I enjoyed this class. It was pretty much a review of the last part of AP US History, with a few lectures of some of the most recent history. Higbie is a good lecturer, but I didn't really feel like the lectures were relevant for the exams. There's one midterm and a final, both online "take home" and open book. However, they were quite difficult. Much of the material was little details from the textbooks rather than bigger themes or things we discussed in lecture. Discussion sections are mandatory for this class, but the TAs are nice and are engaging. Homework for the class is easy, just a 250 word response each week and a 5 page paper on how a moment in history has affected your current day life. Overall I liked the class and would take it again.

VERY EASY CLASS. This class is a great GPA boost because there isn't a tremendous amount of work to do. Basically the assignments in the class are limited to a five page paper and weekly reading responses (around 250 words).

Do not worry about having to attend lecture. However, make sure to read the textbook (whether you go to lecture or not) because his powerpoint slides and his lecturing aren't as reflective of the exams as it could be. Give yourself 30 minutes each day during the school week dedicated to reading the textbook and the historical documents and you should be totally fine.

TL/DR: Good class, as a lot of people have stated it is fairly similar to APUSH, although I didn't know everything in it. Grade falls to basically a midterm, final, and paper, all of which are fairly easy and the professor and TA will give you assistance. For more on the grade breakdown + links to some of the textbooks, see my in-depth review (didn't want to clog bwalk page) https://docs.google.com/document/d/15vILblHwWrnV7KnB-sOFzTRnQE2QPA7nmHxj4gdNKBU/edit?usp=sharing

Higbie is great and super accommodating to students. He BruinCasts class so attendance is not mandatory, but honestly attending class is informative and he often gives hints about what will be important to know for the midterm. There are two cumulative exams, which are take home, open note and book, as well as multiple choice. After the exam, Higbie extended an EC opportunity to all students. He seriously wants students to succeed. There are weekly readings, but especially if you've taken an American history before, they are skim-able. Lectures are interesting and clarify what's important for the course. He also makes lectures interesting by incorporating various media and by being dynamic.