[HIST 0301]
Contemporary Historiography

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Professor: West J

Value of Course / Overall Score

Not Much (0%
Average (0%)
Valuable (100%)

Material

Friendly (0%)
Average (0%)
Competitive (100%)

Class Atmosphere

Boring (50%)
Average (33.3%)
Fascinating (16.7%)

Prep Time Needed

1-2hr (0%)
3-5hr (33.3%)
6-8hr (33.3%)
9-11hr (33.3%)
12+ hr (0%)

Grade Weighting

Harder (20%)
Average (0%)
Easier (80%)

Adequate Assistance

Yes (100%)
No (0%)

Would Recommend Class

Yes (80%)
No (20%)

Evaluation Comments for West J

  1. No Comment
  2. Prof. West is an outstanding instructor, and his lectures are some of the most eye-opening academic experiences I've had at Middlebury. Don't expect an exhaustive study of the discipline, but rather an opportunity to discuss the philosophical issues of the subject.
  3. This is a mind-blowing class. It is very different from the normal history courses so be warned. The readings are extremely difficult and dense but if you wade through them you'll find that you learn a lot. West is the man...he really knows about his subject and is passionate. He's also always available to talk to and is genuinely interested in his students. This is one of those must take classes at Midd!
  4. Amazing, incredible, mind-bending class. It is not rare for people to switch majors after this class, and not necessarily to history. Definitely not for the faint-hearted--the reading is really dense and copious, there's a two-page paper every week and he expects it to be good and innovative every time. The discussions are intense and philisophical and widely varying. Basically, Professor West dumps your mind out on the table, examines it, laughs at it, and then makes you re-assemble it yourself--and I truly do mean that in the best possible way. If your major has anything to do with history, philosophy, political science, anthro/soc, classics, English, literary studies, economics, or really even the sciences, you absolutely MUST take this class, because there's SO much going on beyond the books and publications that you are only faintly aware of, if at all.
  5. This class is kind of like a CW. You have to write a two-page response every week and for me at least it was difficult to tell what West expected from these papers. The lectures/discussions are wonderful, but the readings are frustrating as are these response papers. West was available to help me whenever I needed it and I learned A LOT. It was just difficult to live up to his standards in terms of understanding difficult material; he basically expects you to come to wise realizations about the text every week.
  6. This calss is wonderful- not only is the teacher amazing but so is the course material and the two combined means you can't go wrong. There is a lot of reading, and it is dense, but it will blow your mind. this class is not insightful and mind changing- you really do beging to see the world through new eyes. Its totally worth taking for anyone interested in Historiography, Philosophy and Psycology. Its one of those life changing classes you hear about but can never find- this ones amazing! Prof. west genuinly cares about his students- he really wants you to understand the material and loves meeting outside of class- usually over coffee at the grille. You will get so much more out of this class than a few papers and some readings- you really must take this class!

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