This was a very difficult class involving lengthy papers, long difficult novels to read, and confusing lectures that were not helpful for the tests. I wish I would have taken another class instead of this one.

Professor McBride is a great lecturer and knows what he is talking about. I never find his lectures boring, and think that his workload is perfectly reasonable. I personally did a majority of the readings but think that not reading some of the novels would not hurt you, as the work in the class is mainly contingent on the lecture material. Would suggest taking this class!

As someone who is minoring in history simply because i like history, i took this class only because i wanted to learn about the subject. I think mcbride really fulfilled that purpose; his lectures are very informative, like he wastes no time. They're very dense and he goes really fast so i would recommend typing your notes (!!) but i personally thought he was a great lecturer and i enjoyed the class solely for the learning aspect. the class has one midterm and FOUR 4-5 page essays which i really dreaded for some reason like i really had no motivation to do them but mcbride was really merciful upon me turning in the first two essays so late!!! he did take points off but not as much as i thought he would. I will say that the first two essays were due the monday after thanksgiving which is annoying because who wants to write papers during thanksgiving?? the grading for the midterm was pretty harsh, i studied thoroughly for 3 days and used the textbook (which is on reserve at powell) but i did not get the grade i expected. he assigns 3 books (novels, not the textbook) but they are only necessary if you choose those options for the midterm and the essays; you can definitely avoid them if necessary, i only used one of them as essay sources. this class was very challenging because of the papers, harsh grading, and fast-paced/dense lectures. definitely not an easy A, but if you are actually interested in the subject then take the class. mcbride is also a pretty hip and young professor, throws in some jokes here and there, and is pretty approachable. his lectures are really organized and he seems like a chill guy.

I seriously enjoyed this class. The amount of reading is fairly heavy, however a majority of the readings were primary sources and fun to pick apart and dissect (on top of being short). The books assigned can be long, although they are still entertaining in how they are stories giving an insight into Soviet Russia rather than a long and dry textbook.
The lectures are invaluable to the course and will be needed for the in class mid-term and take home final. If you do the readings, attend lectures, and study the material to fill in an hour and a half of testing, you should do just fine.
If you are at all interested in Soviet history, I HIGHLY recommend taking his course.