I took this class because the ancient near east is a pretty interesting subject to me and I wanted to learn more about it. Burke is cool and you can tell he's passionate about the subject but I feel like the lectures sort of dragged on sometimes. The workload kind of sucked as we had to write two three-page papers (one on an art piece from LACMA and one on a lecture attended outside of class) and a seven page paper comparing the perception of kingship in two out of three ancient texts, in addition to a midterm and final. Those papers were all due towards the end of the quarter so it's definitely easy to procrastinate and feel overwhelmed. I felt like the midterm and final were really easy if you just studied the study guide. It was a lot of names to remember but it's really not that bad. Having Danielle Candelora as a TA was awesome. She was super chill, approachable, and willing to help with whatever you need. Overall it was a decent class but if you're looking for a super easy GE, I'm not sure this would be it.

Burke is very passionate about history and especially the Ancient Near East, but he is absolutely terrible when it comes to spreading that passion among his students. He is a very dry and boring lecturer, and if you are not a history buff you will not enjoy this class. I could hardly keep my eyes open and eventually stopped attending lecture completely. The papers are relatively easy, but the 7 page one can be a bit tedious especially if you don't read the books. The midterm isn't too bad since it's a mix of multiple choice, fill in the blank, map, and short answer. However the final was completely multiple choice, with TONS of names that all sound the same. If you aren't prepared to study your ass off for the final just make sure you get good grades on everything else and you'll walk out with at least a C.

Professor Burke is very engaged with what he's teaching. At times it can be tough to follow due to the large amount of information thrown at you, but all the slideshows are posted online, so it's okay. Burke is always willing to take questions and help you if you ask. Additionally, he's very interested in making you interested in the subject field. The workload was somewhat heavy, especially toward the end of the quarter with the amount of essays due (the essays also require a visit to LACMA and a visit to an outside lecture), but the material is genuinely interesting and engaging, as well as pretty straightforward and simple. The tests are also very easy. Overall, I really enjoyed both this class and this professor. If you take it in the 2016-2017 school year, try to get Jacob Damm as a TA. He was great, can't rave enough about that guy!

While the class was easy to accomplish, I don't know how much I accredit to the professor or to the TA. I felt like I best understood the material given by my TA and not Professor Burke. He seems like a decent guy and his lectures weren't boring or monotone... Just not for me I suppose

This class was pretty easy as long as you took the time to remember everything! Its really just about names, dates, and time periods/empires. There is a lot of information in class but the TA's kinda give you the main points during discussion so that was really helpful. There was one essay and it was pretty easy! Make sure to ask your TAs for feedback because it shows youre interested and thats what GE's are all about.