HIEU 2162

I highly recommend this course if you are interested in history/Russia but do not want a class that is very writing intensive. The lectures and textbook are very interesting and the professor assigns a few interesting films to watch throughout the semester. I found Rossman very engaging although the class sometimes felt impersonal because the large lecture is the only time of interaction with him. Discussion is led by a TA and is required to go to and is a significant portion of the final grade. 15% of the grade is also made up of 3 2-page essays which were graded fairly leniently and did not take too long to write. There were times it felt like there was too much reading but it was always very interesting. The midterm was a timed essay and 6-8 short response questions. The final was the same but with an extra essay.
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Although the material itself was quite interesting, the lectures were boring at best and felt very dragged on. The 3 papers were pretty fun to write but only worth 15% of your entire grade. Participation in discussions was 25% of the grade which seemed unnecessarily high considering the three papers were just worth 15% in total. Overall would probably not take this class

This course is pretty light writing wise, but there is a TON of reading that you need to do each week, especially if you've never taken a Russian history class before. My discussion sections with Nicholas Lindberg were fun and incredibly helpful in breaking down the readings, but you do need to read in order to follow along most times. The course includes three short 2 page double-spaced essays throughout the semester, which are usually graded pretty harshly at first because you need to be able to fit a ton of information into a small number of words and use the language that the TA is looking for, but your grade should get better with every essay. There is also a map quiz and a mid-term which aren't difficult. The final exam, however, was very extensive and most people used every second of the three hours given. There is a lot of studying and preparation necessary. For example: You're given 40 ID terms to memorize and on the final exam you only have to write about 10 of them. They do give you a study guide which is SUPER helpful, but you end up studying a lot more than what actually shows up on the test. Studying the guide is worth it though because the test questions and essay prompts are copied and pasted from the study guide. Professor Rossman is a super knowledgable and always encourages questions during class because he moves very fast. Sometimes it is hard to keep up, but all in all he kept the class super interesting and I learned a lot.

Great course! The study guides for the midterm (15%) and final (40%) are thorough. Three two page papers due throughout the semester, each worth 5%. Nick Lindberg was a great TA and a fair grader but don't know if he'll be TAing again. Rossman's lectures are engaging and Russia has an interesting history.

LOVED this class! While it might not be for everyone (you better really like history), it was one of the best classes I've taken at UVA. Rossman was an obvious expert on the subject and I always felt like his lectures were engaging and worth my time. He does assign a good bit of reading, but I found it all pretty interesting. You could probably get away with just reading the primary source documents and not bothering with the textbook, but I found doing both really helped make things more clear. With that being said, lecture attendance is a must...but I can't think of a single lecture that I didn't enjoy. Clayton was also one of the better TA's I've had in the history department. He did a great job leading discussion, was a fair grader, and was always available for extra help. In short, take this class if you love history and are willing to put in the time. If you do, you won't regret it.

I really enjoyed this class. The material was interesting and the lectures were outlined in a really clear and understandable way. My TA, Zachary Hoffman, was great and made discussions interesting and even fun to go to. There are 3 two page papers throughout the semester and the most important thing to read is the primary source documents in the class packets, as those are talked about in discussion. Would definitely recommend this class!

This was an absolutely phenomenal course! Rossman is obviously a terrific expert in his field, and the amount of relevant information he shares in lecture is actually incredibly interesting. He has a great lecture style, is pretty funny and easy to listen to and follow, and seemed pretty good at explaining the topic and intricacies of the time period in a digestible manner,

As a History minor, this up there with Confino's Palestine 1948 and Thomas's American Econ, I loved them all. Admittedly the reading is a bit tedious, the textbook is really only relevant come the midterm and finals. Use the textbook for definitions, refer to the notes for themes, and the class packet is just fine. In fact, I found the reading in the class packet pretty darn neat; really interesting primary sources that I felt were always worth my time.

Again, terrific class all around, don't let the grading distribution deter you from this if the topic interests you!

I took this class just for fun and I really enjoyed it! There are readings in the course packet that can sometimes take a while, but those are really necessary to do for the discussion section of the course, where you really need to participate in order to get a good grade. There are 3 2-page papers (the topic of which you can choose) that total to 15% of the grade, discussion is 25%, there's a map quiz that's an easy 5%, the midterm is 15%, and then the final is 40%. He gave us really helpful study guides for the midterm and final. Professor Rossman is really passionate about Russian history and it shows in his lectures, none of which ever felt like a chore to go to. Side note: he doesn't allow electronics in class, so be sure to take really good notes! Also, reading the textbook is not necessary, as Rossman's lectures tell you all that you need to know.

