2.3
Quality3.1
Difficulty37%
Would Retake129
Reviews37%
Would Retake
129
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
17
4
22
3
12
2
33
1
45
What Students Say
“The textbook saved me in this course”
HIST122 - 1.0 rating“She is not a bad person, but being a professor and teaching is simply not her thing and she should have chosen herself a different occupation”
HIST122 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
38%
Textbook Required
56%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
+0.02 avg changeRatings by Course
HISTA
4.0
(1)HIST392
4.0
(1)122
3.3
(3)HIST337
3.3
(4)HIS122
3.0
(2)Difficulty by Course
HIST124
4.0
HISTA
4.0
HIST122B
3.5
HISTORY
3.3
HIST122
3.2
Reviews (129)
Totally unclear, her lectures have no structure and always seem to have a feminist slant to them. Really hard to follow-gets annoyed with the class when we get frustrated with her lack of clarity
No Comments
No Comments
Sometimes clear, others confusing. What's with the punishment? Pop Quizzes once a week just because some people can't listen. Not cool. This isn't high school. Shouldn't expect to keep everyone's attention all the time. She was getting better...but...
MEH. She is so meh with a side of bleh. Her lectures could be interesting, but she doesn't seem to remember what she has talked about. One of the laziest profs ever, and she even forgot about the exam papers on the day of the exams. Not cool.
She is most likely the most lax prof ever. Comes late to class and sometimes doesn't show at all. Her unique 3 hour seminar has been shortened to a lengthy hour; on some days, stretched to an hour and a half. 1st yrs, stop crying...bloody whiners
She's a nice person one-on-one, but has no tolerance in class, is lazy, disorganized and scatter-brained. Her lectures are very one-sided and her biases are much too apparent, especially for a first year "introductory" class.
She is very unclear and used to go off on severe tangents. She now uses an overhead lecture outline - probably to keep herself on track. Well schooled in history, but not a good teacher (and that happens unfortunately).
I have no idea what is going on in class because Dr. Salzmann likes to go off on random tangents. She obviously knows her stuff and is a nice woman but she can't teach!
No Comments
Good luck studying for her exam! Not only do we have no notes, her lectures have no structure or focus so we have NO idea what to study. Totally disorganized, almost impossible to follow, I got nothing out of her class.
This woman has gotta be the worst prof ever. She shows up late for class and sometimes not even show up at all! She can't teach... her lectures are just random comments off the top of her head. I got ABSOULTELY NOTHING out of her lectures!
Finally a professor that knows what the heck she is talking about. Salzman is brilliant.
She prints off the slides for each lecture for everyone which is awesome.
No Comments
Professor Salzman was always available for help and discussions regarding the material discussed in class. I found her lectures informative in the way that they taught me something new about history not the same things that I had learned all through my school career.
Ugh! I am so frustrated with this class. Although I have nothing against Salzmann as a person, she is better at monologues than teaching, she needs to stick to info that the students can find so that if she goes off on random tangents in class we can still stand the chance of passing.
Jumpy lectures, hard to follow
This is a terrible class. I get nothing from it whatsoever, but a hate for history.Just to be a meanie she assigns stuff over breaks that other profs don't. Ex. test the friday of thanksgiving, essay for over the xmas break... i mean, most other profs realize that students need a break too.
Extraordinarily helpful and a brilliant prof. Finally someone to show us actual WORLD history, not European world history.
She might know her stuff, but I am too stunned by her insanity to tell. She's absolutely crazy, showing up late and teaching the class wearing a funny hat and holding a dog in her hands. I think this class might hold the Queen's record for highest percentage of confused students playing video games.
She seems to know's everyone in her classes at least by face- if not by name. I find her class very facinating. Lectures may seem difficult to some at first, because it teaches a new view of history (Crosby) in a non-traditional way. This is precisly why the class is interesting.
Although she knows what she's talking about, she doesn't make an effort to help the class understand as well. Her lectures are sporadic, making it very difficult to take notes. Most people (myself included) stare at the clock the entire time. Don't even get me started on that ugly dog of hers.
WOW. Every class I stare at the clock watching the seconds tick by kicking myself because I didn't skip. I contemplate suicide every day I wake up knowing i have to attend her awful lectures. World History does not equal Middle Eastern History. Ottomans aren't as interesting as she thinks.
I'm getting the hang of this course now. It's easier dealing with more recent history. But I think I'll find a medieval history course to take in second year, and the middle east mess is making more sense as I learn all this important stuff.
