PROS:
- Ample opportunities for extra credit (8%!!!!!)
- Light workload, no homework or group projects
- Grade consists of: 1 midterm, 1 final, 1 essay, and section participation
- Not a strict professor

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CONS:
- Readings can get a little heavy
- Lectures can be slow and difficult to stay focused on (in all fairness, it was on Zoom)
- Covers a very wide variety of topics related to Russian history and culture, doesn't just focus on one or a few things

I'm also selling the textbooks (Moss + Fathers & Sons) at $15 for both! Message me at (213) 863-4766

Okay SO. Only take this class if you are either a) Russian or b) super interested in Russian culture and history. The curriculum of the class is something I'm truly interested in and even so the lectures were not able to keep me super engaged in the class. The TAs were all marvelous lecturers, but Pilshchikov would spend the entire hour and 45 minutes (+15-20 minutes on top of that, he always went overtime) reading off the slides. It made me so sad because I was so excited for this class, but since his communication skills are limited (completely understandable as English is not his first language) it was difficult for us to understand and digest the copious amount of information necessary to succeed in this class. There is so much material covered in this introductory course-- you have to read so much in order to keep up (pages of the history textbook, plays, articles, etc., around 80 pages per week) which is a lot for an introductory course. I'm still very glad I took it, but if you're looking for a GE that's an easy A, I do not recommend this course.

I really enjoyed this class and learning about Russian history. The content was very interesting and always held my attention. You do have to read a novel, but I actually really liked it and the novel is relatively short. One downside to this class is that the professor has an accent that can be occasionally difficult to understand. It was very helpful that the lectures were pre-recorded for this online quarter because I was able to pause and rewind. Also, there is a ton of extra credit given in this class. This makes up for the fact the midterm and the final are pretty difficult. I earned 6% extra credit for taking a few practice quizzes and writing an analysis of a Russian film.

Teacher has a super thick accent so hard to understand what he says and the textbook is super thick and boring but it's not a hard class but there are easier GEs unless you're into Russian History starting in 800 BC.

Horrible class. Would not recommend. Unnecessarily difficult for an intro class. Also the grade distribution for Spring 2020 is so inaccurate. P.S. I’m selling the textbook..... hit me up @ lazytrazy77@gmail.com

I honestly do not understand why one would complain about this class. The professor is a great lecturer and covers interesting topics. He gives 8% of extra credit, which easily lets you jump to a better grade. The extra credit involved quizzes, which students could repeat multiple times until they got a perfect score, and watching movies and writing a one-page summary for each. The important components of the class were the timed multiple choice exams, which were closed notes, but we did not use Respondus. The exam questions were very straight forward and not tricky. We also had to write a five-page-essay at the end of the quarter about an important Russian event/figure. We chose who to write about, so there was a lot of freedom. I found the paper to be really interesting to write because I learned from it. Another important thing was participating in the discussions. My TA was Katrin, and she had polls each section, which were very similar to the test questions, so we all felt very prepared. I definitely recommend this class. It is fun, interesting, and easy to get an A.

Tbh the professor is a little difficult to understand and he expects us to know A LOT of content. Idk if it's because of the course structure or the professor himself but expecting students to learn about Russian history, art, architecture, alphabet, and literature from like 400 AD to almost modern day is unreasonable especially for a GE course. I felt extremely overwhelmed and only stuck with the class because of the P/NP option. But the professor also offers A LOT of extra credit (max of 10-11%) so that boosted my grade really high. The class consists of a pre-midterm quiz, 1 midterm, 1 final, 1 paper on any topic related to Russia in some way, and the participation grade. If you have the choice, I would take Nicholas Fedensko's discussion because he's so sweet and tries to destress his students by highlighting specifically what we need to know.