HIST 116A
Byzantine History
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour (when scheduled). Designed for juniors/seniors. Political, socioeconomic, religious, and cultural continuity in millennial history of Byzantium. Reforms of Diocletian. Byzantium's relations with Latin Europe, Slavs, Sassanids, Arabs, and Turks. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
I would not call it an easy class, AT ALL, but if you are up for a challenge and really wish to LEARN history, he is the way to go. He is the most friendly and genuinely concerned professor I have had; for one thing, he always asks your name and tries to remember it if you ever happen to talk to him or ask him questions before/after classes. His lectures are unbelievably overwhelming at first, but if you get a hang of it and do your reading before the class, you should be fine. There are tons of stuff to memorize and quite a few themes you have to keep in mind. He didn't give us any study guides but he held a review session which turned out to be very helpful. Important themes for midterm(optional) and finals are pretty obvious as he states them over and over again in class. But still, in order to get an A from this class you should study really really hard (that's for sure). For final, I recorded all his lectures from the beginning and re-listened to all of them- basically I started studying for this class 2 weeks before the final- and that's how I managed to get an A. I think lectures are way more important than the readings, because readings are just there to help you better understand the lecture, so I urge you not to skip any of his classes. Overall, it was a hard, time consuming class, but I enjoyed it a lot in the end.
I would not call it an easy class, AT ALL, but if you are up for a challenge and really wish to LEARN history, he is the way to go. He is the most friendly and genuinely concerned professor I have had; for one thing, he always asks your name and tries to remember it if you ever happen to talk to him or ask him questions before/after classes. His lectures are unbelievably overwhelming at first, but if you get a hang of it and do your reading before the class, you should be fine. There are tons of stuff to memorize and quite a few themes you have to keep in mind. He didn't give us any study guides but he held a review session which turned out to be very helpful. Important themes for midterm(optional) and finals are pretty obvious as he states them over and over again in class. But still, in order to get an A from this class you should study really really hard (that's for sure). For final, I recorded all his lectures from the beginning and re-listened to all of them- basically I started studying for this class 2 weeks before the final- and that's how I managed to get an A. I think lectures are way more important than the readings, because readings are just there to help you better understand the lecture, so I urge you not to skip any of his classes. Overall, it was a hard, time consuming class, but I enjoyed it a lot in the end.
Most Helpful Review
Prof Phillips is a great lecturer. He really gets it - he makes the material entertaining so even people who would not normally care about Greek history are interested. Also, he's by far the funniest professor I've had. He has half the class laughing out loud almost every day. Don't believe the people who say he is difficult. Just go to class, write comprehensive notes, and then memorize the stuff he gives on the study sheets before tests. He lists about 5 required texts, but you'll only need one for the term paper. If you're a non-history major looking to take a history class, this is the one to take.
Prof Phillips is a great lecturer. He really gets it - he makes the material entertaining so even people who would not normally care about Greek history are interested. Also, he's by far the funniest professor I've had. He has half the class laughing out loud almost every day. Don't believe the people who say he is difficult. Just go to class, write comprehensive notes, and then memorize the stuff he gives on the study sheets before tests. He lists about 5 required texts, but you'll only need one for the term paper. If you're a non-history major looking to take a history class, this is the one to take.
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Most Helpful Review
Amazing. She really is. Best professor I have had at UCLA or UC Berkeley. Phenomenal. Awesome. Great. Need I go on?? Do the reading, come to class. She has organized lectures which are engaging and sometimes even personal! She really knows her stuff, too. When her computer won't hook up and she has to lecture without her power-point- no sweat! She's competent and encouraging, but no-nonsense. First time I really was motivated to work hard for the A, because from her, it MEANS something.
Amazing. She really is. Best professor I have had at UCLA or UC Berkeley. Phenomenal. Awesome. Great. Need I go on?? Do the reading, come to class. She has organized lectures which are engaging and sometimes even personal! She really knows her stuff, too. When her computer won't hook up and she has to lecture without her power-point- no sweat! She's competent and encouraging, but no-nonsense. First time I really was motivated to work hard for the A, because from her, it MEANS something.
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