Pros:
- Super easy class
- Professor is extremely thorough, engaging, and clear
- My TA (Karime) was a fair grader and extremely helpful
- Workload is ridiculously light
Cons:
- Don't really need to go to class if you read the textbooks
- Only needed to read out of the two course reader, the other books aren't really necessary besides exams and papers

This class is somewhat interesting, but the lectures are so boring and dry. There's almost no point in going to lecture because you don't need the material from lecture on the paper and he also gives you the questions to the midterm and final beforehand. Discussions are basically just a group discussion about the readings for the week (which are very long) but it helps to prepare you for the papers. He gave us the questions for the midterm before so all you have to do for that is memorize what he gives you and for the final, he gave us a bunch of essay questions to review and 4 of them showed up on the final (but you only had to write 2 or 3 of them I think). I would say it's a boring GE, but as long as you do the work then you'll be fine even if you don't go to lecture.

I took this class having seen all the reviews and expecting for it to be an easy A for me as an incoming freshmen, needing a GE. It surprisingly an easy class which may be TA dependent, my TA Amanda Washington was very nice and did not grade harshly. The midterm is memorization of a couple of keywords and short essays and the final is an essay, which are all given to you beforehand! About a week before any exam/essay was due he would give you the prompts so you could outline your essay walk in stress free and write the essay~also my TA had us make outlines and go over points in discussion. The content is not very interesting to me (to a history major yes !) but Professor Terraciano is literally the sweetest professor willing to answer any questions, encourages visits to his office hours, understanding of any personal issues, and just reminds you of your dad. I would highly recommend taking this class with him!

Easy class depending on your TA. Make sure you do the readings when assigned. Overall easy class. Selling the books for super cheap. **********

This class was great! Not phenomenal by any means, but very easy and very informative. Even if you don't care about history whatsoever, I'd still recommend this class - it's a great GE, and Terraciano makes lectures really engaging.
Class structure is 2 essays, a midterm, and a final. The exams are pretty easy if you prepare for them sufficiently.
Terraciano really makes you feel at home in his class. If you need something relaxing, Hist 8A is the way to go!

We have 5 required readings that add up to ~$100 and endless assigned readings each week - would not have taken this class if I knew this beforehand. I was lucky to have a good TA but I barely attended any lectures as I did not find them that engaging or helpful. I eventually did well just by selectively reading materials rather than following what was assigned.

Alright history class, I didn't enjoy it, I took it to get the GE requirement out of the way, and it ended up boosting my GPA! Worst thing was the readings, I'm a slow reader, I spent 3 hours a week just SKIMMING the texts, and you need to because the mandatory discussion participation means you should read. The essay grading was much more harsh than my final or midterm grading, and I didn't do well on the essays, which gave me a lot of anxiety, but the final ended up pulling my grade back up.

Great professor and great TA. I am selling the two course readers that required for the class. Text me at ********** if you are interested!

Taking this class with Terraciano was an incredibly good move on my part. While I am a history minor, there were many people who took it for a GE and still thoroughly enjoyed the material and the professor. He genuinely wants people to learn and pass the class, and he is so well informed on the topic that any question thrown at him can get answered. The textbooks were all used for the class and while it looks like A LOT of reading, you can get away with completing about 80% of the reading (I strongly suggest a focus on Children of God's Fire and the Red Reader but the other two books are also useful for certain prompts and exam questions). Discussions were mandatory, but they weren't a drag, especially if you have a good TA. I had Amanda for my discussion and she was very funny and down to earth but also very helpful and not a hard grader (because she told you the essence of what she wanted). Overall, I would definitely recommend this class to other people for a GE.
*SELLING THE BOOKS REQUIRED FOR THE CLASS for $50 as a pack* or
Children of God's Fire- $12
Letters and People- $12
MesoAmerican Voices- $10
Red Reader- $10
White (Blue) Reader- $10
Email me at ************* if interested.

10% - Attendance and participation in section
15% - Midterm
40% - Two Essays
35% - Final

There is a shit ton of reading for this class and a lot of it is necessary. My TA was only ever able to go over a few of the reading during the discussion which was helpful and the lecture would go over some of the reading as well. Sometimes, he would specifically cite certain reading which is helpful to keep an eye out for when finding the best readings to support your essays you will have to write. He gives you a few prompts to choose from for each of the essays.

If you are not interested in learning about colonial Latin America, detailed learning of Latin American slavery and natives of that region don't take the class. It will be dreadful because of the amount of reading and writing you will have to do on the topic; however, if you are interested and can handle about 40-100 pages of reading depending on the week I would recommend the course.

You will need 5 books for the course and it adds up to just a bit over $100. I am selling my books with a few notes as well if you'd like to buy them off me instead. DM me on insta mquin9196