What the **** are these people talking about? History includes more than European History. In case you haven't noticed, she teaches in chronological order and gives nice pictures to everyone, just in case you can't figure it out. No need to read for an 80 & her dog is cool. Funny British accent!!?!!
Worst prof or teacher I've ever had. When I signed up for a course called "Modern World History" I didn't realize Queen's had replaced it with "Medieval Islamic Women's Studies" cause if you go to Salzmann's disjointed, off-topic lectures that's what you're gonna get.
WORST
This class is very very boring! The communication between the ta's and her was awful! Most of the time no one knew what was going on. Her lectures for the first few months were all over the place. However, the classes near the end of the year are a bit better.
Salzman is horrible! She has a problem bringing her dog to class as well as arriving on time over the first semester. Also, her assignments are very confusing and half the time the class has no idea what she wants. Lesson-> Avoid her like the plague!!
No Comments
I have no idea what she talks about in class -PERIOD-
HATE HER HATE HER HATE HER! Such a bad class, hard to follow and she was really unprofessional, never shows up on time and brings her dog to class. DON'T TAKE HER CLASS
Cannot teach to save her life. Worst lecturer ever.
Presented areas of history never been exposed to! ex historiography (crosby), the middle east and more. Her lecture style is better than the regular,boring,pointbypoint style like pols or econ. She doesnt spoonfeed us info. she expects us to think critically. ppl clueless in class can't come up with anything better than making fun of her dog.losers
Overall a good course, good prof - too much background (middle east), but lectures were interesting assignments were interesting. Communication with TA's was brutal and there were major differences in how TA's marked the same assignments.
Really interesting class. An excellent overview of modern world history, taught to provide the student with a comprehensive understanding of how our present world came to be. A great introductory course
Avoid like the plague.
I loved history it was my fave class in high school. Salzmann ruined the entire subject for me. She not only was boring, but also incompetant. I mean she's teaching Modern World History, and thought WW2 ended in 1942? I had to correct her in class, that's just ridiculous. Also she is obsessed with the Ottomans, we didnt talk at all about the rest
Jumps around too much
She was absolutely brilliant in her primary field of knowledge. We would often just sit as a class and ask her questions on a wide range of subjects that seemed interesting. She was always game and generally had some hilarious anecdote that gave the idea of Ottoman History an entirely new perspective. My interest in the topic has grown hugely.
I'd say average prof who's knowledge base focuses a lot more on the Ottomans which is interesting in some cases but not always.
decent prof
No Comments
Terrible professor. What ever justifications Salzmann tries to brainwash us with: THIS IS NOT WORLD HISTORY! It is not euro-centric, but that doesn't mean its necessarily fair and balanced. It is instead focussed on the middle east and a timeperiod which is hardly modern. Events outside the middle east and after 1789 seem like an afterthought.
she was alright. her lectures were very organized but kind of dry. and really what a wanted to learn as well was european history but she refused to teach it. all we leanred was about the middle east and ottomans and china. which is good and all but to completely ignore europe?? kind of weird.
If your interested in the Ottomans or Islam then i would recommend her class. If your looking for world history you've gone to the wrong place.
It's funny to hear that all Salzmann talks about is the middle east during her world history class In her middle east class all she still talks about is the Ottomans which is great but the class is called MODERN MIDDLE EAST and we've learned nothing modern also very distracted by her dog which she brings to class and also by her choice of dress.
She comes across as not...entirely there. Bringing the dog to lecture is not at all good. Frequently brings the wrong laptop and goes off on tangents.
No Comments
I really think there is something wrong with this woman. She brings her dog to class. She can't work the light switch, and her lectures often appear to have little or no relation to the rest of the course (ie textbook and seminar work).
Great Prof. Fascinating lectures. I think people just need to get used to her lecture style, which is a broader and flowing National Geographic Documentary rhetoric rather than dull and didactic point-by-point Power Point lectures.
Personally, I have nothing against the dog as its fits end class a good fifteen minutes early. And her lectures aren't bad, she just has a very different style of lecturing. You can tell this woman knows her stuff.
I learned a lot from her lectures...but...i really wish it was someone else doing the lecturing! she was wandering, unclear, and often just plain dull. To me, her style was very ivory tower. Overall highly disappointing.
