Bergstrom is a true gent. Very entertaining, effusive fellow. Engages with students during lecture, and assigns readings that most social science junkies would find interesting or better. Slow grader, but grades with a civil hand. It was an honor to take a class with him.

Really cool professor, the structure of the course is super engaging and gives you so much info on so many different topics. Professor is really engaging and witty, makes going to class 100% worth it, highly recommend!

love Bergstrom! I used to hate history just cause I didn't know how to read and study for it, but his teachings have made it way more clear and I actually somewhat like reading history now :)

Bergstrom sucks because he talks in circles about material he has no mastery of. The guest lecturers are the way to go, and provide the info needed to pass. Never cuts to the chase during lecture and is ambiguous about what he's looking for because the content is so broad. I've never had to read so much for another class. Not a fan.

Ah yes, the elusive Prof Bergstrom. As a former Public Policy major I worked closely with Bergstrom, and oftentimes found myself both amazed and frustrated at his genius. He is a wonderful professor and advisor. He is so engulfed in various positions: he sometimes forgets his duties as an advisor - catch him during office hours. Highly recommend

Professor Bergstrom is by far my favorite professor at UCSB. He clearly demonstrates a passion and expertise for policy history and it wears off on his students. His grading is flexible and he's very willing to offer extensionsdelays based on your own individual circumstances. Bergstrom's also a great listener and new ideas are always welcome.

An absolutely amazing professor. His assignments are fair and rarely numerous and his sense of humor is great. Although I never really needed to seek help outside of class (very straightforward lectures), I got the sense that he was always willing to help. In his honors section he was a great listener and showed a lot of respect for student input.

Now he's a great professor, i loved him. He's funny in a strange way but he makes lecture fun since history can get boring. MUST BUY READER it saves you!!! If you read the reader and go to section you will get an A. Overall he's an amazing professor and i hope get to take him again. LOTS OF GUEST LECTURES

class depends on attendance to guest lectures and a lot of heavy reading. material can be quite dense

Bergstrom is a really funny guy! He knows his stuff but I would get lost in his lectures because he asks like 20 questions back to back... He takes a long time on some topics and not enough on others. You read A LOT and it can be pretty dense.

Bergstrom is an incredible professor. He is incredibly smart and knowledgeable. I have noticed that he encourages input by students and allows for fluidity in his classes. However, he can follow a rigid structure when attempting to breeze through material, which is where I have gotten bored and lost. Other than that, I recommend taking his classes.

he's really passionate about his history. study sessions offered before tests, and you'll do well if you do the readings which aren't half bad.

I loved this class! Bergstrom is so engaging and brilliant - he really knows what he's talking about. He encourages class discussion and truly listens to your ideas. The class isn't easy, but as long as you do the reading and pay attention in class you should be fine. I highly recommend him!

Bergstrom was one of my favorite professors at UCSB, He Is funny and a master of what he is teaching. The class I was in was 3 hours long once a week and he made it interesting throughout. Definitely take his class

He's a great lecturer who loves to engage with his students. The material can get pretty dense, but he keeps it relatively interesting. The guest lecturers can be pretty hit or miss, but overall I think this is a good class.

Very engaging lectures. The slides are very minimal, but his commentary is clear. He's also very receptive to questions and answers them clearly as well. The readings were rather dense, but over all I definitely learned a lot.

his lectures were unclear+he would go fast in class. he would jump btwn topics too, so it was very confusing to keep up. some of the stuff in his lecture was not relevant to what would come in the exams. Also the exams were hard, his exams are cumulative and he expects you to remember EVERYTHING, Dates, places, names, etc. no page of notes allowed.

I had Bergstrom at UCSB in the late 1980s, probably the best professor I had in history and I was a history major. He's very helpful, I spent a lot of time in his office getting help on writing a paper. You have to read, but the lectures are fun I interesting. I now teach & use information I learned in his class. TAKE HIM! Plus, he's really cool

BEST PROFESSOR. If you have him, you are lucky. His lectures are crystal clear, right to the point, and never wasteful. MUST go to lecture, though, as readings themselves are not enough to get you a passing mark. No textbooks, only two readers. EXTREMELY HELPFUL, anytime of the day, for whatever topic. TAKE HIS CLASS NOW

The quantity of reading in this class is RIDICULOUS. Bergstrom is a great guy and all, but I felt like he lacked direction in his lectures. Sometimes we'd spend days on a single rambling topic, and speed by others way too fast, and you're expected to know all at intense levels of detail.

As much as I dislike History, I enjoyed this class. Professor Bergstrom is very passionate about history. Lectures were engaging and informative. There is a lot of reading, but as long as you attend section and do 75% of it, you'll be fine. He held study sessions b4 both exams and it helped A LOT! I wouldn't have done so well without it.

This was an easy class itself since his midterm and final exam questions were really about broad concepts. The paper is weird because you write one paper and then your second paper is an extension of that paper. He seems like a nice guy but I don't like his teaching style. He talks AT you rather than TO you. Going to lecture is not necessary easy A

Great lecturer, keeps it interesting by engaging the class with questions about the significance of historical events. Grade is based on typical history ids and essay exams, a 1800 word paper, and section. Overall an easy and enjoyable class, I plan on taking more classes with Bergstrom.

He is one of my least favorite history professors, and I'm a history major so I have had quite a few. His lectures are almost completely devoid of structure and content. I highly suggest buying the textbook for this class because you will need it.