HIEA 2011

One of the hardest classes I have taken at UVA. Impossible to get an A in this class. I did every single reading for this class, which is around 200 pages each week, and still could not get 100's on the reading quizzes because she would pick out the most minute detail from the 200 pages. That being said, the class is pretty interesting if you like history and the professor is really nice. It is just one of the situations where the teacher expects you to know everything about the topic that they have been studying for 30+ years. The class was 30% these two papers, each one being weighted 15% and the average grade for our class on the papers was around an 85%. Reading quiz average was around 75% and the only things that got peoples grades up was the map quiz and chronological event quiz at the end of the course. Take this course only if interested and you are fine with reading 15 hours a week to only get an A- at best.

I took this my first semester at UVa and it was pretty doable except the fact I didn’t really know how to write papers, yet only history papers, in college yet. Professor Zhang is really knowledgeable and if Chinese history sounds interesting to you, then you should definitely take this class! Be warned that this class can get a little heavy on religion and ideals (Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, etc) and rather than focusing on an event after an event like most history classes do, this class emphasizes the development of the Chinese identity. I think the main question of this course is “What makes a Chinese person Chinese?”
Zhang’s typical lecture contains going through historical documents like pictures, but she mostly follows her class outline (which she posts online thank god). After the end of every class, she has a mini-quiz which typically contains about 3-5 questions and it’s honestly just to check if people have done the reading and were paying attention in class LOL. Also, these questions also appear on the exams (which are fill-in-the-blank) so if you don’t have a high grade in this class, wyd? In addition, she leaves her exit quizzes to like the very end of class (with like maybe 3 min remaining) so plan that in accordance if you have another class after hers.

This class had 20 quizzes over the semester so about 1 quiz a day. The quizzes were supposed to be easy so as long as you do the designated reading she assigned you will be fine. She also goes over the answers during the lecture so after the lecture about five minutes before class ends she hands out the mini quiz and you take it. Then there were also 4 mini exams that were also based off of her readings and class notes. There are dates you have to know but she also goes over them during the lecture, the dates she really wants you to know are the start and ending years of the different dynasties, so if you know those then you will be fine. The daily quizzes have four fill in the blank questions and the mini exams have 10 fill in the blank questions, she says that there are multiple choice and true or false, but she only gave maybe 4 true or false questions over the course of the semester. The mini exams are cumulative for each part of the semester but after the mini exam you are done with everything and then you move onto the next section of the class. So the semester is split into 4 sections and after each section you don't have to worry about remembering those dynasties anymore for the rest of the semester. There were 2 larger papers of about 1000-1200 words and I would definitely recommend visiting her office hours about the papers. The class didn't have that much homework except for the daily readings and you don't have to memorize all the little details, but the most important stuff. There are no midterms and there is no final. She is really passionate about Chinese history but she can be really boring to listen to especially in the morning. I would definitely take this class if you have even the slightest interest in the class, I definitely learned a lot.

Basically the format of the class is 2 essays which make up 50% of your grade. Impossible to get A+ and very hard to get a really high A on them. Make sure you follow the prompt and use textual evidence for everything really. Classes are mandatory because you have daily quizzes making up 1% of your grade (total to 20%). As long as you really pay attention in class, you'll do fine on the quizzes because all of the questions are covered during the class. Then, there's a map quiz for 10%, which is real easy and just memorization. There are 4 mini exams throughout the semester, but they are not cumulative and are 20% of the grade. They are pretty easy, study the outlines she gives you for each class, and the mini exams pull from there exactly. Overall, she is a very nice teacher, who will help you and reward you for doing well on all the assignments. The class is boring at times, but what class is isn't? Very easy to get an A- or B+ in. I was able to clutch out a 95, which was pretty tough. In terms of the huge reading she gives you, DONT BE DISCOURAGED. YOU DONT NEED TO DO ALL OF IT. You dont need to do the online readings at all, you don't need to read the normal textbook if you don't want to. The only readings you need to do are the primary source analysis readings, which are very short. THIS WILL SAVE YOU SO MUCH TIME. Plus, you fulfill 2 requirements with the class so it's a decent pick.

This class is so incredibly boring but the easy grading makes up for it. 2 papers (25 points each) 4 "mini exams" (which are really just 10 question quizzes, 5 points each), a map quiz (10 points) and daily reading checks worth 1 point each. Attendance wouldn't be necessary if it weren't for the reading checks. Ellen is super nice and understanding too.