Professor Cheetham is a bit gruff but definitely a very good professor. The workload of his class was quite light in my opinion; although there are readings for every class, these are pretty manageable and I would recommend doing them the night before class if possible. Not all of the reading content is covered in lecture, though, so it's important to keep up with them and take notes. In addition to the readings, there is a map assignment that can be done in a few hours, but it's better to do it over the course of a few days to reduce stress. There is also an essay on a topic in Mesoamerican anthropology of your choosing; first, you must submit a topic statement (to be approved by Cheetham), then, you write the actual essay, 6-8 pages, 1.5-spaced. It's not that bad; you can do it in a few days, like I did, but it's definitely better to space it out because it can feel like a lot. While these have listed deadlines in the syllabus, the professor does not mind accepting late work up until the day of the final. He's a very reasonable professor and his lectures are pretty engaging; sometimes, he'll flip through pictures from his own excavations, etc., but usually he won't have slides or anything. Still, it's easy to follow along, and he'll write down the gist of what he's saying on the board. The midterm and final are not too bad but you have to study; he'll give you some questions that are basically freebies but the rest will be things you'll need to know from the readings or lectures.

In my experience, he was kind of passive-aggressive about late attendance on the first day or two, but after that he mellowed out. He responds to emails at lightning speed, and grading isn't much slower.

The class doesn't have a Canvas; everything is sent via email. It might sound kind of annoying but it proved to not be a problem at all. Just download the attachments (some might need to be converted to PDF) and keep them in case you need to go back over them to study later. The textbooks are not available via BruinOne but you can find them online or buy them on Amazon for pretty cheap.

TLDR: Easy enough class. Draw a map, write an essay, midterm, final, readings for every class. Very manageable workload overall, though. 3 hiccups: professor can be a little gruff on the outside, no Canvas page (only email), textbooks need to be bought in advance (he'll reach out well in advance to tell you).

This class was pretty easy and incredibly interesting. There is a map assignment, an outline assignment, a midterm, a final, and a final essay. He doesn't use canvas which was a bit odd; instead, you send him the assignments through his email. The map assignment can be a bit time-consuming, so I recommend starting early. The final essay is based on whatever topic you want, which makes it fun. It is 6-8 pages, 1.5-spaced. He provided a study guide for both exams. For the midterm, I would recommend making a list of sites and knowing their importance and cultural region. The final was a bit easier to study for and easier overall. Both exams have a lot of extra credit within them (with both easy questions like "Choose C" and a page of extra credit questions to fill out at the end. Overall, I really liked this class and would recommend it if you get the opportunity.

Dr. Cheetham is a great professor who has a lot of passion for his field. He's a laid back, funny guy who brings his personality into class. He is extremely helpful and lenient and is always there for his students. He does not use Canvas or any type of slides, he lectures and asks that his students submit assignments through email. He is lenient with assignment due dates (except for the final obviously) and is ALWAYS available for a chat in person or through email if his students need help. I love his laid back and relaxed attitude, it really helped ease my anxiety. Your grade is mainly based on 3 assignments, so I got a C+ which isn't great but is totally my fault for missing a lot of the readings and probably not studying the best for the final. Great class though, definitely recommend!

Professor Cheetham is an intense guy. He has a lot of passion for his work and is clearly in love with his field of study. He provides students with a textbook which he puts together himself and requests only the printing cost. His lectures often go off onto tangents, but he is immensely personable and entertaining, plus he will send email PDFs of anything he didn't get to in class, so you are never behind on the material.

Assignments were: 1) a map project in which you draw and illustrate a map with various sites which will be covered in class so you have a working knowledge of the geography of each place, 2) a final research paper on a topic of your choosing from pre-colonial Mesoamerica, 3) a midterm, and 4) a final.

He was a generous grader on the map and paper assignments, and while the midterms and finals were more dense than anticipated by most of my class, he offered enough extra credit to even out the tougher questions. With the additional extra credit and harder studying for the final, I was able to maintain an A in the course.

PS Ask him about his time on the History Channel show "Ancient Aliens"!