Professor
Benjamin Madley
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2020 - This class is conflicting for me. The lectures were fascinating but really didn't add anything. I only listened to the first 10 and then about 14 minutes from random ones for clarity on a thing or two. Ultimately, the workload was not bad for me. I'm coming from a hardcore STEM major so take that with a grain of salt. My largest set of gripes with this class are all logistical. The final format was confirmed in Week 10, and we were never given a hint it would be an essay, which was frustrating, to say the least. This meant that within about three weeks, a lot of us wrote three essays for this class. An A was >95, which is absurd to me. His grading scheme was kinder to those in the low B to C ranges, but that doesn't mean that being told Wednesday Week 10 that you need a 95 for an A is pleasant. The Prof never sent us an email until Week 10, which was just weird. He didn't release the reading list in a timely manner at the beginning, which meant some people were forced into doing essay options 2 and 3 because their books weren't arriving in time. Some people had alternating TA's grading essays, some had both from either the harder or easier TA, a lack of grading consistency from paper to paper. Just lots of small things that made it hard to feel secure in this class. The assignment breakdown was to pick 2/3 essays to write and turn in. The final was to pick 10/15 terms to ID with a who, what, when, where, why, and then an essay with no citations required, just make your case type of essay. I cranked out 1491 and the textbook at the very beginning of the quarter, only taking notes (google doc with pages listed) for the textbook. I think that was invaluable in not needing to spend as much time on essays later in the quarter. I wish I had done the first two essays, but the election derailed those plans. For each essay, I read the relevant book the day before (didn't take great notes as I prefer to paraphrase rather than quote) and then combed through the book while writing my essay from 10 p.m. to about 7 a.m. before the 10 a.m. deadline. This meant that besides the first week, I probably only spent like 14 hours total on each essay, which in my opinion, is pretty low compared to other classes' assignments. That being said, the grading is a crapshoot. They are sticklers for grammar, but Grammarly premium meant I didn't ever get a grammar comment, so apparently not too picky. My biggest gripe is I got 23/25 on both my essays, but absolutely no comments on how to improve for the next essay. There's no rubric or advice provided, which was frustrating. Not sure it will help, but our TA's were Zavardino and Marissa Jenrich. Everyone said Zav was a very harsh grader, but he treated me well. The final was fine, with a 50/50 very possible for the terms, but that section took longer than expected. For the essay, I got a 24/25, meaning I scraped an A with not a point to spare. Given that I had to put comparatively less work into this class, I think it was a win, but I don't know that it was as good as it could have been or that I would recommend it. fascinating
Fall 2020 - This class is conflicting for me. The lectures were fascinating but really didn't add anything. I only listened to the first 10 and then about 14 minutes from random ones for clarity on a thing or two. Ultimately, the workload was not bad for me. I'm coming from a hardcore STEM major so take that with a grain of salt. My largest set of gripes with this class are all logistical. The final format was confirmed in Week 10, and we were never given a hint it would be an essay, which was frustrating, to say the least. This meant that within about three weeks, a lot of us wrote three essays for this class. An A was >95, which is absurd to me. His grading scheme was kinder to those in the low B to C ranges, but that doesn't mean that being told Wednesday Week 10 that you need a 95 for an A is pleasant. The Prof never sent us an email until Week 10, which was just weird. He didn't release the reading list in a timely manner at the beginning, which meant some people were forced into doing essay options 2 and 3 because their books weren't arriving in time. Some people had alternating TA's grading essays, some had both from either the harder or easier TA, a lack of grading consistency from paper to paper. Just lots of small things that made it hard to feel secure in this class. The assignment breakdown was to pick 2/3 essays to write and turn in. The final was to pick 10/15 terms to ID with a who, what, when, where, why, and then an essay with no citations required, just make your case type of essay. I cranked out 1491 and the textbook at the very beginning of the quarter, only taking notes (google doc with pages listed) for the textbook. I think that was invaluable in not needing to spend as much time on essays later in the quarter. I wish I had done the first two essays, but the election derailed those plans. For each essay, I read the relevant book the day before (didn't take great notes as I prefer to paraphrase rather than quote) and then combed through the book while writing my essay from 10 p.m. to about 7 a.m. before the 10 a.m. deadline. This meant that besides the first week, I probably only spent like 14 hours total on each essay, which in my opinion, is pretty low compared to other classes' assignments. That being said, the grading is a crapshoot. They are sticklers for grammar, but Grammarly premium meant I didn't ever get a grammar comment, so apparently not too picky. My biggest gripe is I got 23/25 on both my essays, but absolutely no comments on how to improve for the next essay. There's no rubric or advice provided, which was frustrating. Not sure it will help, but our TA's were Zavardino and Marissa Jenrich. Everyone said Zav was a very harsh grader, but he treated me well. The final was fine, with a 50/50 very possible for the terms, but that section took longer than expected. For the essay, I got a 24/25, meaning I scraped an A with not a point to spare. Given that I had to put comparatively less work into this class, I think it was a win, but I don't know that it was as good as it could have been or that I would recommend it. fascinating
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2020 - Madley is a great professor and lecturer. The class is exactly what I hope for in a history class. Madley makes the lectures and materials engaging. He wants to challenge preconceived notions of "American Indian history," both in the mainstream view and in academia. I found the lectures really informative. Although you don't really need to watch them for the essays, Madley promoted the critical thinking that will help when writing the essay. Definitely give them a listen! Because of the circumstances of this quarter, the final was made optional, so I can't give input on the contents of it. There are four essay prompts, spaced out every two weeks. You are required to submit 2, and they make up 50% of your grade. Don't do what I did and wait until the last two to start... way too stressful, although its manageable with the amount of material you're given. I felt that my TA was great for grading these. He was clear with the expectations for the essays, and he actually sent back edits and suggestions! The required readings include a textbook and a few books, as well as some documentaries. You need to cite from these readings for the essays. Each essay prompt has the sources you can/need to use, so I found it helpful to read and watch with the intention of doing the essay. Ultimately, if you aren't doing the essay for those sources, you don't need to read the books/chapters for that week, although I found them interesting. I don't know if the final had questions or prompts from each of these, so you might need to do all of them anyways.
Spring 2020 - Madley is a great professor and lecturer. The class is exactly what I hope for in a history class. Madley makes the lectures and materials engaging. He wants to challenge preconceived notions of "American Indian history," both in the mainstream view and in academia. I found the lectures really informative. Although you don't really need to watch them for the essays, Madley promoted the critical thinking that will help when writing the essay. Definitely give them a listen! Because of the circumstances of this quarter, the final was made optional, so I can't give input on the contents of it. There are four essay prompts, spaced out every two weeks. You are required to submit 2, and they make up 50% of your grade. Don't do what I did and wait until the last two to start... way too stressful, although its manageable with the amount of material you're given. I felt that my TA was great for grading these. He was clear with the expectations for the essays, and he actually sent back edits and suggestions! The required readings include a textbook and a few books, as well as some documentaries. You need to cite from these readings for the essays. Each essay prompt has the sources you can/need to use, so I found it helpful to read and watch with the intention of doing the essay. Ultimately, if you aren't doing the essay for those sources, you don't need to read the books/chapters for that week, although I found them interesting. I don't know if the final had questions or prompts from each of these, so you might need to do all of them anyways.
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