Best instructor I've ever had. He's extremely intelligent, provokes curiosity, and relates to his audience. He wants everyone to take something away from the class, and not just memorize random facts. There is a lot of reading, but they're mostly novels of really good books. UCSB is lucky to have him. He's a true scholar and Spicktacular educator.
Very interesting guy. Scary presence but very nice. Expresses that he wants you to leave having learned something rather than just being lectured. Grades on knowledge, not correctness. Most I have ever learned in a history course. Tells you that you must read everything he assigns but i never read a thing and got an A+ from spark notes. Loved him.
Don't let the no-technology rule scare you away, it's not that bad. Read the books and you'll be fine. Sections help a lot. Majority of what you'll need to know is from the books. Helps if you enjoy history. He has a very inspirational teaching style and wants the best for his students. I loved lectures, and wish I could take more of his classes.
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. Spickard is a fat old man who goes up in a lecture and blabs about how he grew up in the Baptist church. Does not teach anything that's tested and expects you to learn everything on your own through the reading. I am telling you, do not waste your time with this guy.
7 books. section attendance mandatory, said if we missed 3 sections we would fail the class. mandatory movie nights for a grade. the midterm was a handwritten and timed essay with ID questions. Term paper with very little guidance, made it hard to write. TAs arent harsh graders. make sure you have a good understanding of the readings before section
He said he might have covid then proceeded to make us all sit in the closest rows to him.
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.
Prof. Spickard is a great teacher & actually cares about helping his students. The only grades for the class come from 2 term papers, which makes it sort of hard to get a high grade if you're not a strong writer, but the lectures & extra reading he offers are really interesting.
An easy P, lectures are interesting. I would recommend my TA Lei Dou, who is pursuing his second PhD in UCSB, very nice guy.
Professor Spickard is a great guy! Has great lectures that are really thought-provoking and inspirational and funny. He genuinely cares about his students and goes out of his way to help them! I haven't finished the class yet but I had to put this down that his class is definitely worth taking in the future.
I spent so much time on this class because of how much reading he assigns. He records his lectures but he makes them so long and boring. He basically rambles on whatever is on his mind and lecture is done when he runs out of things to say. He basically expects us to spend all our time on this class and he is not understanding at all.
Spickard really cares about his students. The course material is really interesting and his lectures were really engaging. If you do most of the reading and pay attention in lecture you're guaranteed an A.
A lot of reading and depends on your TA how they handle the reading load in section. Very easy to write papers on and he is very passionate and understanding during this time.