HIUS 3171

If you are interested in US history, take this class. Professor Milov is really knowledgeable and engages with the class. There are two papers and two in-class exams, plus the discussions are mandatory and you have to write a reflection every week. It's definitely a lot of work, but if you keep up with the readings, it's manageable.

Very solid history course. Milov clearly knows her stuff, and Lauren is both one of the most engaging and one of the most challenging TAs I have yet experienced. The material essentially covers United States political history from the conclusion of WWII to the present day. Under this umbrella, the course also covers long-term social movements and economic phenomena that have influenced historical policy debates and electoral results. This material would probably be of the most interest to students of history or politics. Grading is reasonable, consisting of participation, two essays, midterm and final exams. Exams are straightforward, involving IDs and essays (prompts given out beforehand). The essays are a little interesting. Early in the semester she had us write a “small” essay of about 2 pages, worth 5% of our grades. Lauren then held writing conferences whereby she met individually with students to explain her grading comments and critique their writing. This is very helpful for getting a good grade on the second paper, which is of a more standard length. Overall, I really enjoyed this class. There is, however, a caveat. As Milov herself notes toward the end of the semester, the course covers some parts of history that have not yet been fully settled. Of all history classes, you can bet a class on post-WWII U.S. history would be one that is most prone to politics. In this regard, Milov does a fairly good job of being even-handed and objective. She did, however, get political at the end. Things got a little weird starting with her lecturing on the Clinton administration, but I found myself very disappointed with her finale lecture. By the time she got to the George W. Bush administration, Milov’s lecture evolved into a fully partisan polemic. Furthermore, at the end of her last lecture, Milov essentially does a quick run through many of the issues prominent today in national elections, takes a decidedly liberal stand on all of them, and her closing message is more or less: “See, I’ve shown you the history. Now go support these policies on Election Day.” It was an odd and disappointing ending to what was otherwise a fairly strong and enjoyable semester.

Absolutely loved this class. Professor Milov does a great job of making sure you know the facts while still relating them to broader themes and making connections. She incorporates interesting anecdotes as well as cool videos and music to further illustrate her point. Exams are essay questions given in advance and graded fairly. Additionally, there were two fairly short, easy papers. Would recommend this course to anyone.