HIME 2012

This was an excellent, excellent class. Professor Confino's approach to history - how he presented the conflicts, his overarching themes, his emphasis on historiography's evolution over time - transformed how I think about the past. I learned about far more than history - I learned about politics, sociology, storytelling, and drew connections with the WGS class I was taking at the time. The reading is extensive and the grading is stricter than other history classes I've taken, but it's absolutely worth it. I'm writing this review over a year after taking the class because it has stood out so well in my memory as one of the best classes I've taken at UVA.

Confino is such an adorable teacher. He is a great lecturer but DO NOT take this class if you are just trying to fulfill 2 requirements it is NOT EASY. There is sooo much reading and two long papers and two tests. Lecture is not mandatory but if you don't go you will not know what is going on.

Amazing class! Confino is an engaging lecturer and I found that the readings he assigned really furthered my understanding of lecture and the complexity conflict of 1948. Grades are 25% participation (attendance in section/short reading posts every week), 25% take-home midterm, 25% final paper (6-8 pages), and 25% blue book final exam. Very fair. Alexandra was one of the best TAs I've had at UVA: she was always available to help clarify lecture/readings and really knows her stuff. Highly recommend this class!

Great class! Professor Confino is an awesome lecturer, and very funny! The topic is fascinating, and has really important lessons for today (even if you don't necessarily love history). Even better, there are only two essays and a final the whole semester, so the work load is not crazy. I would recommend this class to anybody at UVA, no matter what their major is!

Fantastic class. I did this during J-term so my reading score may be a bit skewed. I learned more in 1 week than I had in a semester class before. He's very unbiased and gives good background into the conflict. Poses really interesting questions and you leave the class feeling like you have a new found understanding for the daily news.

This class was fantastic. Although attendance to lectures was unnecessary toward the end of the semester, I went anyways just because Confino is so adorable and such a great lecturer. Very funny and entertaining, he has a bit of an accent, but it's very charming and does not get in the way of his teaching. There is a take-home midterm, a paper, and a final- none of which are too terribly demanding. TONS of reading for the class, but not all of it is necessary- a lot of it gets redundant after a while. However, this was easily my favorite class of the semester and I can say that I came out of this class easily able to talk about the conflicts of 1948 with ease and without bias thanks to Professor Confino. Highly recommend the class if you are at all interested or curious in this topic!

Everyone is right about the reading- it takes a lot of time to go through. Some of the readings were very interesting though, and I learned a lot. Confino is a really nice, funny guy. The lectures weren't always very clear or relevant, and sometimes I felt that I was missing or mixing up basic facts. Still, it was a very eye-opening class!

Okay, this class is fine, but there is a TON of reading and it's all REALLY important. Confino's lectures are fun, but they are anecdotal and hard to take notes on. If you don't read, you'll die. Mary is a GREAT TA.

This is an amazing class if you're interested at all in the Middle East. Lots of reading, but all really cool, and you definitely learn about the background of the topic and the academic discourse surrounding it. He's very fair and balanced towards both sides in the conflict. It's more like a 3000-level class, though.

I absolutely loved professor Confino! Best class I've ever taken at UVA. He is awesome!