Take this if you're lazy like me and just need the units for a history class. I got a B in this class and did not do the readings or study for it other than for the final. He gives all the slides and miterm questions way in advance and does not take attendance. If you want an A, I would suggest keeping up with the readings from week one. I intended to do so, but the class was just so dry and honestly slipped my mind once the first midterm was over. So take that as a caution I guess.

Okay well you already know that Morony has extremely boring lectures. He basically just stands in front of the class and talks at you for an hour. So that part is true. My experience was that I got high As on BOTH the midterm essays and then for my final grade I got a B+.. so obviously the final was a lot harder than I expected because I must have gotten a low B to bring it down and by that point there wasn't enough points to bring my grade back up to an A. Theres only two essays and a final and no other things to get points on. Kinda sucks if you dont do well on the final. No extra credit. No other assignments. Kind of a ride or die class.

This class is really not as bad as the other reviews make it seem. Yes, Morony's lectures are incredibly dry, but your success in this class depends on how well you do the readings. You really don't need to pay attention during lecture or take extensive notes since the answers to both of the midterms, as well as the final are in the two texts. The class is graded based off of two essays (your midterms) and an in-class final, which is also an essay. He grades pretty fairly. If you want to do well on the final and not spend all your time trying to cram, pay attention to the questions in the course reader. He chooses the topics on the final from these questions. Be sure to answer these questions as you do the readings.

Honestly, I would warn anyone NOT to take this class.
Professor Morony, like so many have stated before me, clearly does not care a hoot about undergraduate students. If it wasn't for the helpful TA, I would have had no direction on the essays, etc. I went into his office to talk to him once, and felt belittled and extremely uncared for. I was trying to ask questions for the second midterm essay, and he would reply with very curt and short answers and then just stare at me like he was waiting for me to leave. Our "appointment" lasted 7 minutes at the most.

He is also incredibly boring, and the class is a waste. It's about an hour and a half lecture, where he literally just stands in front of the class reading off the slideshows that he puts up online anyway. So many times I would just be sitting there thinking "Why am I here?" It seemed incredibly pointless when the slides were online. Nevertheless, the first half of the quarter I went to class (mostly) and kept up with the reading. I got a B+ on the first essay midterm, which was 50 points.

I started going to class less and and less, and got a high A on the second midterm essay, which was also 50 points.

After that, I went to class about once and hardly kept up with the reading (warning: that combination is a bad idea! I would recommend keeping up with the reading). The day before the in-class essay final, I crammed like a fool reading over the notes/parts of the book and basically had to teach myself the second half of the course... anyway, I went to take the final and thought I failed it, but by the grace of God I ended up with an A- in the class.

My advice: if you think something wasn't graded fairly on your essay, talk to the TA, because they can change your grade.
Also, for the final be sure to go over BROAD THEMES. Make a list of the themes you think would be important in Middle Eastern History, and study them that way, instead of small details. Especially time-lines/dates. Lastly, it's totally unnecessary to go to class, but try to keep up with the readings, and the TA is very helpful with essays/etc if you can set up in appointment with her/him.

Prof.Morony is quite the interesting feller. my advice to you is to take notes from the books, answer the questions on his syllabus (that will help you in the final), and structure your essays to reflect the general theme. got an A- on the 1st paper, B+ on the second. ended with a B+ (could have gotten an A, but i had lady problems during the quarter and you know how that goes, gents..) and oh yeah, if you get lost in the details because of his lecturing style and his powerpoint dont trip. going to class is not mandatory and in fact could be detrimental if you liked your hand held like a baby during class. Just do your own thing, read the book and handle the final. capische?

I did half the reading required, wrote a couple of decent papers and got a B. He lectures off his slides, which he posts online. It's not necessary to come to class. I would however answer the questions in the study guide, and if you have questions go talk to him during his office hours. Not the most exciting teacher, but he does make some jokes and if you're paying attention at all you might even laugh.

I'm truly split on this class. I took it Fall Quarter 2009 and got an A. Here are the pros and cons and you can decide for yourself.

