3.0
Quality3.0
Difficulty100%
Would Retake91
Reviews100%
Would Retake
91
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
20
4
20
3
21
2
20
1
10
What Students Say
“By far my FAVORITE prof at the university”
HIST1380 - 5.0 rating“The only issue I had in this class was the final exam”
HIST1370 - 3.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
40%
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.26 avg changeRatings by Course
HISTMETH
5.0
(1)USHIST
5.0
(1)20THHIS
5.0
(1)011150
5.0
(1)011238
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
HISTORYMODERN
5.0
HISTTWEN
5.0
HIST1234
5.0
282
4.5
11138
4.0
Reviews (91)
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Trendy Post-Modern artist. Nothing is real, there is no truth, blah blah...
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Truly bizarre. Lectures and comments a bit convoluted. Somewhat hard to approach
brilliant prof.; credit to the department
Great lectures, but keep away those dry erase pens
gets very off topic, not good if you want to understand anything about history
Very friendly and easygoing.
Worst prof I have ever had. Off topic, meandering, terrible assignments. Inappropriate to tell students to Write what I tell you to.
Easily one of the worst profs at this school. Pompous, condescending and lectures are idiotic.
Neal was a pretty interesting prof. because he thinks outside of the box. We once had an interesting conversation about how university is all about jumping through hoops, and his insight gave me a new level of respect for him. Highly recommended.
If you want the details and dates of History, read your textbook. If you want a deeper understanding of why things are the way they are, take a class with Professor Neal. He gives a very insightful look at history. I really liked his class.
His lectures really make you think. Pretty much gives away all term work if you put in the effort. If you really like history and want to know why it happened, take him; if you're interested in just what happened, take someone else.
BAD BAD BAD. Bad lectures, Bad assignments, Bad class. That is all I can possibly say.
Most students have an extreme reaction to this prof. and either love him or hate him. Regardless of your feelings about him he is a good prof. and if you stick it out you will be exposed to an entirely different way of seeing things.
Neal seems to think he's invented the wheel. Perhaps he's impressive to people who know nothing about Marx or politics. Otherwise... we've heard it all before!! Thanks for educating us in basic, basic leftist theory. Imagine that some already know this...
Really interesting! Not only does he get so into his lectures (flailing about), but he really has some interesting ideas about world history and "the West".
Great prof, really friendly, and has a great time teaching. He makes the class alot of fun
I really liked him. The books we were assigned were super good, and his classes were very entertaining.
BRUTAL so so so bad. I would consider myself as leftist but this guy goes out of his way to prove how left he is. He is totally self righteous, perfect example is he is a total megaphone and keeps the door open to his room. More political than history.
The whole point of what Neal is saying is like what George Carlin says, pay attention to the way people use language.
awful comments on papers maybe should not be so self involved
Aubrey is the man (never tell him that though, because he already thinks so)His tests are soooo easy. His TA was a hard marker, but he was not.
I can understand if he rubs people the wrong way. But I liked him, he had some interesting things to say, and was funny.
Seemed like a nice guy, but I had to drop his class cause i couldnt understand what he was talking about and if it had to do with the class. I couldnt take notes because he talked from his perspective
Good lectures that offer a different interpretation of history, useful if you're going into more history coures. However, his essays are weird, you can't really say anything other than what he basically tells you to regurgitate.
crazy old man! but one that knows what he is talking about. Very passionate,and well prepared. He assigned really interesting books to read and I learned alot.
fun guy but i always fell asleep in class. essays had to be his words but tests were easy. god for future historians, not as an elective.
how can one describe this prof? BE PRESENT on days that he's assigning essays cause he will tell you EXACTLY what to write to get an A+...very knowledgeable but don't question him unless you want to be humiliated.
Aubrey is a little different. Lectures are hard to take notes from and really quite pointless because he doesn't test on them. Mid-term test was easy. Exam(if you studied lots) was easy. Essays (whatever he told you to write) were marked tough.
A nice guy, but very vague in his approach..Does'nt really give notes in the class, so you must do the assigned readings to understand what he's talking about..As for essays, he tells you what he wants, exam is easy if you study for it.He's okay..
