His class is pretty easy and he is a very forgiving professor. He has a sense of humor but does tend to ramble and get off topic. He gives you 2 simple essay topics and when I say simple, I mean simple. It's stuff like what does the author think about religion? He has a midterm and final where he gives you like 10 questions pick 2 and he really tries to make things simple and easy for you. He actually picks good readings for his class, though you only need to read half of them and simply know them well. I only opened 3/4 of the book and only completed less than half of them and I got an A-. He's a nice guy and you do learn from his class. Overall, I would recommend this class.

I've taken History 125A & History 125B with Professor Sabean.
I don't like taking consecutive courses with the same professor, especially back-to-back, -- but Professor Sabean has been the only exception.
If you want to breeze on by through a class-- his courses are NOT for you.
every midterm and final integrates lecture AND reading.In most history classes, it's real easy to get by without buying a single book-- but if you want to pass-- you gotta have some sort of understanding about the reading.
Every lecture is PACKED. You have to come ready to take notes and understand what he's talking about.
His lecture style is very organized (always has an outline for you to follow), and he has a legit sense of humor. I've never fallen asleep in his class due to boredom.
He's knowledgeable-- and to the point.
I suggest taking a class with him. I rarely suggest professors-- but I've spent enough time with him in lecture and office hours to confidently suggest adding him to your course list.

Nice man, but as the person before me put, don't expect to learn about 16th century history, expect to learn about the culture associated with it. Although the class had its interesting points, I found the readings to be very difficult to understand. If you have a true interest in this period, then take this class, otherwise I would advise you to stay away from this one.