This class was just... wow. The first day of lecture was genuinely enjoyable because he came in there with his dad jokes making everyone laugh. He joked about having Alzheimer's and forgetting stuff... but I don't know if it was a joke anymore. He repeats a lot of stuff in the class every lecture, making the content very boring. He does not expand on what you've learned in high school... in fact he included less information than what I've learned in high school on World War I and World War II. I was genuinely disappointed. The class is reading heavy and the readings are discussed in class very briefly and only occasionally. The most information you learn in class is through Gilbert. The tests were take home but honestly difficult. He will include terms on the test that he mentioned for a second in lecture and never really expanded on. It's hard to follow along with what's important because he will repeat himself multiple times (with the same exact phrases) on a concept that is not important, and then move onto the important topic that he will cover for a few seconds. It was difficult to follow along with what we were supposed to be taking away from this class when nothing that is out of common knowledge is expanded on. The paper was difficult to write because the professor and the TA had different concepts on what the paper was supposed to be about. The professor said not to go too in-depth because it's only a 10-page paper, while the TA said to really go in-depth and do research outside of the class on one aspect of World War II. The professor's answers to questions never really answer the question. However, Zweig was really enjoyable. I would not take this class again-- I expected more from a UCLA history class.

Jacoby's lectures are full of his not-so-subtle dad-humor, which he tends to draw out, but they're beneficial to attend. The readings felt useless for the most part, since he covers everything in lecture, but his midterm/final included references to the readings. His take-home midterm/final were pretty easy; as long as you paid attention during lecture, you'd do pretty well.

Dr. Jacoby's lectures can be a bit ramble-y, but it's still worth it to come to every class (although he did not take attendance). Textbook reading is essential, and the additional readings (novels, memoirs, primary sources) do come up on the exams, so read as much of them as you can. Dr. Jacoby is constantly cracking jokes, which can be frustrating if you are trying to get a straight answer about something. That being said, Dr. Jacoby offers an interesting perspective on the material and is clearly very knowledgable. If you are used to history classes and know how to stay on top of the material, you will be fine.

This class hard some bright points- some lectures, like the one on the rise of fascism in Italy, were informative. For the most part, his class is dull, and a review of lectures from lower division survey courses. Grading isn't particularly strict. I would recommend this class for people that don't want to attend lecture to focus on all the readings instead. 3 hours a week reading the textbook is more educational and interesting than 3 hours a week in this class.

Professor Jacoby is grandpa-humor funny and pretty helpful in office hours. He’s pretty nice and the lectures can be boring (just because this particular time period is so commonly taught, the material can be a little repetitive). His take home midterm was easy but you have to be detailed! And if you do all the readings and go over his slides for the final you’ll do well.

While many who took this class found it to be dull, I thought that Professor Jacoby did a good job of keeping somewhat boring material interesting and light. The TA for the class, Sam, was generous with his time, holding office hours and a review session for the final which allowed me to do so well in the class. If you put in the timed actually talk to your TA, you will be able to figure out what they're looking for and succeed in the class. Also, you really don't have to read all 5 books, just make sure that you understand what they stand for in the context of the course.

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS!

Lectures are boring and dull, excessive amounts of reading, and Jacoby and TAs are awful graders.

Midterm is take home but they're super nit picky about what you write. There is an essay that you don't get the grades for before the final. Final is written in class that requires extensive knowledge of all 6 books.

As much as I enjoyed the readings, and as much as I like Professor Jacoby as a person, I would not recommend taking this class. Your success depends on doing all of the readings and remembering minute details from them. His lectures are extremely unorganized. When it comes to grading, he is flexible at times. For example, his grader marked me off for the stupidest reasons on the midterm, and when I went to the professor, he was willing to reevaluate my test and ended up giving me a much better grade. But again, I just wouldn't take this class because it can be very exhausting.

I was very tentative when I read the evals about this professor, but honestly if you come to class, take notes and do the readings then there is no problem getting an A. This coming from someone who is an MCDB major. I went to office hours and he was very helpful in providing feedback about the final paper and directing me to a better constructed paper. I can not reiterate that you have to attend this class because he does go into minute details that you can not just google especially when it comes to the id's.

Professor Jacoby does joke a lot and is pretty unorganized in his ppt slides, but he's an okay lecturer. Unlike most history classes, he doesn't go over historical facts in power points but rather tells stories and narratives. I'm not a history major, but I thought this class was pretty interesting. On the take-home midterm be sure to be detailed and answer everything thoroughly. I got a 92. Overall, the class isn't hard and is very doable. There are a lot of readings but they're mostly narratives. You need to read the books for the exams. If you put in good effort, you should be able to get an A.