If you are going to teach a single term course on MODERN Middle east, then you should spend at least 9 of those 12 weeks on MODERN events. The fact that it took her 4 weeks to get to the Ottomans and then spent the next 3 weeks talking about them is ridiculous. Her dog, and her lecture style make it impossible to learn. Never take her class!
wow... She has a habit for blurring the facts and not allowing the student to draw key points...goes off on tangents completely not related... I can tell she knows her stuff, however, she lacks the clarity that allows a teacher to actually teach properly
I liked her lectures, and Melek is absolutely adorable. She can get confusing in her lectures, and it would probably be nice if her slides were in english. But overall pretty good class! Very interesting
A very underrated prof! If you are taking history at Queen's don't miss the opportunity to attend a Middle East class by Salzmann. Based on the reviews I've read she should replace Hassan-Yari on the Arab-Israeli course.
No Comments
The material is interesting, however one wonders how Islam can be her specialty yet she gets corrected by the Islamic students in the class.
I actually enjoyed her lectures and learnt a good deal from them. Sure she isnt the typical style and she could be more foussed but her tangents were awesome, as was all the material we read (I LOVED the readings) & heard in class. The exam was annoying though.
She's a great teacher. Very approachable. Its not surprising Queens students despise a professor that teaches outside the comforts of their Eurocentric box.
very interesting course and you learn A LOT of information and history about many countries in the middle east in an intersting way. and the final exam is take-home!
Professor Salzmann is provided the opportunity to teach interesting material but rarely makes good use of this. She goes off on inapplicable tangents that are rarely relevant to the course material and is overtly political correct and left-wing. Carrying around her dog all class was annoying not to mention immensely unprofessional.
Though the subject matter of the class is very interesting and the readings are great, the lectures themselves are poor. Salzmann's lectures are not well organized and for a course called 'The Modern Middle East', far too much emphasis is placed on middle eastern history.
I really enjoyed this course. She is the type of prof people seem to love or hate. (Take the course for two weeks and then drop it if you don't like it -- and let other people get in!).
Lectures are disorganized. Constantly jumps around to different countries and different time periods. Several lectures the said the same thing over and over again. Assignments are really clear, she lives out details and will put requirements in different places. The reading notes are a waste of time, specially since she rarely takes them.
I found her lectures to be very disorganized. She was very unhelpful and made interesting subjects really boring. Not to mention her dog acted up in lecture very often.
Would people please get over the dog. Her teaching style is fantastic yes she goes on different tangents but they keep you interested. You hear many different facts and interesting powerpoint graphics/examples. She knows what she is talking about - give her some respect.
The dog was cute, he didn't distract so get over it. She is a great teacher - keeps you interested in the topic, and she's a good speaker. Yes, she talks about the Middle East in a world history course but that may have something to do with the fact that her section of the course is SUPPOSED to talk about the Ottomans...
She is extremely difficult to listen to. Her speaking abilities are lacking and it makes the entire class feel angry. Forget about the dog, its something cool to look at instead of thinking about how terrible the class is. Not a good prof.
Classes intended to illustrate how much she knows and how little you do. Plus, the dog running around is really a distraction...so would say a welcome one. Would not recommend!
Terrible teacher who ruined what could have been a great class. Came into it with high interets and am leaving the class to never take another history again. Very strange and boring presenting style. Made people in the class feel bad. Nice dog I guess. Don't take 122
This Prof is all over the place. You might as well study the readings and watch the videos instead of going to the lectures because they are TERRIBLE! She loosely links the preceding readings to each according lecture; the end result, being extremely confused. BEWARE! This course isn't what it seems.
Very good prof,very informative and always knows what she is talking about. Look at issues from most different perspectives and is very clear
This prof is terrible. Not only are her lectures all over the map, she refuses to utilize online school resources for her students, her excuse being that she doesn't want to aid the slackers who don't come to class. Instead she makes everyone else struggle in the process. Also haven't been added to the email list despite multiple unanswered emails.
I have to say... coming out of that class, I learned nothing about the Middle East. It was interesting while taking it but now I can barely remember anything. Lectures were somewhat dull and she took a thematic way of going through topics which just didn't work.
her classes are unclear and she brings are ugly dog to every single lecture...... so messed up, i would not suggest this class to anyone. I loved world history going into this class but not anymore.
Salzmann's approach to history is VERY different to a student coming from high school. Throughout the semester her coverage of world events is a little unclear, but as the final exam approaches her intent becomes clearer. You really have to listen to what she is saying and read the textbook to gain a full comprehension of this course's objective.
