Easy class but difficult to pay attention to, stopped going to lecture early on. Agree with the "too much text on slides" complaint. Not as interesting as you'd expect it to be. If you don't care and just want an easy class, take it. As a history major, probably the least interesting history class I've taken, despite the cool premise. Nice guy tho

Like another review said, I kinda feel bad rating him so poorly because he's such a nice guy but his lectures are INCREDIBLY dull, slides have WAYYYY too much text to absorb, and readings are super long and tedious. Speaking as a history major, this class is one to avoid, but it's absolutely free if you're looking for an easy A+ without attending.

Fantastic lectures, clearly very passionate about the topic. Class is pretty easy as long as you do the readings and go to lecture. Great class!

I almost feel bad rating Roberts so poorly but he is not an effective lecturer. Slides have too much text and it's hard to know what to take away from them, delivery is boring and I never feel like I learn anything. It's prob one of the easiest classes on this campus but if you think you're going to learn about samurai by taking this, you're wrong

Easy and interesting class, No separate final/midterm. lecture, reading, quizes each week. Super easy and 1 timeline u can fill out throughout the quarter. And 2 two-pgers that are so easy. Definently recommend for easy A if you need UD Credit.

One of the best professors I've had at UCSB. The History of the Samurai was a really interesting class and Roberts taught it very well. Lectures were fun to go to but not really crucial. I really enjoyed the readings, too. Would highly recommend for history students. Great professor and great guy.

Fantastic professor with interesting lectures. Grade is three 2-pg reading responses, map fill in, timeline fill in, and midterm and final. He gives you the questions for MT and final a week in advance, and are based off lectures and readings. Very straight forward. Very easy if you are not lazy and pay attention. A must for Japanese history lovers

Professor Roberts is one of the kindest professors I've ever had. Office hours are a joy. HOWEVER, even though he gives full study guides for his tests (answers taken directly from it), the study guides took days to finish. He is very, very particular about wording and docks off points for semantics. Made samurai somewhat interesting.

I took The Samurai bc I thought it sounded cool. This class is hard if you don't know any basic Japanese history, like I didn't. I wouldn't take this course if you're looking for a random UD. There's difficult assignments. The midterm study guide had 70 prompts for short answer essays. It turned out to be a stressful course for me my last quarter.

His lectures were interesting and easy to follow. If you go to every class and do the study guide questions you can get an A. He's extremely helpful too

Prof. Roberts is a great teacher if you're patient with him. Unfortunately he has a boring voice and struggles with technology, but he makes a clear effort to engage with his students. I recommend going to his office hours and getting to know him. This class is very simple if you pay attention and study a little before the two exams. I recommend.

He is so boring. Graded on an 8 page paper, and midterm and final which are all essay questions. Very time consuming to study for everything and really boring GE class that it's unbearable.

I loved Dr Roberts the class was not hard at all considering he pulls test questions directly from the study guides. There was one 8 page research paper but we had a month to do it and got to choose between multiple prompts. Def recommend

I enjoyed Roberts's lectures and thought he was fun to listen to. There were weekly lecture quizzes (with stuff only said at lecture so you should go), an 1800-word paper, a map you fill out, a midterm, and a final. The study guides given for the midterms and finals have the exact questions on the exam so if you study you will be fine.

The class is boring, but if you're looking for an easy GE def take this class. For the tests, he puts out a study guide and picks questions from it. There is an 8-page paper that takes some work, but only for about a week. You can get by without doing any of the reading from the textbook or PDFs (usually a lot). Roberts is also a genuinely nice guy

history is boring, but he made it tolerable because he was clear on his expectations. one midterm, an 8 page paper, and the final (gives study guides with exact questions). weekly quizzes which are 95% from the slides. I have never once read the book or the pdfs he gave us and I currently have an A, and will probably end with it too. easy GE

Although there was readings that are interesting you don't have to read them fully. But if you want an A do the reading you learn a lot. His lectures are really easy to follow and he specifically explains what he expects on midterms and finals.

Extremely boring. His lectures are given in monotone causing people to fall asleep all throughout the class. People stopped showing up after week 3. Would cause me to leave class midway because he is so exhausting. Expects you to have prior knowledge. Moves through topics extremely quickly. One 8 page paper. Midterm and final.

he genuinely cares about his material. no midterm just essay and final which was alright as long as you study. lectures were boring sometimes but hes such a sweetie. hes funny too. i liked it.

Professor Roberts is by far the best professor I have had in undergrad thus far. The lectures are very interesting, but essay prompts can be a bit ambiguous; however, he is very accessible and willing to help. Heavy on reading but I personally didn't mind as the content was engaging.

Great lecturer; funny, informative, clear presentation. Accommodated the TA strike. However, weekly quizzes were a bit challenging and long, and papers were graded harshly. Prof is really attentive to student needs (made quizzes easy after we talked to TA, bypassed Gauchospace issues, etc...) but a tad curt 1 on 1.. Really great otherwise!

Prof Roberts is so great! The lectures are always interesting and the weekly quizzes on lectures aren't bad at all. We did have two 5 page papers but they were not difficult and he is very lenient when it comes to submissions on time. He really cares for his students and Id definitely take him again.

Very passionate about the subject, I've been thoroughly enjoying the lectures to the point where I actually went to his office hours just to chat many times. Never fell asleep despite it being an 8 AM this time. Overall a very cool guy and is more than happy to share his research and his collection of objects (books and coins mostly) from the time.

Graded based off of weekly one-page writing assignments, a 7-9 pager biographical research paper, and a 5 minute presentation. The professor is somewhat of a tough grader but he's very accessible and gives good feedback.