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HIEU 2061 The Birth of Europe
Last taught: Fall 2026 Add to Schedule
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Review Summary Updated April 05, 2026

Expect heavy weekly primary source readings and several multi-page essays that require consistent preparation to navigate the grading. The lectures are enthusiastic and entertaining but delivered at a rapid, often scattered pace with minimal structured notes, so staying on top of the assigned texts is non-negotiable. Since discussion participation and TA-graded essays carry significant weight, your overall experience hinges heavily on both your weekly engagement and your assigned section leader. You will only find the workload manageable if you already have a genuine interest in medieval European history, otherwise the dense materials and disorganized pacing make it unnecessarily grueling.

43 Reviews

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Fall 2012
5.0
Average

This class was well taught and Kershaw was clearly very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about what he was teaching. There were 3 papers due throughout the course and they weren't too hard. The midterms and final require a bit of memorization, but nothing cramming can't solve.

Instructor 5.0
Enjoyability 5.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 2.0
Hours/Week 4.0
Fall 2012
4.7
Average

I really loved this class. The lectures can take some getting used to because he jumps around a lot, but if you keep up with the reading, he's easy to follow.

Instructor 5.0
Enjoyability 4.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 4.0
Hours/Week 3.0
Fall 2012
5.0
Average

Exceptional class...Kershaw is a great lecturer, but it helps to sit in the first few rows so that you can fully understand his accent...the reading is heavy and sometimes boring, but it pays off and needs to be done in order to succeed on the exams.

Instructor 5.0
Enjoyability 5.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 2.0
Hours/Week 4.0
Fall 2010
4.7
Average

Professor Kershaw is such a dynamic and engaging lecturer! I have never paid attention more in a class. Also, his british accent is awesome, especially when you're learning about European history. Plus, his enthusiasm is contagious and you learn so so much.

Instructor 4.0
Enjoyability 5.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 4.0
Hours/Week 0.0
Fall 2010
4.3
Average

Kershaw is an awesome lecturer and really entertaining, with an incredible knowledge of the course material. This is important when some of the typically less interesting material comes up. Kershaw discusses with passion and converys the material logically and chronologically. TLDR: great professor/lecturer, interesting material, take it. 4 papers, midterm, final

Instructor 4.0
Enjoyability 4.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 3.0
Hours/Week 2.0
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Fall 2010
4.7
Average

professor kershaw is AMAZING, easily the best lecturer i've had at uva. the class is not a guaranteed a, but was so enjoyable. armin is a great ta, he was really helpful with papers and would read drafts and comment on them before they were due which really helped

Instructor 5.0
Enjoyability 4.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 3.0
Hours/Week 4.0
Fall 2010
4.3
Average

Even if this part of history isn't particularly of interest to you, I'd still recommend the class. Kershaw is a great lecturer and very enthusiastic about his work. You have to write four papers during the semester with the option of writing a fifth to replace the lowest grade. You get to pick when you'd like to turn in each paper. Topics for each week of reading are posted at the beginning of the semester and you can pick when you'd like to write a paper based on your interest in the readings or how busy you're going to be. Rhonda is a great TA; her grading is very fair and she's really knowledgeable (especially about war) and helpful. Having great paper grades and discussion participation is more important than the midterm grade.

Instructor 4.0
Enjoyability 4.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 2.0
Hours/Week 6.0
Fall 2010
1.3
Average

Kershaw looks nice but actually not, he is very anal about his policies and papers, if you go to his office hour, sometime his talk shows he does not so respect his students.

Instructor 2.0
Enjoyability 1.0
Recommend 1.0
Difficulty 5.0
Hours/Week 0.0
Fall 2010
3.7
Average

This class is very enjoyable, Professor Kershaw is very passionate about what he teaches and that makes the subject material more interesting and slightly easier to learn.

Instructor 4.0
Enjoyability 3.0
Recommend 4.0
Difficulty 3.0
Hours/Week 6.0
Fall 2010
4.3
Average

This class was very entertaining. However, Professor Kershaw's lectures were very scattered. You had to do the reading each week because you have to write 5 papers throughout the semester. Emily will help you with your papers if you go to office hours.

Instructor 4.0
Enjoyability 4.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 3.0
Hours/Week 10.0
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