The worst prof I've ever had. His lectuers are illogical and imopssible to follow. He destroyed this potential interesting course. I strongly recommend to find a different professor.
As previous people have said, his lectures are very hard to follow and extremely vague, as are his assignments. You will not get a clear description of your subject; instead he will give you a book of readings, then will go through them with you and tell you exactly what he wants you to write.
superfunny,and you can gain something definitely by attending his lectures. It's worth sitting in some classes, to get a laugh and hear some wisdom. He also welcomes any questions and isn't rude.
Prof. Neal is THE best prof at this university. He is intelligent, totally quirky and doenst spoon feed you the lecture which is probably why some dont like him. Yes its hard to take notes in his class but his personality and antics always make the lecture interesting to listen to.
fairly good prof. Kind of crazy, but entertaining and generally good mannered. No real complaints
A curmudgeon. Definitely interesting, has a few perennial tangents, talks down somewhat. Make SURE you go to the classes where you discuss essays and the review classes, everything else is optional. An interesting lecturer, but not a lot of hard historical content: lots of philosophy and global economy wandering. Don't memorize, interpret.
Entertaining and interesting lectures, however you do not need to attend them (although they do help somewhat with understanding of the essays). Be prepared to ask questions in order to figure out what is exactly wanted in the essays, but follow his opinions when writing
Found it pointless to go to his Lectures, Essays were confusing and hard to right!!! Really boring, less history and more about his points!!
He's one crazy guy! Very nice, funny, approachable, but there wasnt really a point to go to the lectures except when finding out what was on the exam or the essays. Assignments were marked very tough, especially for an intro course, but i guess it wasnt him that marks them anyway. probably need a different TA and then this class would be great
Well what can I say about Professor Neal? At first I couldn't stand him and his constant belabouring of his leftist opinions. He does have a good sense of humour and he knows his stuff. Unfortunately he stiffles creativity by making you write essays with his point of view. If you don't, you get a poor mark. He did eventually grow on me though.
I was really interested in learning about history when I signed up for this class, not about communism. I was in his class on 9/11/01 in the morning. Everyone was freaked out and his only comment was that he "Wasn't surprised." He then rambled on about Karl Marx for the next 50 minutes while we all sat there stunned.
hes funny... i like him
I had him for my first year, and even though this was only an elective course, he was absolutely terrible. His lectures are really boring, I didn't even go to class half the time. His essays are hard and he's a hard marker. It's not worth taking a class with him if you want to do really well. Oh yeah! He totally has favourites so beware!
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Recommended... agreed, he is very funny
He's a little confusing, Sometimes he's so passionate about something that he goes crazy and I couldn't get his point. I really wanted to learn about History is this class, but ended up learning about Politics. I hate Politics. My notes were pointless after attending his class....so if you go to class, just sit and listen dont bother writing.
Lectures are pointless & confusing. Essays are hard & it's almost impossible to get a good grade. Final exam is also difficult & requires a lot of reading and preparation. On the plus side, he is very understanding & lenient with due dates. He is sorta entertaining, but not in a good way. He sorta reminds me of Ben Stein in Ferris Buhler's Day Off.
Neal is fantastic! Quite possibly the funniest prof at U of M. Essays are very easy concepts, he's very lenient with due dates, and final exam sounds like it will be hard, but turned out to be a breeze!! GET HIM IF YOU CAN!!! he's one of a kind!
straight up, i loved, LOVED this class. i missed it over reading week. Aubrey is a gem. be there for the essay class. I would regularly quote him in my notes, and smile while re-reading them later. He's a true performer.
First I'll say that it was my *required W course* and I didn't care for the material all that much. Aside from that, his antics are quite amusing and reminded me of a semi-political Bob Barker. Essays were a little vague, and the final was difficult with a list of 80 or so things to remember plus some more essay.
This was the hardest and most confusing prof. I have had at U of M. When you ask him for help, it doesn't really help you in your mark that much. I would advise against taking his classes. He was a very tough marker, very hard exams - you have to memorize alot of terms, almost imposssible.
