Professor
John Langdon
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Most Helpful Review
I really enjoyed this class. The subject was WWII and Langdon did a wonderful job of getting the class to cover it in depth. He lectured a few times, but most of the class each of us students took turns presenting an aspect/event of the war. It was great fun and we had a good time with each other. Our grades were based on our presentation and a final. The final was very thorough, so I would recommend studying in a group so you can best grasp the material, but he certainly did not set-out to trick us or anything. I ended up getting an A- without excessive effort, but even better I came away actually having learned something worthwhile from that class (unlike some of the other history classes I've taken at UCLA).
I really enjoyed this class. The subject was WWII and Langdon did a wonderful job of getting the class to cover it in depth. He lectured a few times, but most of the class each of us students took turns presenting an aspect/event of the war. It was great fun and we had a good time with each other. Our grades were based on our presentation and a final. The final was very thorough, so I would recommend studying in a group so you can best grasp the material, but he certainly did not set-out to trick us or anything. I ended up getting an A- without excessive effort, but even better I came away actually having learned something worthwhile from that class (unlike some of the other history classes I've taken at UCLA).
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2016 - This man is wonderful. I take his class in the afternoon which is usually my nap time so i am almost always tired but his lectures are so interesting and so engaging. His lectures are like story time. He is a brilliant and wonderfully nice man however this is NOT AN EASY CLASS. There are hundreds of latin terms and names you need to know. It is hard to follow along in the class because ,like i mentioned before, it's story time and he does not always teach it chronologically and you get lost in the mass amounts of material. So many of my classmates are struggling right now, as am I. I do not know what I will end up with in the end, small chance of an A, probably a B but that is because i am working my ass off. Reading is a must, there are 4-5 books and i suggest u read all of it. I have learned so much but i am here to warn those that think taking a history class is an easier option- WRONG.
Fall 2016 - This man is wonderful. I take his class in the afternoon which is usually my nap time so i am almost always tired but his lectures are so interesting and so engaging. His lectures are like story time. He is a brilliant and wonderfully nice man however this is NOT AN EASY CLASS. There are hundreds of latin terms and names you need to know. It is hard to follow along in the class because ,like i mentioned before, it's story time and he does not always teach it chronologically and you get lost in the mass amounts of material. So many of my classmates are struggling right now, as am I. I do not know what I will end up with in the end, small chance of an A, probably a B but that is because i am working my ass off. Reading is a must, there are 4-5 books and i suggest u read all of it. I have learned so much but i am here to warn those that think taking a history class is an easier option- WRONG.
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2024 - DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. I have no idea how it has such high reviews on bruinwalk. Genuinely one of the worst professors I've ever had. He is constantly interrupting class to give his take on whatever he saw on TV this morning. Don't take this class unless you want to hear an 85 year old's opinion on everything that is going on in the world. I've never met a professor so full of himself. He would not stop talking the entire midterm. He graded midterms in front of us out loud as we were taking the midterm. He is constantly talking about "greco-roman heritage", uses the word "barbarian" like it is a slur, is constantly describing teenage or younger women in history as "perky" or "hookers". He brings up "the filthy turk" or "illiterate unwashed sacarens", and is just always feeding into racial stereotypes that are disgusting. The last lecture I listened to he made up that downtown LA was destroyed after a basketball game was won, which is 1. not true and 2. a disgusting racial stereotype! I have no idea how he still works here! According to him, we need to bring back the national draft and there are too many immigrants in the army (they're not loyal to the US apparently). This is a man stuck in the 50s. He's incredibly condescending and is almost unbearable to listen to for long periods of time, going on the same rants over and over. He's very passionate about the subject and makes the content somewhat clear as long as you keep the class reader near and dear to your heart, but is very much stuck in the old-fashioned way of learning and doing history. Great men, names and dates, linear timelines that you have to know beat-by-beat. My least favorite professor I've had the displeasure of taking at UCLA.
Winter 2024 - DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. I have no idea how it has such high reviews on bruinwalk. Genuinely one of the worst professors I've ever had. He is constantly interrupting class to give his take on whatever he saw on TV this morning. Don't take this class unless you want to hear an 85 year old's opinion on everything that is going on in the world. I've never met a professor so full of himself. He would not stop talking the entire midterm. He graded midterms in front of us out loud as we were taking the midterm. He is constantly talking about "greco-roman heritage", uses the word "barbarian" like it is a slur, is constantly describing teenage or younger women in history as "perky" or "hookers". He brings up "the filthy turk" or "illiterate unwashed sacarens", and is just always feeding into racial stereotypes that are disgusting. The last lecture I listened to he made up that downtown LA was destroyed after a basketball game was won, which is 1. not true and 2. a disgusting racial stereotype! I have no idea how he still works here! According to him, we need to bring back the national draft and there are too many immigrants in the army (they're not loyal to the US apparently). This is a man stuck in the 50s. He's incredibly condescending and is almost unbearable to listen to for long periods of time, going on the same rants over and over. He's very passionate about the subject and makes the content somewhat clear as long as you keep the class reader near and dear to your heart, but is very much stuck in the old-fashioned way of learning and doing history. Great men, names and dates, linear timelines that you have to know beat-by-beat. My least favorite professor I've had the displeasure of taking at UCLA.
