J. Todd Ormsbee

First and foremost, everything listed by the two reviews below are on the mark. Ormsbee is tough and goes at a furious pace. Nevertheless, I must mention that it's not an impossibility to pass or get an A. Go to class and do your shit and you will pass easily. I got a 99 on my midterm and an A on my final (don't know the exact score). BUT, on the other hand, I must admit that I'm a Junior and this was supposed to be an entry level "Freshman" course. Hey, it's a 114 class for a reason. Bottom line: good teacher, but might be too demanding for lower division students expecting a basic world history class.

Lectures are LONG

Ormsbee is a good teacher IF:

1) you have a high attention span-if you are slow at either writing OR thinking, this may not be the best class--an hour and a half of pure lecture is what this is , and if your a freshman THINK TWICE. this class is filled with sophmores or juniors meaning us freshmen may not be smart enough...no offense, this is like AP gov only AAAAP history.

2) good notetaking skills--you better write fast. because he dosent like to wait for you to finish your notes, trust me

3)you are motivated enough to come to class everyday-- the class IS interesting...for personal use only...you get random facts and interesting thoughts during this class.

4) TAKE CREDIT/NO CREDIT-- i've known a few people who have extended their thoughts in class and ormsbee absolutly loved it..but he failed them in the long run simply because they did not do as good as they did in their exams.

remember kids...write fast, think fast, take the test fast, and read fast your in the A book. if you pass this class good job, i wish i did!

Todd is a grad student, not a professor. He required a ton of books (9) and reading for this class. The number of books was a waste of money in that you only end up reading a small portion of many of them. There has to be a better way to get the reading without wasting $100+ on books you hardly crack! There is additional reading on reserve in the online library reserves, and some handouts.

The tests are designed for the student to show what they know versus Todd finding what you don't know. They have 4 sections: matching, term ID, short answer (truly short - a sentence or two), and quote ID. You have 3 midterms and a final. The above is what the midterms are like, the final is an essay done in class. The 3rd midterm and the final are on the scheduled finals day.

There are no papers or projects for this course.

In order to be successful in this course you MUST attend ALL lectures. There is no other way. The lectures are very fast paced and it can very difficult to keep up most of the time. I highly recommend a small recorder so you can fill in the blanks later, and making friends in class so you can get notes if you miss class. Notes from someone else are a poor substitute to being at lecture.

Todd is a nice guy, and willing to help you figure out what you need to do to improve performance in tests. I, initially, found his manner of speech rather offensive because of the way he referenced family diversity and partnerships. He did not continue that behavior and I give him the benefit of the doubt for being a little nervous (he was a new-hire this Fall 2002).

Overall, not a bad class. Be prepared to write FAST!