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Quite dissapointed, expected this to be a history course. Instead, we were made to write essays on psychology that were totally irrelevant to the topic. Fair marker, but don't disagree with him or question his sometimes skewed logic! Rabidly anti-american, to the point of being unreasonable.
Seems like a prof. that you either love or hate. I liked him. His lectures are interesting, and he usually seems to organize the study of history by applying a non-historical work (of, perhaps, literature, philosophy, psychology, etc.) to the course material. Amusing & kind, if perhaps over-passionate at times.
No point in attendng lectures. While Mr. Neal may be amusing at first with his charismatic lecture style after awhile it wears thin and you get sick of whispering to your neighbour what the hell is he talking about. He gives absolutely no guidance on the essays even if you go for help it won't make a difference as he doesn't even know what he wants
I am a history major, therefore I LOVE history but I dropped this course, because he was the second worst prof I have had at the U of M. His lectures were scattered and unclear and his exam consisted of memorizing the entire textbook, and most topic were unrelevant to the discussion of 20th century world history
Very interesting prof. Keeps you engaged. TOugh but fair on papers. You better no your stuff for exams.
Put your left-wing thinking cap on before attending his class. His humour and abstract lecturing style can be entertaining first thing in the morning, but sleep-in if you want to as there is only 1 page of notes per class. He makes you feel bad for being part of Western society...
Neal had his mind set about each student the first time he laid eyes on them. We were graded on his first impressions of us and the status quo he had to meet.
He was a fairly good prof, just go to class and you'll pass easialy he practicly gives you the paper to write
I took his Western Civ course. I found that he had great insight when it comes to how our society has been created. Yes,he's clearly left-wing,but I didn't find that you had to conform to his beliefs to get a good grade (I got an A+). We had prof Bowler (right wing) teach the 2nd half and it was quite a contrast to Prof. Neal. Great course!
Wicked!
Ugh, I'm taking his world history course and I can't learn anything. I average about a B+ or an A and I'm failing his class. Failed the exam miserably, it was merely memorization and had very little to do with genuine knowledge. I'm considering dropping the course. He is entertaining though, I'll give him that.
I found much of his lectures personally insulting, his anti religious anti conservative comments were inflammatory and his insistence in conforming to his political views during assignments and class is demeaning and contradictory to the academic freedom that institutes of higher learning are supposed to stand for.
This guy is hilarious. Some of the things he says are totally ridiculous. The essays are easy, just quote whatever he says from class and he'll love it.
He is the reason why a Science guy can have A in this written English course. He processes a different view from most of westerners which is absolutely eye opening(well somebody may say it is ridiculous). Course is not heavy loaded, good for a Science guy to fulfill the requirement while mind blowing.
The last guy is right. His views are different. He spent 75% of the time in a world history class blaming the us for everything from global warming to aids to him losing the lotto. This is tough for me to say cus i also fell asleep half the time, if you think im joking, register then vw or just go sit in one class, man cures insomnia
Absolutely fantastic teacher. Best I can recall having at U of M and I'm on my 2nd degree. Has a dry, sarcastic wit that brings you in and makes his lectures fun and fascinating. Easy going and his due dates aren't strict (within reason). Course content extensive since it is a topics course but manageable. 3 essays (60%) and a final (40%).
Neal believes he can do whatever he wants without retribution because he?s tenured. As a result, his lectures are haphazard, his marking is careless and he deliberately misinterprets questions in class when he doesn?t know the answers.
There was no structure to any lectures, and consisted of standing and talking for the period. Exams were unfair and EXTREMELY memorization (text) based. Didn't have to use lecture notes for any test or exam. Overall the worst course I've ever taken at the U of M.
Hilarious guy - you won't be bored during his lectures! His class would be difficult for someone not interested in history. tough exams/essays. Lectures are given like he's telling a story... not the easiest to take notes on, but super interesting. He is very biased against certain things, and expects your essays to side with his views.
Interesting prof, good lecturer, but course load unrealistic; had trouble balancing a passing grade with actually learning something. If you have a hard time talking to your profs, Neal won't be an exception. I stopped going for help after he implied I was like talking to a 12 year old. Typical Prof.. too adept for most of us.