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2022 - If you are a history buff, then you will definitely love this course; however, if you're not a History major, STAY AWAY!!! Professor Langdon is a great professor, and his enthusiasm for the subject matter is projected in the lectures, but the workload is not easy. Professor is very clear, sometimes funny, and cares a lot about the success of his students. Unfortunately, his teaching methods are VERY old school. Get ready to read about 30+ pages a night on Byzantine history and fully invest all your time in passing this class. There is no homework besides the readings to keep up with lectures. On the bright side, he provides a binder's worth of detailed notes and timelines to provide context for lectures and historical timelines to keep track of for the exams. The class is basically graded solely on the exams. So, make sure to take detailed notes while listening to his lectures. The course has two exams: 1 optional midterm (I recommend taking it for extra pts) and the final. Both exams are extremely difficult and require you to memorize a good chunk of the reading to recall specific historical events and leaders. All the exams are written responses (IN-PERSON), there are about 3 questions for the short response, each with about 2-3 in-depth smaller elements (part a, b, c) within each. The final portion is a 1-2 page essay-long response. Passing this class is possible, but you're going to have to devote a lot of time and effort to understanding the lectures and key players & events to succeed on the exams. Personally, I wished Professor Langdon would've added more homework assignments and offered more opportunities for credit to lessen the pressure on students on the final exam. This class could've been more fun and engaging if he included more creative projects and presentations—anything besides reading straight from a textbook written in the 1960s.
Winter 2022 - If you are a history buff, then you will definitely love this course; however, if you're not a History major, STAY AWAY!!! Professor Langdon is a great professor, and his enthusiasm for the subject matter is projected in the lectures, but the workload is not easy. Professor is very clear, sometimes funny, and cares a lot about the success of his students. Unfortunately, his teaching methods are VERY old school. Get ready to read about 30+ pages a night on Byzantine history and fully invest all your time in passing this class. There is no homework besides the readings to keep up with lectures. On the bright side, he provides a binder's worth of detailed notes and timelines to provide context for lectures and historical timelines to keep track of for the exams. The class is basically graded solely on the exams. So, make sure to take detailed notes while listening to his lectures. The course has two exams: 1 optional midterm (I recommend taking it for extra pts) and the final. Both exams are extremely difficult and require you to memorize a good chunk of the reading to recall specific historical events and leaders. All the exams are written responses (IN-PERSON), there are about 3 questions for the short response, each with about 2-3 in-depth smaller elements (part a, b, c) within each. The final portion is a 1-2 page essay-long response. Passing this class is possible, but you're going to have to devote a lot of time and effort to understanding the lectures and key players & events to succeed on the exams. Personally, I wished Professor Langdon would've added more homework assignments and offered more opportunities for credit to lessen the pressure on students on the final exam. This class could've been more fun and engaging if he included more creative projects and presentations—anything besides reading straight from a textbook written in the 1960s.
Most Helpful Review
I usually don't do reviews since I am lazy, but I had to make an exception Professor Langdon since he is the nicest, most caring professor I had ever taken. Like others have mentioned, Professor Langdon's class is not easy. In lecture, he throws out a lot of information so that it is hard to keep up even after you did your readings. But, if you go back home and listen to his lectures again, the information will start to get clearer. As for his tests, I felt it was extremely reasonable. For my class, we had 2 mandatory tests, each worth about 50% of the grade. We had objective questions, an essay and a historical paragraph. He also curved the test, which was very nice of him. This is by far the nicest professor I have ever met. I lost my course reader about halfway through the course and the professor offered to borrow his course reader for the duration of the course. Of course, I ended up finding my course reader, but the gesture was really thoughtful. Also, during class one day, a girl spilled coffee in class and the professor was extremely gentle about it. Another time, someone's phone rang off and he didn't make a big deal out of this either. He also makes a conscious effort to get to learn the students' names. The professor's passion and knowledge comes through in both his lectures and his course reader. You could tell that he put in a lot of time into his course reader and that he cares about the student's learning. Would I retake a class with Professor Langdon? Maybe. I am not sure if I want to work that hard again. Do I regret taking a class with this Professor? No, since I learned so much in a short amount of time. I should also mention that I took HIST 114C, 6 week session during Summer Session A. (I could not find this as an option, so I chose Hist M116C). I would assume that the regular 10 week session is more rigorous.
I usually don't do reviews since I am lazy, but I had to make an exception Professor Langdon since he is the nicest, most caring professor I had ever taken. Like others have mentioned, Professor Langdon's class is not easy. In lecture, he throws out a lot of information so that it is hard to keep up even after you did your readings. But, if you go back home and listen to his lectures again, the information will start to get clearer. As for his tests, I felt it was extremely reasonable. For my class, we had 2 mandatory tests, each worth about 50% of the grade. We had objective questions, an essay and a historical paragraph. He also curved the test, which was very nice of him. This is by far the nicest professor I have ever met. I lost my course reader about halfway through the course and the professor offered to borrow his course reader for the duration of the course. Of course, I ended up finding my course reader, but the gesture was really thoughtful. Also, during class one day, a girl spilled coffee in class and the professor was extremely gentle about it. Another time, someone's phone rang off and he didn't make a big deal out of this either. He also makes a conscious effort to get to learn the students' names. The professor's passion and knowledge comes through in both his lectures and his course reader. You could tell that he put in a lot of time into his course reader and that he cares about the student's learning. Would I retake a class with Professor Langdon? Maybe. I am not sure if I want to work that hard again. Do I regret taking a class with this Professor? No, since I learned so much in a short amount of time. I should also mention that I took HIST 114C, 6 week session during Summer Session A. (I could not find this as an option, so I chose Hist M116C). I would assume that the regular 10 week session is more rigorous.
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