Bottom line: do the reading, go to class, ask questions when you need to, and put thought into your papers and exams. If you don't want to do that, you shouldn't be in a 4 year university. Drake was awesome, one of my faves.
This class was one classes as a freshman. I learned to study better by taking this class. I thought all UCSB's classes would be as hard as this one, but they aren't. I'm glad I took this class b/c it prepared me for my later classes, which i did better. If you're a freshman don't be freaked out if you find this class hard. Just do the readings, ta
The best class and prof at UCSB. Take this class early on in your time at UCSB and it will help you with many others!
the boringest prof. ever! put me to sleep. sooo much reading. hard essay q's. didnt learn much of anything. if not a hist major- take a diff class! like possibly 4B instead.
Great Professor, possibly greatest on campus
as i have next to no interest in ancient western civilization, this class was painful. however, drake tells you in detail what he wants on his papers, so its not difficult to pass with a decent grade.
The exam questions are very quirky. His lectures are extremely boring. I can not see how most people in the major think that he is an awsome professor. To get a good grade you need to go to the sections and to lecture.
Drake is the best history professor ever! He's not easy, but you'll learn more in his class than any other class you'll take in college. His lectures are very interesting but there are a lot of readings.
Its a class that takes a lot of time. Best tip for this class is to have done your readings before class, and relating them to the themes.Don't wait till the last minute to do the readings. Also read the little book, it acually makes the reading of the green book much easier.
Interesting lecturer and funny person, but horrible teacher. Extremely boring reading, hard class, grading subjective. Do NOT take unless necessary. In that case, suck up to your TA. They grade everything.
Drake is a good teacher and i really was able to follow along in his lectures, but he is rather confident in his technique and does not like things any way but his own.
He doesn't make any deceptions about his class. Tells you up front it will be hard and you will not do well in the beginning. But by the end of the quarter you will thouroughly know and appreciate the material covered in the course. Too bad your grade won't reflect that.
I liked his focus on social movements. Very intersting, overall, but the grading rubric is kind of arbitrary.
What a bunch of crap. This guy is one of the worst professors I've ever had. Unless you're a hardcore history major, this class will be a waste of time and a huge dent in your GPA. The TAs suck, too. No organization, no consensus, totally boring...if you have the chance, take it with somebody else!!
this class is the most challenging GE i ever had, it all depends on your luck when u r registering for TA who grades everyting
Professor Drake is a cool guy...but his class is super difficult! His lectures skipped around a lot and the text was confusing. I've never had to work so hard, especially in a GE class, to try to get a good grade!
Simply put, Prof. Drake is the man. From his funny lectures to his serious side this guy is just plain awesome. He really knows his stuff and some of his lectures really make you think about your own views. I had no clue that as an atheist my own views are still heavily influenced by Christians. A+!
Professor Drake will definitely kick your butt in this class. This is by no means an easy class, and it doesn't help that Drake likes to throw crazy test questions at you. The tests seem impossible, but somehow he claims nearly everyone passes this class....
this class is definitly a challenge, his lectures are abstract and he poses questions and never answers them but expects you to be able to know them which is often times impossible. the only motivation i ever had for going to his boring and often times tedious lectures were to look at his hot bod!
Professor Drake is completely awesome. He isn't concerned with monotonous nitpicky facts like dates or names. He wants you to look at the themes and question history. If you are a history person, you'll love this man. If not, then...maybe?
He looks like he knows his stuff, but he skips around a lot and asks weird questions on the midterm. My study skills improved, but the class was kind of a pain.
I don't understand what's wrong with all of these previous commenters ... Dr. Drake was by far the worst professor I encountered at this university. His lectures were boring and pointless (I did go to lecture, always). B-A-B ... Babbling About ****.
He always took time to explain things over coffee. And those seminars of his ... blew me away. He is a difficult taskmaster, but that helped shape me into the historian I am today. You think Drake is hard, get aload of me.
He will make you work, he will make you think, and he will change the way you look at western civilization and the world in general. Best of all, he is a witty, charasmatic man who understands his students better than you think. Take the class!