At the beginning of HIST 122 you will think that the class is pointless and very unorganized, however after the first half you will look back and realize you have learned a lot. I would recommend this class to every first year with interest in the history program.
Decent professor, liked the dog.
Don't bring your dog to lecture!
She is constantly jumping all over the place and was very pushy towards students. Interesting course content though
Salzmann is one of the most underrated profs in the department. She's known as being eccentric, but in all honesty, is one of the most brilliant individuals I've ever met. Incredibly helpful and caring. Slightly unorganized, but wildly talented.
Great Prof, excellent Lectures, and love the dog!
Sometimes her lectures seem to be all over the place, but they really make sense when you look back. She was very interested in what she was talking about which made me interested. I loved her dog (who she only brought once).
Some of the lectures seemed pointless, but overall it was a great class and the professor was always there after class to answer any questions. I thought the dog was cute too.
Least favourite class in first year. The only reason I remotely didn't regret taking this class is because of the second sem. prof (he is amazing). Salzmann was all over the place and her information was very unclear.
Honestly, out of all my profs she is the worst by far. She jumps all over the place, makes words up, and her lectures lack clarity. Thank god my TA was really good or I don't know if I would have been able to handle the course. Avoid this woman like the plague.
Have absolutely no idea what her readings are about. Instead of explaining the information in lectures and readings, does not even hint at the main point of them until the final week of lectures. If you feel like being confused all semester, this is the class for you.
This teacher has no ability to clearly express information. She's all over the place, jumping from one century to the other. Some of lectures are also factually inaccurate. I learned nothing in this class, I had to teach myself through outside research to feel ready for the exam. Awful class, avoid it.
Made it very difficult to stick with this class for the full year. Thankfully things get better in second semester.
She is quite disorganized and during the first semester if may seem as though you are learning nothing. When it comes time for exams, however, you actually realize you learned quite a bit. Her dog is awesome as well.
Excruciating class. Even with coming to every lecture and tutorial and doing readings (with notes), her lectures just didn't make sense. She doesn't have a cohesive structure in individual lectures or in the semester as a whole, so it's really hard to contextualize information. Fortunately, the exam was pretty easy and the 2nd semester is great.
I had no idea what she was talking about, and it seemed like she didn't either. Attending this class was extremely painful, especially since in was two hours. Fairly easy exam though.
The textbook saved me in this course. She was useless and her lectures were all over the place.
Found her to be a little disorganized, she didn't put many words on her slides and then didn't make it any easier to note down what she was saying during lecture because she would start with one thing and then go to a whole different thing that left you very confused. A sweet person though, and her dog is entertaining.
She taught first semester of 122 4 years ago and helped me fall in love with history. She spent the semester just teaching us rather than just following the course. I probably learned more that semester than the rest of my undergrad and none of it was tested. It was genuinely just about learning.
Let me put in this way: in a perfect world she would NOT be teaching even in a high school let alone a high profile university. She is not a bad person, but being a professor and teaching is simply not her thing and she should have chosen herself a different occupation.
Salzmann does not know the difference between teaching and monologue. Plus, she is all over the place jumping from one topic to the next. It is so sad that the material she "teaches" is actually very interesting, but she somehow manages to ruin it all.
Ms. Salzmann seemed enthusiastic about what she was teaching. Unfortunately, enthusiasm is not always conducive towards helpful lectures. Her thoughts were often disorganized and scattered, and her lectures lacked clarity and structure. It wasn't until the end of the semester until she told us "this is what you should focus on, go back to your note
Lectures are very scattered and hard to follow. LOTS of reading, and you come out having no idea what you learned. The plus was that the exam focused on very major themes so it was still doable.
Her lectures on Middle Eastern history is way more confusing and hard to follow than the present day situation of the Middle East. She starts talking about a subject, then she jumps to another topic, then another, and another, it is virtually impossible to understand if there can possibly be a connection between these pieces of information.
Ariel Salzmann is the weakest link of the department, she is famous for her incoherent, unstructured and unorganized lectures. Basically, run!
Can be rather unorganized, but it pays off! It forces us to keep track of what's going on ourselves as opposed to sitting on our butts. Would recommend her seminars, they are a lot of fun.
She tries to engage her students to the course, her lectures can be disorganized, which is ok for me, I don't really mind that. However, the real problem for me is that most of her ideas are quite a bit out of date, she does not seem to follow the recent literature on the topics that she teaches.
