A Yale man, he's pretty funny if your vocabulary is extensive. TA's make or break the class, he went to Yale, and lecture can get pretty boring. If you like poetry, take it. Did I mention he went to Yale?
Doesn't use PowerPoint for his lectures, it is just him speaking to the class for a little over an hour, but very interesting stuff and easy if you do a majority of the reading.
Wonderful professor, one of my favorites from the history department. He has a passion for European history, and even if it's not your major, he takes the material and explains it in a story-like lecture; made it easier to pay attention. Very approachable, easy readings and I look forward to taking 123B in the Fall!
Really Straightforward. Doesn't try to trick you on quizzes or exams. Willing to talk with you about anything ie. very approachable. Doesn't try to cover everything and only expects you to focus on what he focuses on. Uses the readings very little but picks interesting novels rather than dry history books.
Very ambiguous. Multiple choice tests were ridiculous. Was broad yet wanted only what he said. Paper was unfair, said he wanted something personal and analytical then complained when I tried to give him both. Boring lectures, dreaded going to class. He was nice and funny but I would never take a class with him again. Ever!
I thought he was quite interesting...he seemed very much into his subject. Cute old guy.
Professor made the class enjoyable by often throwing in anecdotes that had to do with the material being covered. The class was interesting, because the book was not incomprehensible. The midterm and final were simple, so long as you read the chapters--which he gave us an entire week to do! I would definitely take another class of his.
LOL his lectures DEFINITLY the cure for insomnia...there is no point of it...u can easily pass the class without going to lecture as long as u have a good TA...& wear shorts kuz its hot as fish grease n there!
I really want to say positive things about Professor Talbott's class because he is a genuinely nice and intelligent guy...but his lectures were unbelievably boring and irrelevant. The class is not that difficult. A chapter or two a week of reading, 3 novels. One big paper. The final, 2 essay questions,was stressful because it's a lot of information
Lectures were completely pointless, you could easily get an A in the class by reading carefully and attending section. The TA you get is important too as they grade everything. Mine happened to be an ass, so hope you get lucky.
Talbott is an excellent professor (grade inflation aside). I've been out of school for sometime and still remember a few things he discussed concerning globalization and the EU. For those who come to class with hangovers, don't blame him if you can't stay awake to listen and actually learn something...
THIS MAN IS A HERO!! because he has successfully found a cure for insomnia: his own lectures.
"He...umm...speaks...like...um...this". When your friends told you he was boring and had a monotonous voice, they were right. By the third week of school only 1/3 of the students were attending lecture because it was so unimportant. Just read the textbook. Also if you need to nap, find out where he is teaching and crash for an hour.
BORING! boring. boring. He makes class absolutely dreadful, to the point where I dont even go anymore. And when I actually try to make it to the class, I end up leaving 20 minutes after he starts. If you love reading history and sticking to the book, then take Talbott. But if you want to learn effectively, i dont recommend him.
Jack Talbott is just a great guy. His monotone voice and dead-pan delivery of jokes may turn some off, but if you actually listen to the material, it's quite enthralling.
He tries to organize his lectures, but he'll go on rants sometimes. He's a great teacher though and makes it easy for students to do well by handing out study questions before exams. There isn't alot of reading and I easily got an A in this class. He's also just a nice guy.
Take this class if you have the chance. There is a usually a good book to read every week and a two page assignment on the readings, but no tests what so ever. Classes are short and discussion is interesting. One of my top calsses at UCSB. Talbott is also a great guy and you should take the opportunity to get to know him if you have his class.
His lectures were long, he lectured without really saying much, hard to take notes,good class to take if not a history major becuase it was pretty easy to get good grade, he gave the essay questions before hand.
His lectures were very boring. As long as you do the reading and go to section, you should be fine. His lectures are basically broad topics without much detail. I found it hard to write good notes in his class, the reading was much more helpful.
i never went to lecture and got an a-. he gives you the essay topics for the midterm and the final, and 2 (from say 10) will appear on the exams. The textbook is an easy read, and if you read it, thats pretty much all you need to know. Papers are easy, TA assigned one one page paper weekly, and there is one big paper - thats it!
a very intelligent guy. He's got a great sense of humor, although it sometimes comes off as a little dry. A very interesting class--and not too tough.
He is great! Very wry sense of humor with an encyclopedic knowledge of war history. Very funny and brilliant.