Interesting guy if you want to hear about everything that isn't in the textbook. I found that his lectures never retained any sort of structure, and asking questions after being prompted to - or trying for clarification is pointless unless you like feeling like you're trying to be humiliated. His skewed view on American politics is a problem.
Very funny guy, with funny stories. Unfortunately the more jokes he tells, the harder it is for him to try follow the textbook which he expects you to do. He usually mumbles half the class, talks to himself a lot. In the end you feel like you were visiting your old grandpa to hear old war stories.
hes anti religious, and a liberal athiest..constantly makes offensive religious jokes. 60% of the class doesnt bother going to his class because they are pointless, you will work 3x harder for a grade 3x worse than you expected. hes random, old and senial.Dont take his course, you will regret it.
WARINGING! HIST 1500! DON'T TAKE THIS CLASS! Waste of 6 credit hours when roughly ONLY 10 days of the course in total all year were relevant, even then the info for the exam is basically useless unless you record everything he says, even then the exams are very very hard as well as the papers considering this is a first year course.
Interesting guy, very charismatic but goes off on HUGE tangents. Learned alot in his class. Always argue what you think hell agree with. When in doubt, talk to him. He flat out gave me a solid thesis many times
Professor Neal delivered interesting lectures,but the information presented in class was not very relevant when it came to exam time. However, his method of final evaluation was fair (two essays and definitions). Overall, an average class, with a good prof.
Lectures held attention most of the time, however they were kind of everywhere and didn't hold much relevance to the two papers required for class. The only time you need the book is to prepare for the final. Ok prof overall
Dull easy A course. Like many of the history profs at u of m, Aubrey Neal brought a huge bias into the classroom. Mao sympathizer, Ho Chi Minh sympathizer, Stalin sympathizer. Yes, a communist sympathizer. He has fun facts but not much substance. Direct regurgitation is required for his essays so write down EVERYTHING on those prep days.
Awful prof. Lectures were boring and about absolutely nothing that was in the textbook. Cranky old man. Would not recommend this course or professor to anyone.
WORST CLASS YOU WILL EVER TAKE. AUBREY NEAL IS THE WORST PROFESSOR IN THE ENTIRE WORLD - he expects you to memorize the textbook and regurgitate it for his mid term (only worth 10%) and for the final. If you don't agree with his socialist view points he will fail you. You only need to attend 4 classes out of this full year since he's useless.
Aubrey Neal is the worst professor I have ever had. His expectations for exams are unrealistic, he expects you to memorize over 200 quotes from the textbook and be able to recognize them on the exam and remember who said them. For only 10%!!! Attending class is not necessary at all only 4 classes are required through the 6crd course - AVOID!!!!!
By far my FAVORITE prof at the university. Lectures are a little long but he is extremely engaging! Really passionate about teaching history. You can really tell that he enjoys doing it, which makes you enjoy it much more! Really funny! Would definitely take again!! :)
His final exam was the most difficult I have ever taken, and unrealistic on a 4+ course load. I did better in my calc. than this course. If you're good at writing essays, give it a go.
Actual class attendance was not mandatory other than the days he gave info on the papers. His exams was a lot of memorizing, but if you put in the time you can definitely do well. Very passionate about what he teaches.
The only issue I had in this class was the final exam. There is a section where you literally have to memorize sentences from the textbook on who might have said that exact sentence. It could be ANY random sentence form the entire textbook, which means reading most of it and hoping that the horde of sentences you recognize are on the exam -_____-
By far my favourite prof at the u of m! He was hilarious and old school. He made me cry from laughing with every lecture! I want to take all his classes. He didn't give a midterm because he said they were "useless". Loved him!
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
40%
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.26 avg changeRatings by Course
HISTMETH
5.0
(1)USHIST
5.0
(1)20THHIS
5.0
(1)011150
5.0
(1)011238
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
HISTORYMODERN
5.0
HISTTWEN
5.0
HIST1234
5.0
282
4.5
11138
4.0