Reading: Textbook is very interesting but contains much more information than is necessary to do well in the course. Supplementary readings are interesting, but not essential to do well on the midterm. You do use them on the final exam and for the short papers, but Rossman guides you to which documents are important.

Lecture: Lecture is powerpoint, all key terms are on the slides but you need to take notes in order to do well. Rossman is very enthusiastic about the founding of the Soviet Union, as well as its fall, but seemed a little unenthusiastic about Khrushchev & Brezhnev. We spent a lot of time on the early period of Bolshevism and rushed through the final years. All in all, lecture was interesting. I never found myself wanting to skip.

Papers: 3 two-page papers, on primary sources in the course packet. They are graded fairly, but the TA's expect you to pack a lot of analytical writing into two pages. If you don't analyze, you won't do well on the assignment.

Discussion: going over lecture & documents. Not super enlightening, but it is required. Leia was a fantastic TA; great at lecturing.

Midterm: Study guide is given, not very difficult.

Final: study guide given, very very long. Your hand will cramp. But it is fair

I would recommend this course.

While the subject matter is pretty interesting and Rossman is a good professor who is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the material. There is a ton of reading (100-150 pg. per week) and the participation requirements in discussion are kind of ridiculous. If you don't speak a lot in every section you can at best expect an 80-85 for 20% of your grade. The workload isn't bad, 3 mini essays, a super easy map quiz, and midterm and final that he gives you an extensive review sheet for. The mini-essays are deceiving though, only 2 pages but the TA's expect you to be concise and cover a ton of material in 600 words. They are also graded pretty harshly. Overall, a decent class though.

The amount you have to talk in discussion is a little ridiculous. Aside from that, great TA and interesting material presented in an enthusiastic manner. Talk like a know it all and in discussion and prepare thoroughly for the midterm and final.

Grading in discussion section requires exceptional amount of talking. Make sure to speak even if you don't have much to add.

I LOVED this class. I only took because a friend any myself needed to fulfill our "Europe post 1700" requirement for hour History majors and also wanted to take a class together. However, this turned into one of the best classes I've taken in history department, since I've been at the University. Do yourself a favor and take this class!

I really enjoyed this class. It really got me interested in history. Rossman is a great lecturer, obviously knows his stuff. Some of the pace of the class bothered me a little bit, I felt like we had to fly through the last 10 or 20 years of the USSR having spent so much time on the first 20, but it wasn't unbearable. Also not too bad is the grading, 3 2-page papers, 1 super easy geography quiz. Midterm and final can be kind of long, but he did give us thorough study guides to prepare beforehand.

Very interesting course. Russian history in itself is very interesting. Rossmans lectures are extremely interesting and engaging. Didnt fall asleep all semester if that says anything. There are 3 two page papers for discussion that are mainly a breeze. If you do the reading and come to class you will be set.

Rossman is very knowledgeable about the subject. He gives out study guides to the midterm and final, and you write 3 short papers based on primary sources. You need to study hard for the tests, they are not tricky but graded hardly

Very interesting class. Be prepared to take notes in lectures, and there are 3 short papers that really aren't too bad. Midterm and Final aren't too difficult if you put the time in.

I enjoyed this class. Rossman is incredibly knowledgable about Russian history. There was a significant amount of reading. 3 short papers, a midterm and final. Overall good class, but worked hard and only pulled a B.

I fell asleep every class at least once. It got worse as semester went on because he seemed less enthusiastic about the material-just taught it to teach it

This was a really interesting class and Rossman is definitely knowledgeable about the topic. However, the reading was very dense and Nick Brooks was my TA. He was awful and basically ruined the class for me. Other than that, there isn't a big paper, just a few mini ones due in section. The midterm and final have study guides and are super easy.

Rossman really knows his stuff. If you are interested in Russian history, taking a class with him is an absolute must. The exams are easy because he gives a study guide the week before with all the needed material on it. The lectures are really informative and pretty necessary to do well. Reading for discussion isn't as important since you can get by as long as you know what was said in lecture.

Reading load is high and exams are difficult, but the course is very rewarding.

Excellent course. Professor is brilliant, with a lot of published material. Lectures are interesting and you learn a great deal.