When I first was in this class I was really intimated because of the amount of readings that were assigned. But in actuality you don't have to read them thoroughly in order to do well on tests as the T.A's go over them well in discussion! (Try to get John Terry, he is hilarious and makes discussing interesting and is a fair grader). Readings don't even correspond to the lecture, but lectures are good anyways for background information for the essays. Also, listening to Kershaw is always a fun time because he is so enthusiastic. There is a Midterm, Final (both graded fairly easily since they are vocab and short essay but you get a list of possible questions before the exams!!), and 4 Essays (graded more difficultly since you get a lot of time to do them). Get into small study groups for the exams and this will take a load off while studying. This is the only History class I've taken at UVA, I had no background of the Middle Ages beforehand, skimmed through the readings and still pulled an A-. Definitely Recommended.

Kershaw is absolutely amazing. He is an enthusiastic lecturer (he NEVER stops moving). He's really funny. He loves his topic, and he really enjoys teaching and talking to students. You cannot go wrong by taking his class. It does require a fair amount of effort and you MUST go to lecture and discussion if you want an A. 1 midterm 1 final and 4-5 papers each about 4-5 pages long. John Terry is a great TA and a fair grader (take him if you can).

This was a great class! There's not a huge amount of work, but you still learn a ton. Kershaw is a very engaging lecturer. If you can, get John Terry as a TA--he's enthusiastic and really cares about how you're doing in the class.