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best teacher ever

Very interesting and good lecturer. Made the class great and interesting. Discussion was boring though.

agreed...best teacher ever. classes are interesting, plus he is really cool guy. grading is somewhat easy, but fair.

Lectures were interesting however once you come expect to stay for the whole class. (He REALLY hates people leaving during his lecture) Exams are normally straight foward, & yes you have to read all books for the class. