HIUS 2061

Looking back, I am very glad I took this class. For one, Mark Thomas is awesome. Not only is he a great lecturer and really knows his stuff, he is also a kind and interested man who wants to get to know his students. Also, I learned a lot about monetary policy, US history and economic trends in this class. However, when I was taking it, I was not happy. It's a lot of old boring readings and the grading is not too forgiving. Take it if you are interested and stick it out all the way and you'll do fine.

DO NOT take this class if you are not a history or econ major, way too difficult and not worth it in my opinion. The professor is one of the best lecturers I've ever met and the things we learn are actually pretty interesting, but neither of those things make up for how much this class bombed my GPA this semester, and I am not even majoring in history or econ. Tests are very difficult to study for as he does not have powerpoints or give out study guides of any sort. Readings are dense.

Difficult yet rewarding course. The grading comes from 3 midterms and a final (each 25%). However, the 3rd midterm is giving in conjunction with the final, so it is a very exhausting day of test-taking. Mark Thomas is the best professor I have had so far at UVA, and keeps the class insightful and engaging. This class taught me a lot about American history and gives you real insight into the past. Grades are averaged right about an 80, but with a fairly low spread so that there aren't many A's or failing grades. I received a B+, and think it would be very difficult to get an A. All told, very tough but satisfying.

Thomas is very charming and makes lectures as fun as learning about the economy can be. His class is a little more difficult than most because he stands at the front of the room and talks from notes he's made for himself. Without lecture slides it was hard for me to get a general idea for how the concepts fit together. But, I'm more of a visual learner, so if you're into the whole auditory learning thing you should have no problem. No day-to-day homework, so little effort required overall, but he makes up for it by upping the difficulty of the exams. Your success in this class will heavily depend on how much you show up to the lectures and how well you can take notes for yourself. Side note to first years: unless you have previous experience in econ-based classes there may be some terms and concepts you don't understand at first. I'm sure if you take the time to go to office hours you'll figure it out. If I could do it all over I would've waited until after at least econ 2010, though.

Fantastic Professor very easy to stay engaged in lecture. Take good notes and do the packet reading and you will do well. Every test will have a few points dedicated to textbook reading but not worth the time in my opinion.

Thomas is a spectacular lecturer and professor. On top of that, the classes are interesting and engaging. You feel like you learn something important every time you sit down. That being said, I WOULD NOT recommend this class to any first years. I tried taking this in my first semester and truly regret it. Despite feeling like you've learned a lot, your grade will not reflect it and it is not an encouraging way to start your college career. If you're willing to take on a challenge, go for it knowing you'll be satisfied but be warned that it will be a struggle to convert that knowledge into a grade that will satisfy you. Take it after you've got some college classes under your belt and you're ready to battle.

Keep in mind, this is cross-listed as ECON 2060, but I took at as HIUS. I have to say that I really enjoyed the lectures. Mark Thomas is a great professor and a really funny guy. However, it's clear he really cares about the subject material that he's teaching. While the lectures are great, you have to pay attention and take great notes, because come test time you're going to need it all. There's no other outside work other than reading. It was definitely my most time consuming class considering all the readings and studying for the tests (10 hours+ of studying a few days out; could be daunting for a first-year) Here are some tips that I recommend:

- You may want to consider taking ECON 2010 before taking this course, there's a lot of Econ lingo that he explains, assuming you have no prior knowledge, but it can be tough if you're not Econ savvy and do not have some background in it.
- Go to every lecture and take notes on notes on notes from the lectures and make sure you know the big themes.
- Read and study the packet readings with the same amount of effort as you do the lecture notes.
- Don't bother with the textbook, his lectures are essentially the textbook content and it's a very expensive book (I rarely used it).
- Study in a group after you've gone over the notes yourself.
- Make sure you answer the full question and provide any specific details you can remember on the tests that support your argument. That will get you more points.

Overall, this was a rewarding class, and in hindsight I'm very glad I took it. The tests and final especially can really be stressful, but if you study hard you'll be fine. The grading isn't as bad, just make sure you give them positive things to grade.

Great lecturer, but at times make the subject matter more difficult than it needs to be. Tests are ridiculously difficult. Definitely not a GPA booster.

This class has been my favorite so far. I took this first semester, first year. I randomly signed up for it because my sucky enrollment time didn't allow me to get Econ 201 so I wanted to take something related to economics (intended major). I did not know that course forum existed at this time, but if I had, I wouldn't have taken it because of the low average GPA. It is a blessing that I didn't know about course forum because I loved this class and ended up doing fairly well for such a difficult class as a first year (B+). Professor Thomas is awesome. His accent makes everything very interesting. Just make sure you do all the reading because the identifications at the beginning of each exam will be small details from reading or maybe lecture. Do not skip lecture (you won't want to anyway). If you do have to miss, make sure you get the notes from someone. Also, the two midterms make up 50% of your grade combined and the final is 50% so there is not a lot of room for error. Don't let the difficulty scare you away- you won't regret it... but don't be expecting an A.

Thomas is a very engaging lecturer. This class is very interesting, but is definitely not a GPA booster. Tests are very difficult and Thomas is a strict grader. Make sure you actually read all the documents in the packet he gives you if you want to do well on the tests.