Professor
Albion Urdank
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Most Helpful Review
If you want to do well in Urdank's class you have to become passionate about European history, at least until the quarter is over. Urdank is kind of like a happy sea turtle. If you bother him, he will contract back into his shell. Who knows what he does inside of his shell... probably research I'd assume. But if you wax his shell with knowledge, he will poke his head out and begin to enlighten you. He is from the east coast, so don't diss New York or you'll end up with an automatic B. There is just no helping that. It's part of his grading formula. But anyways, take Urdank because he is a great storyteller. When he lectures you will find that the walls of the room will disappear, your classmates will all be wearing 18th century garb, and you will be walking past the Bastille on a sunny day in July of 1789. There is no better history teacher than the one who makes you feel like you have travelled back in time. He is one of them. Also, Urdank has strong convictions on ethics. I believe he is conservative-minded, but not necessarily in the reactionary right-wing, tea party sense. It's wonderful when he goes off on tangents about current events. If you take him, you should try to rattle his cage a little bit and get him off track. You will find that Urdank knows a hell of a lot more about the world than just history. I was in awe when he spoke on economics one morning. Surprisingly too, he's actually a lenient grader. I was not expecting this from a guy who reviews PHD dissertations! Man o man. When I submitted my midterm I was like, 'damn I probably got a C on this one'. But then when he gave it back I got an A! and he told me, 'your paper made me laugh'. That was pretty cool. I think the whole class sort of fell off near the end, but I mean, who cares. It was fun. I'd do it again.
If you want to do well in Urdank's class you have to become passionate about European history, at least until the quarter is over. Urdank is kind of like a happy sea turtle. If you bother him, he will contract back into his shell. Who knows what he does inside of his shell... probably research I'd assume. But if you wax his shell with knowledge, he will poke his head out and begin to enlighten you. He is from the east coast, so don't diss New York or you'll end up with an automatic B. There is just no helping that. It's part of his grading formula. But anyways, take Urdank because he is a great storyteller. When he lectures you will find that the walls of the room will disappear, your classmates will all be wearing 18th century garb, and you will be walking past the Bastille on a sunny day in July of 1789. There is no better history teacher than the one who makes you feel like you have travelled back in time. He is one of them. Also, Urdank has strong convictions on ethics. I believe he is conservative-minded, but not necessarily in the reactionary right-wing, tea party sense. It's wonderful when he goes off on tangents about current events. If you take him, you should try to rattle his cage a little bit and get him off track. You will find that Urdank knows a hell of a lot more about the world than just history. I was in awe when he spoke on economics one morning. Surprisingly too, he's actually a lenient grader. I was not expecting this from a guy who reviews PHD dissertations! Man o man. When I submitted my midterm I was like, 'damn I probably got a C on this one'. But then when he gave it back I got an A! and he told me, 'your paper made me laugh'. That was pretty cool. I think the whole class sort of fell off near the end, but I mean, who cares. It was fun. I'd do it again.
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Most Helpful Review
BREAKDOWN: Midterm (20 multiple choice questions, one essay) 35% Paper 30%, Final 35%. Prof Urdank was my fav prof @ UCLA. He is quick to respond to emails and will answer any question you have stupid or not. Really nice guy, people dont like him for many reasons. 1) He goes over the time almost every lecture, so DONT schedule a class right after his, you will be LATE! 2) His lectures can be DRY, if you are NOT interested in the material. Dont take the class unless you are interested in the material. His exams were NOT tough, just prep off your notes, but you NEED TO COME TO CLASS!!! to get the notes or else you will suffer! Midterm: I recorded the lectures and typed GREAT notes, it is tough b/c he says a lot, but try to get the main points down, AND pay particular attention when he refers to what the authors of the assigned reading say. I cant stress this enough. According to Fergusson, or Paxton, or Leukacs, PAY ATTENTION here, he uses that for his multiple choice question. Also, COME TO CLASS!!! His exams are straight from his NOTES! If you take good ones you will be fine. Read the material b/c it is interesting, but the NOTES are enough for the exams. Paper: He calls is an "Analytical Thought Piece" 5-7 pages on a topic of your choice, NOT a research paper, he wants your opinion using the sources for the class. Due the end of 9th week, it wasnt tough, but settle your topic with him before you start writing. Final: He gave us a studyguide before the exam that basically covered his LECTURE OUTLINES. The Multiple choice questions are TRICKY! the essays are very FAIRLY graded, but the mc questions were tough. the final is NOT cumulative. I got an A on midterm, paper, and final. I studied my NOTES, but i had GREAT notes, 5-6 pages per lecture, AND I recorded ALL the lectures, this helped me alot. He is propably one of the NICEST Profs at UCLA, he wants students to participate! He often asks the class what they think, but most people dont do the reading so they sit saying nothing. Take URDANK if you want to LEARN about the material. The class is DOABLE if you have GOOD NOTES I cant stress that enough! Go off your NOTES for the exams and NOT the books (the multiple choice questions come DIRECTLY word-for-word from the NOTES) If you dont come to class you will SUFFER!
