HIUS 3071

Very knowledgeable professor, but do not take this class if you aren't interested in politics.

It's a good class one in class mid term one eight page paper and one take home final lots of assigned reading but you dont need to do all of it

Great class. He is an old guy that is still energitic and entertaining. Probably the best history professor at UVA.

Hard class but enjoyable

About 250pgs of reading each week, one paper, mid-term and finals.

Lots of books. Don't really have to go to class to get a solid grade though, just have to write well

Holt knows what he's talking about, and makes it easy because he has pretty specific argument and if you play along with it he lays it out pretty well. read the political crisis of the 1850s during the first few weeks and it lays out every lecture. if you know the book, you will do well in the class, but he's entertaining enough that class is worthwhile for the most part, too

Holt is opinionated, to say the least, and unflinchingly refutes any suggestion of alternatives to his nontraditional theory of the Civil War's causes. Don't try to argue with him, you can't and won't win, even if you're right, but enjoy the opportunity to take a class from a master in his field. Also, word to the wise, read Holt's book first, scan Foner, scan Freehling and the two smaller books, and disregard the rest. Of the assigned reading, the vast majority is intended to establish context, whereas only about 15% of it ever actually makes it to the class or tests.

Great class! Very interesting and engaging lectures.

Awful, awful class. Mr. Holt simply hunches over his notebook, mumbles through his frivolously-detailed notes at lightning speed, and when he has something interesting to say, he looks up and mumbles "Uh, uh..." a thousand times. Made note-taking impossible and a waste of time. Office hours, somehow, were equally unhelpful. Much of the hundreds of pages of assigned reading is officially not covered on the exam, which nearly made me tear up my Toqueville book.

Conclusion: you have to LOVE early 19th century politics to like this class.