Dr. Spickard is AMAZING!! One of the best professors on campus, if not the best. He is very understanding of personal situations and strives to help his students in any way he can. He truly cares about each and every one of his students. If you do bad in his class it's because you didn't show up to section. He is very straightforward.

His lectures were completely illogical. Section homework is also very troublesome. It also requires a lot of reading.

I'm not sure what happened to my previous review but I would advise against taking a course taught by Spickard, especially an intro course. His lectures are not on topic and he isn't the nicest person. The class is generally easy.

Spickard was that guy! Opinionated. Honest. Controversial. While funny and inspiring, if Spickard actually expected me to do all the readings he assigned I'd be reading for 2 entire quarters. Be practical and skim the important readings before the midterm and final then there's your A. I'm tryna get a drink with this professor one day -- true icon

Very reading-heavy, but I got by just fine without reading barely anything; relied mostly on prior knowledge of history. If you did well in AP Euro, APUSH, AP World, etc. then you'll do well here. I Pass/Failed the class early because I was worried; nearly aced the entire class by the time I got my grades back. Good writer? You'll be fine.

This course and professor were my most favorite during my first year at UCSB. Although lecture and section is mandatory + a no technology rule, this class changed my life. I came out of this class empowered and open to change many aspects of the world. The material in this course is all beneficial to what we see in today's global issues.

beware of no technology in lectures, all handwritten notes. paul was funny and an amazing lecturer, class graded on term paper, final, midterm and movie worksheets. put the work in for the class and it'll pay off, first day pretty daunting, but once you get in the groove the class can be really enjoyable!

Both are in class essay. For midterm, he gave us about 30 identifications to study and no essay question to give us to study. And in the test we have to pick 1 essay question and 4 ID. And for the final, he gave us about 62 identifications and 13 essay questions. And then in the test we should write 2 essay questions and 5 id in the test.

Professor Spickard is a living legend, he is both respected and hilarious at the same time with just charisma pouring whenever he is lecturing. He is the reason why I have decided to pursue a minor in history, ignore the negative comments because as long as you are ready to put in the time and effort, you will excel.

This is the BEST professor I have ever taken. His course changed my perspective on life. Please take this course, but prepared to work. If you put in the work, it will pay off. Visit him in office hours. Pick his brain. So knowledgeable and intelligent. Spickard is forever my favorite professor.

I've taken 2 classes with Paul- History 2C & 164IB and I had such a pleasant experience both times. He really cares about the material he teaches (especially 164). If you do the reading and go to class, its super manageable. I cannot recommend office hours enough. Getting to know Paul is one of the highlights of my UCSB experience!

I'm a good student, but this class made me doubt myself until I figured out he was the problem. Posts too many lectures with like 2 bullet points every 5 slides and just rambles without giving concrete info. I had to use my 10th grade sister's history book to write the final essay because I had no info from him. And oh, had to read 7 novels.