HIST 1C
Introduction to Western Civilization: Circa 1715 to the Present
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Introduction to history of the West and its connection to rest of world after 1715, during period of sweeping political, social, and cultural tensions and transformations. Topics covered include industrialization, rise of nationalism and mass politics, revolutionary movements, urbanization, mass global migrations, European expansion and imperialism, and decolonization, leading to emergence of new nation states in Europe's former colonies. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2024 - This class was pretty easy for a first quarter GE. I am a non-humanities freshman and it was pretty good for a GE. Weeks 7-10 were a breeze because everything post 1870 was covered in APUSH or AP World. Weeks 1-6 were very interesting (1715-1870). The class is very independent and there is not much collaboration, despite the best efforts of the TAs, but I guess that's to be expected from a history class. Final and midterms were tedious, albeit very easy. However, I do think that you could probably learn everything in this class on your own quite easily if that's why you're taking this class.
Fall 2024 - This class was pretty easy for a first quarter GE. I am a non-humanities freshman and it was pretty good for a GE. Weeks 7-10 were a breeze because everything post 1870 was covered in APUSH or AP World. Weeks 1-6 were very interesting (1715-1870). The class is very independent and there is not much collaboration, despite the best efforts of the TAs, but I guess that's to be expected from a history class. Final and midterms were tedious, albeit very easy. However, I do think that you could probably learn everything in this class on your own quite easily if that's why you're taking this class.
Most Helpful Review
Prof. Frank was the first prof. that I had at UCLA. His lectures were slow, boring, pre-written, and included dry jokes with no correlation to the course. Certain people in the class would not be quiet in the front row, disrupting all of our learning and the prof. would not do anything about it. Perhaps he is better teaching upper division courses... but I do not recommend taking any of his lower division courses. I could not stay awake for a single lecture. If all the history professors are like this at UCLA, I may seriously consider switching majors.
Prof. Frank was the first prof. that I had at UCLA. His lectures were slow, boring, pre-written, and included dry jokes with no correlation to the course. Certain people in the class would not be quiet in the front row, disrupting all of our learning and the prof. would not do anything about it. Perhaps he is better teaching upper division courses... but I do not recommend taking any of his lower division courses. I could not stay awake for a single lecture. If all the history professors are like this at UCLA, I may seriously consider switching majors.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2016 - Professor Jacoby is honestly not very good at teaching. He's inconsistent with the pace of his lectures. A lot of the time you're just sitting there wondering if what he's saying is worthwhile because it can be so random and unrelated sometimes. He goes on tangents that don't really have to do with the course and he doesn't always follow a chronological order, which can be a bit frustrating since it's a history class. The TA and the textbook were what helped me get an A in this class tbh. Try to get Sam Kelley as your TA he's great but he's a bit harsh grading the two papers. Sam gives out weekly reading responses which are a pain to do, but you'll be so glad you did them when you study for the midterm and final because they help you understand the key texts of the class. You also get marks just for completing the reading responses, and since one of them is counted as extra credit, your grade gets a boost. It's definitely not impossible to get an A in this class. For the 2 papers, get a draft done super early, show it to your TA in advance and go to the Writing Center. These papers are hard because of the 2-page limit. There's also a specific way the TAs want them to be written so get as much help as you can. I got a B and a B+ on them because I procrastinated a lot and never went to my TAs office hours. Don't do that. What saved my grade in this class was essentially the midterm and final, which I got As on, and the reading responses. For these tests, what you need to do is outline the textbook! Not the whole textbook because that's impossible, but outline everything that's been mentioned in class. That's why I think that despite the fact that professor Jacoby isn't very good at teaching, you should still attend lecture! Because at the very least the lectures will give you an outline of what you're going to be tested on. You should then go through the textbook and take somewhat brief notes on everything that was brought up in lecture. With your textbook, discussion and lecture notes you should be more than ready for the midterm and final :) It's definitely a challenging class, but I'm glad I took it. It gives you such a great perspective on the world and how modern history shaped it.
Fall 2016 - Professor Jacoby is honestly not very good at teaching. He's inconsistent with the pace of his lectures. A lot of the time you're just sitting there wondering if what he's saying is worthwhile because it can be so random and unrelated sometimes. He goes on tangents that don't really have to do with the course and he doesn't always follow a chronological order, which can be a bit frustrating since it's a history class. The TA and the textbook were what helped me get an A in this class tbh. Try to get Sam Kelley as your TA he's great but he's a bit harsh grading the two papers. Sam gives out weekly reading responses which are a pain to do, but you'll be so glad you did them when you study for the midterm and final because they help you understand the key texts of the class. You also get marks just for completing the reading responses, and since one of them is counted as extra credit, your grade gets a boost. It's definitely not impossible to get an A in this class. For the 2 papers, get a draft done super early, show it to your TA in advance and go to the Writing Center. These papers are hard because of the 2-page limit. There's also a specific way the TAs want them to be written so get as much help as you can. I got a B and a B+ on them because I procrastinated a lot and never went to my TAs office hours. Don't do that. What saved my grade in this class was essentially the midterm and final, which I got As on, and the reading responses. For these tests, what you need to do is outline the textbook! Not the whole textbook because that's impossible, but outline everything that's been mentioned in class. That's why I think that despite the fact that professor Jacoby isn't very good at teaching, you should still attend lecture! Because at the very least the lectures will give you an outline of what you're going to be tested on. You should then go through the textbook and take somewhat brief notes on everything that was brought up in lecture. With your textbook, discussion and lecture notes you should be more than ready for the midterm and final :) It's definitely a challenging class, but I'm glad I took it. It gives you such a great perspective on the world and how modern history shaped it.
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2017 - Took this class in my freshman year. There will be a lot of content to go through because you're essentially cramming 300 years worth of history into 10 weeks but the tests were fair. If you study with the study guides and read up on some main themes on the textbook it will be fine. Be prepared to put in a reasonable amount of work though. The professor himself has a very thick voice and you will fall asleep in every lecture but it's going to be okay if you attend TA sections.
Spring 2017 - Took this class in my freshman year. There will be a lot of content to go through because you're essentially cramming 300 years worth of history into 10 weeks but the tests were fair. If you study with the study guides and read up on some main themes on the textbook it will be fine. Be prepared to put in a reasonable amount of work though. The professor himself has a very thick voice and you will fall asleep in every lecture but it's going to be okay if you attend TA sections.
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