Overall a solid GE choice. I took this class while I was taking Biochem 153A and Physics so I really was not invested in this class whatsoever and managed to get an A still. I don't think I ever did any of the reading and it was fine. I think American history is pretty boring, but it's something most people have spent several years learning about throughout elementary/middle/high school so it's not like the material is anything very challenging. There weren't any ridiculous assignments and my TA was a pretty easy grader. I think that's probably the biggest factor in your experience in this class, so it's good to try to make time to go to your TA's office hours to get help on writing the papers. Showing them you're trying usually tends to help with your grade.

If you are considering this class as a GE with Hudson, I would not recommend it ! Lectures were boring and the readings were really hard to get through, in my opinion. Your final grade is based on two papers and my TA graded harshly. The professor didn’t seem particularly passionate or concerned for the student’s learning, which made it hard for me as a non-history major to feel interested or motivated to learn about the material and how it applies to our world right now.

Great GE, not too hard or too much work. The subject matter could be clearer, however, if Hudson could use slides instead of his lecture notes. Most of his lectures consist of around 50% historical facts and 50% the conclusions and opinions he draws from those facts. All in all recommend.

Grade breakdown:
20% Attendance & Participation in Section
20% Midterm Essay
20% Pop quizzes (there's 4 of them, multiple choice, 10 questions each)
40% Final Essay

(Yep, that's right. There's no actual in-class written test for this class. )