This class was not too bad, and Cohen offered extra credit! She was a bit monotone and quiet (and I may have fallen asleep once or twice), but she was very knowledgeable about the material. The tests were not as hard as some other Art History classes that I’d heard of; we had to memorize certain buildings and art pieces (their names, what they looked like, general time period) but we did not have to memorize their exact dates or their exact artists. Plus, Cohen provided a study guide Powerpoint slideshow that included all the pieces/general terms that would/might be on the exam. They were free response and a little stressful because everyone was flying through their blue books while Cohen changed to the next question on the Powerpoint slides. My section was a lot of information, but very helpful in helping me understand lecture material.

Don't enroll in this class unless you are willing to spend most of your time memorizing dates and names. The midterm and finals were hard with both consisting of having to memorize more than 30 art pieces but only being quizzed on 2, vocab words, a map, and essay portions. Her slides are not very helpful, so I highly recommend attending/watching the lectures. She goes over a lot so it can be quite a drag but she uploads her lectures on bruin cast. Also, the book isn't necessary. Overall, this is not an easy GE, so I only recommend taking it if you are highly interested in art.

The professor was a very good and engaging lecturer. However, I do have problems with the overall layout of this course.
The course itself is ostensibly focused on finding trends and patterns throughout medieval art history over time. However, due to the content of the midterm and final exam, there is a LOT of pressure put on pure memorization. By that I mean that if one had the names, dates, appearances, places, and terms memorized, that person would only have to study for 15 additional minutes total in order to ace the exams. There is barely any insight required in this class. Because of this, studying for the class is very frustrating. When the professor brings up an example of an artifact it just feels like "great, more stuff to memorize."
(By the way, this means you don't need the textbook. At all.)
Speaking of the exams, despite the professor promising that they were just like quizzes and that we shouldn't stress out about them, they are extremely unforgiving and brutally written. For example, for the technical terms, rather than being given terms to define, we have to provide the specific terms provided their definition, of which there are a lot, most of which are not even in English.
The assignments also don't give an opportunity to show off one's knowledge and insight, except for I guess the ArtTok project. There's also literally no reason whatsoever to do any of the readings that you aren't doing a precis worksheet on, because they don't help you at all in the class.
It's a shame because the professor really is good at making clear and interesting lectures, but I feel stopped from enjoying and learning from them due to the overall content of the course.
TLDR: I would recommend taking this class, if you're good at and want to memorize tons of names and dates, as well as technical terms. Otherwise, give it a pass.

The professor was a very good and engaging lecturer. However, I do have problems with the overall layout of this course.
The course itself is ostensibly focused on finding trends and patterns throughout medieval art history over time. However, due to the content of the midterm and final exam, there is a LOT of pressure put on pure memorization. By that I mean that if one had the names, dates, appearances, places, and terms memorized, that person would only have to study for 15 additional minutes total in order to ace the exams. There is barely any insight required in this class. Because of this, studying for the class is very frustrating. When the professor brings up an example of an artifact it just feels like "great, more stuff to memorize."
(By the way, this means you don't need the textbook. At all.)
Speaking of the exams, despite the professor promising that they were just like quizzes and that we shouldn't stress out about them, they are extremely unforgiving and brutally written. For example, for the technical terms, rather than being given terms to define, we have to provide the specific terms provided their definition, of which there are a lot, most of which are not even in English.
The assignments also don't give an opportunity to show off one's knowledge and insight, except for I guess the ArtTok project. There's also literally no reason whatsoever to do any of the readings that you aren't doing a precis worksheet on, because they don't help you at all in the class.
It's a shame because the professor really is good at making clear and interesting lectures, but I feel stopped from enjoying and learning from them due to the overall content of the course.
TLDR: I would recommend taking this class, if you're good at and want to memorize tons of names and dates, as well as technical terms. Otherwise, give it a pass.

The lectures were so long….BUT The TAs and professors really love art so discussions were fun and interesting. I got new perspective about old buildings and objects that I’m so excited to apply when I travel!