She is all over the place and is not open to slightest criticism of her old fashion beliefs.
Her consumer history course was great! Loved it! Learn a lot about the transforming history of consumerism. She is a set in her ways, but if you accept that her opinion and that you are entitled to your own you will be fine. Definitely write the papers towards her opinion and you'll do fine.
A very pleasant prof who clearly loves what she teaches. She is super out going and friendly and stimulates interest in the subject. The course is super easy and entertaining. Some people might say she is scatter brained, but she sticks to the syllabus and her lectures are always interesting.
During lecture she comes across as bumbling, unknowledgeable and fails to property organize slides or course material in a substantive way. Trust me: take Canadian history in first year if you are going to major or minor in it.
I took her 122 class, and she was awful. But I thought that maybe a smaller class size would be better. Still awful. Shows documentaries in almost every lecture. Her lectures are extremely unorganized. She is not open to anyone else's opinions. Does not respond to emails. Extremely judgemental. If you want an education, do not take her courses.
I took her HIST241 class and I barely could bring myself to go to class. Her lectures are unorganized, impossible to follow and mainly just her showing random youtube videos. She sometimes responds to emails, but absolutely not at the rate she should be.
Lectures are extremely difficult to follow, I honestly don't know why she uses PowerPoint at all as she almost never refers to the slides and zooms through them too fast to even read. Communicating with her is extremely difficult. The material is interesting and I did learn something, but I think it's a bit of a stretch to call it a history class.
I am impressed of her knowledge on the course I have taken. She is helpful and fair. You need to follow her class and do necessary readings. As long as you fulfill requirements, there is no reason to fail or to get low marks.
Awesome prof, if you have her be sure to see her sometimes after class if you have trouble understanding any of the material.
caring professor but way too unorganized. Never posted slides even though she said she would and didnt respond to many emails of mine. When I was having a rough time she gave me an extension but honestly she was an unorganized lecturer & did not know OnQ
Lectures were fun! TA was hard.
Prof is very unorganized, repeats a lot of material, and slides are tough to follow. Did not upload the full syllabus for the entire semester. Did not get through all of the material listed in the syllabus because of how unorganized she is. The class material is still interesting though!
Unorganized
Shows up late to lectures and doesn't acknowledge it. Lectures are incredibly unorganized and hard to follow, she just goes off on tangents. 50% chance of slideshows being uploaded on OnQ. Syllabus was never completed. Class content could be made so much better if it was presented by somebody who knew how to effectively lecture.
At this point we all know her lectures are wildly unorganized, but I see no one here talking about the weighting of assignments. The 267 grading scheme was an in person quiz (10%), an in person midterm (40%), a short essay (25%), and a long essay (25%). Everyone obviously did poorly on the midterm and she blamed all of us for it. Avoid her classes.
Awful prof. Very unclear.
Said terrorism was good, very strange
I dont know why people didnt like her class or style of teaching. I LOVED her HIST267, it was the class that opened my eyes to how the world works and why it looks the way it does. I recommend her to her classes to everyone who is willing to listen. She is an incredible professor and is doing great work.
As long as you show up to lecture and do the readings, you will do well in this course. The 40% midterm was 2 questions based on one book; the professor even provided practice questions (one of which was on the midterm). Anyone who did poorly on this midterm just didn't do the readings. Interesting lectures.
If you hate 21st century learning and hate yourself then you should definitely take a course with Salzmann. The combination of ZERO online material (aside from syllabus), instructions riddled with spelling, grammatical, and logistical errors, and an overly inflated ego and sense of superiority make any class with her unbearable to be in.
HIST227: Love this prof. The course content is super relevant and engaging and the grading is easy. Show up to lectures and do the readings and you get an A in her courses, not hard at all. I think bad reviews are from people who don't come to class lol
Super unorganized, very difficult to follow in lecture, terrible criteria for assignments and exams. Material isn't that difficult but just her inability to effectively communicate makes it a hard class to be successful in.
Professor's lectures can be disorganized, but the content is interesting. Rely on the readings and Unstuck AI for effective study prep to do well in this class.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
38%
Textbook Required
56%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
+0.02 avg changeRatings by Course
HISTA
4.0
(1)HIST392
4.0
(1)122
3.3
(3)HIST337
3.3
(4)HIS122
3.0
(2)Difficulty by Course
HIST124
4.0
HISTA
4.0
HIST122B
3.5
HISTORY
3.3
HIST122
3.2