I took a class with him a few quarters back and I really liked the material that we learned. He allowed us to rewrite our essays which was very helpful and you can go to office hours to get more elaboration. Pretty easy going during class and makes the conversation engaging with the students. Not intimidating, very approachable in my experience

His grading criteria is haphazard. There are weekly readings of up to 100 pages that you are supposed to condense and analyze "thoughtfully" in 500 word papers. His lectures make no sense. When you ask the TA why you got a low grade on the weekly paper even though you followed the syllabus guidelines they tell you they "can't articulate it"

Stephens is clearly passionate about history. His lectures can be a bit dull but he is super nice and genuinely cares about his students. Go to office hours and talk through your paper, it is highly helpful.

I enjoyed his class for Hist 2C, the papers due for the class aren't very difficult. The class is lecture heavy, but I recommend him very much. He's also pretty funny so that was a plus.

I enjoyed taking this class because Professor Stephens clearly told us information in lectures, and fairly warned us what was going to be on exams. The class is mostly based on his lectures and documents we would read for section. He also gave pop quizzes throughout the quarter! I would say overall he was a fair professor

Genuinely cares about the success of his students and wants to see them do well. As a new teacher, he is still perfecting his lecture style but honestly still does a great job so I don't understand why he is criticized so harshly sometimes. Attendance isn't mandatory but still go to class because there are 5 pop quizzes! Overall he is very kind

He's pretty new to teaching so I wouldn't be to hard on him. He really does care about his students and their understanding of the material. Lectures are sometimes boring but he tries his best to make a few jokes. There were 2 midterms, a 6-7 page paper, and a final.

I had prof Stephens for HIST 2C so I was prepared for his style of teaching. Hes honestly improved a lot more. Theres 2 midterms, 1 final, 1 paper (6-7 pages), and section. I studied a lot but your grade also really depends on your TA. TAKE NOTES ON WHAT THE PROFESSOR SAYS IN LECTURE not the slides!!!!! He posts the slides on gauchospace.

I had Stephens for history 2c and did not like his teaching style and choice of readings but after taking 17b, I realized throughout this quarter that he was really trying to improve his class. His readings became more relevant to the course and were actually very useful and lectures became more understandable. Overall, a good and caring professor.

Professor Stephens genuinely cared about improving as a lecturer, and he was a good one! Good study guides but exams are long and require a lot of prep. The textbook (Foner) was super helpful and filled gaps in lectures. Definitely possible to get an A and the grading system is fair, but you got to work for it. Don't let my rating scare you.

Two Midterms, and essay (6-7 pages), and a final. Stephens is a great professor and tells jokes during lecture, not sure why his reviews are so horrible. I enjoyed him and his class, I attended every lecture and only used the books for the essay and a few IDs on the final. He gives you the questions for the final and midterms on the study guide

5 Pop quizzes in class to check for attendance, one paper, and two midterms and a final. Gives you a study guide with what exactly will be on the midterms and final. Very easy to talk to and tries really hard to connect to his students. Extremely caring professor who genuinely wants us all to do good. Highly recommend. Class is easy if you try.