difficult (I didn't do many of the readings) if you take good lecture notes. My TA was Daniel Sunshine and he was awesome; he engaged us in many ways from holding mock trials to simply making charts to help you understand the material. Professor Taylor has his set of writing rules that are a critical component to this course so be sure to implement those rules into your writing. You will also need several blue books for the ID quizzes in class.

This class is a lot of work, but it's worth it - Professor Taylor is amazing and his lectures are fantastic. Additionally, the TAs were very good as well. This class is very writing-heavy, so if you aren't used to drafting, you'll get pretty good at it. If you put the work in, you can get a good grade without too much stress.

Absolutely loved this class. Professor Taylor is hilarious and can make any topic much more manageable. Pretty much no homework, 4 quizzes which are fairly manageable, one long paper, and an open note exam. Would highly recommend to anyone if you are looking for a good and easy history class. TA's also make this class awesome.

This guy is a legend and would recommend his class for everyone. Exams are all essay based and there is one long paper. Class wasn't too difficult and ended up with an A-.

Professor Taylor is a great lecturer. He is very passionate about the subject and encourages class participation. He has the skill of injecting humor into his lecture to keep people engaged while still giving out valuable information. Best history professor I've had at UVA. His course requires a lot of reading, it is very helpful if you are at least somewhat interested in the material. The class is structured in a way that heavily depends on the IDs he gives out each lecture.