CONS
Lectures are EXTREMELY detailed and hard to follow. People who show up are usually asleep or doing random things on the internet.
Kennedy, the author of one of the two books is very confusing.
The readings often do not follow the lectures.
After the second midterm, the class becomes really fast paced.

PROS
Morony is a really nice guy and is attentive during office hours and answers questions during lecture.
Contrary to what most people think, he is not a difficult grader. Although his lectures are extremely detailed, he cares more about broad themes and just wants you to remember SOME of the details to use as evidence to support these broad themes.
Lapidus, also the author of one of the two books, is helpful.
You're given free reign to answer midterm/final questions.

ADVICE
Answer the study questions at the beginning of each topic in the syllabus as you go along. It will make it MUCH easier to study for the final and you'll have a better idea of what's going on throughout the entire course.

He honestly wasn't that bad. People who were complaining either didn't read or didn't come to class. I didn't go to half the classes, but I made sure that I read the material. How he formats his classes is that he has two take home midterms due two weeks apart from each other on questions that he puts on the syllabus (so we have access to them from day one). The final covers everything from the quarter. In class he sort of freaked people out by lecturing with extreme detail, but honestly, all you need to know are the general themes...just have a general sense of the historical timeline of events imprinted in your head. He's more into social trends and economics more so than straight up dates and names..I ended up with an A in the class.

btw if you think that you can answer the questions on the final in only a page, then there's a reason why you got a C.

I had Morony for both 105A and 106A. He is very knowledgeable but unfortunately difficult to follow along. In 105A he just lectures and has so much to say that it feels like he jumps all over the place. I'm comfortable saying most people felt lost. 106A was a bit better because he had his lectures on slides so you could look them over afterwards. Midterms were all take-home essays and graded with some leniency so that was good. Final is worth half your grade and is a bit difficult. But, re-read your notes (and you better take good ones or you're lost) and get a good structure in your head about what's going on and you might be ok.

Professor Morony is mainly a research professor and has no busines inside the classroom. He hates undergrad students and often times during his undergrad office hours he had grad students taking up the time. He doesnt care if the students understand or learn anything, he just rattles on with minute details which have nothing to do with the essays or exams. I recorded nearly all of his lectures, and was only able to use maybe 3 of them to write my midterm papers. The midterm papers were graded fairly by him, however his TA was a moron and never even came to class. He was rude, arrogant and his grading directly conflicted with what Morony said in class. When I approached Morony about the issue, he gave me five extra points and essentially kicked me out of his office. He doesn't care about undergrads and doesnt wish to talk to you outside of class. He discourages people from asking questions, and his assigned readings, often were outside the time of the course. He had the course going up to 1300 AD, but some of his readings went up to 1600??? He has no clue how to lecture, he just reads off his notes.

Now for the breakdown of the course work:

2 midterm essays; the TA graded one of them and Morony graded the other,

Final was worth 50% and was very tough. I read all of the assigned reading regarding the course, but the final questions required a huge amount of specifics in order to do well. You were required to write 2 essays in 3 hrs, one question was a global question which covered the entire course, and the other covered after the midterm. The final questions were the type that should have been given for a take-home final and NOT an in class one. How are you supposed to formulate a strong thesis on the entire course in 15 minutes and then write for an hour, and then write another paper? The final was ridiculous I went in with an A- and I ended up with a B in the course. That means that the final was graded very harshly!!!

The lectures will put you to sleep, and Morony never reviews for the midterm or the final.. He really doesnt care either way if you learn or not.

All of this being said Morony is very intelligent and his knowledge of Middle Eastern and Islamic history is astounding, but he just can't teach...bottom line.

My advice, don't take him...in order to get an A in the course you have to score at least 95's on both take home papers, and the TA generally grades hard, and then a 92-94 on the final which is nearly impossible. The grading is soooo subjective. ALSO it is important to note, that Morony's lectures almost NEVER correlate with the reading. He even assigned reading that started on a map or halfway through a section. No organization in the reading, harsh grading on the final, boring lectures that make it very tough to take good notes...it was a mistake taking this class.