BREAKDOWN: Midterm (20 multiple choice questions, one essay) 35% Paper 30%, Final 35%. Prof Urdank was my fav prof @ UCLA. He is quick to respond to emails and will answer any question you have stupid or not. Really nice guy, people dont like him for many reasons. 1) He goes over the time almost every lecture, so DONT schedule a class right after his, you will be LATE! 2) His lectures can be DRY, if you are NOT interested in the material. Dont take the class unless you are interested in the material. His exams were NOT tough, just prep off your notes, but you NEED TO COME TO CLASS!!! to get the notes or else you will suffer! Midterm: I recorded the lectures and typed GREAT notes, it is tough b/c he says a lot, but try to get the main points down, AND pay particular attention when he refers to what the authors of the assigned reading say. I cant stress this enough. According to Fergusson, or Paxton, or Leukacs, PAY ATTENTION here, he uses that for his multiple choice question. Also, COME TO CLASS!!! His exams are straight from his NOTES! If you take good ones you will be fine. Read the material b/c it is interesting, but the NOTES are enough for the exams. Paper: He calls is an "Analytical Thought Piece" 5-7 pages on a topic of your choice, NOT a research paper, he wants your opinion using the sources for the class. Due the end of 9th week, it wasnt tough, but settle your topic with him before you start writing. Final: He gave us a studyguide before the exam that basically covered his LECTURE OUTLINES. The Multiple choice questions are TRICKY! the essays are very FAIRLY graded, but the mc questions were tough. the final is NOT cumulative. I got an A on midterm, paper, and final. I studied my NOTES, but i had GREAT notes, 5-6 pages per lecture, AND I recorded ALL the lectures, this helped me alot. He is propably one of the NICEST Profs at UCLA, he wants students to participate! He often asks the class what they think, but most people dont do the reading so they sit saying nothing. Take URDANK if you want to LEARN about the material. The class is DOABLE if you have GOOD NOTES I cant stress that enough! Go off your NOTES for the exams and NOT the books (the multiple choice questions come DIRECTLY word-for-word from the NOTES) If you dont come to class you will SUFFER!
Most Helpful Review
I would never take another class with Urdank. Although he is pretty nice, he is a horrible lecturer. I agree with previous reviewers that his voice is nasalized and annoying, but he just does not engage the students with the material. I actually feel badly for saying this, but he is the worst lecturer at UCLA.
I would never take another class with Urdank. Although he is pretty nice, he is a horrible lecturer. I agree with previous reviewers that his voice is nasalized and annoying, but he just does not engage the students with the material. I actually feel badly for saying this, but he is the worst lecturer at UCLA.
Most Helpful Review
At first I was inclined on ripping Urdank to shreds because his monotone voice and ridiculously boring lectures are miserable to attend. However, he is responsible for 2 A's on my transcript that I earned for not very much work. He's also a character of sorts and is indirectly really funny. I guess he's a nice guy, but you have to be prepared to do most of the work by yourself... lectures will put you to sleep. He also will spend time on the most random things and then breeze over topics like WWI and II and such events. Lots on agrarian reform though. It's an easy third class if youre looking to fill your schedule and you like British History. But don't go looking for inspiration from prof Urdank.
At first I was inclined on ripping Urdank to shreds because his monotone voice and ridiculously boring lectures are miserable to attend. However, he is responsible for 2 A's on my transcript that I earned for not very much work. He's also a character of sorts and is indirectly really funny. I guess he's a nice guy, but you have to be prepared to do most of the work by yourself... lectures will put you to sleep. He also will spend time on the most random things and then breeze over topics like WWI and II and such events. Lots on agrarian reform though. It's an easy third class if youre looking to fill your schedule and you like British History. But don't go looking for inspiration from prof Urdank.
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Most Helpful Review
Prof. Urdank is a great professor who genuinely cares about his students. His lectures usually ran a bit long but were very interesting, he made sure to provide detailed outlines highlighting all the major topics covered in class, I found that all of the answers to his multiple choice questions from both midterm and final were straight from his class lectures (so take good notes), he responds quickly to emailed messages, he is willing to work with his students as long as they put forth the effort to do well, he even gave us a take home final because we asked nicely, he grades the term paper very generously, and overall, he is a very kind and likeable professor. When I took his Hist 141B class, I got a C- on the midterm because I studied the books instead of reviewing my notes. For the final, I made sure to study my lecture notes very thoroughly to prepare for my final essay and multiple choice questions and I ended up with a B+ in the class. So take my advice... take very good lecture notes, review your notes 3 or 4 times before each exam, and you should ace the class with no problem! I don't know what these other guys are talking about because Urdank is NOT hard at all... they obviously didn't take good notes or something because honestly, that is ALL you need to ace this class!
Prof. Urdank is a great professor who genuinely cares about his students. His lectures usually ran a bit long but were very interesting, he made sure to provide detailed outlines highlighting all the major topics covered in class, I found that all of the answers to his multiple choice questions from both midterm and final were straight from his class lectures (so take good notes), he responds quickly to emailed messages, he is willing to work with his students as long as they put forth the effort to do well, he even gave us a take home final because we asked nicely, he grades the term paper very generously, and overall, he is a very kind and likeable professor. When I took his Hist 141B class, I got a C- on the midterm because I studied the books instead of reviewing my notes. For the final, I made sure to study my lecture notes very thoroughly to prepare for my final essay and multiple choice questions and I ended up with a B+ in the class. So take my advice... take very good lecture notes, review your notes 3 or 4 times before each exam, and you should ace the class with no problem! I don't know what these other guys are talking about because Urdank is NOT hard at all... they obviously didn't take good notes or something because honestly, that is ALL you need to ace this class!
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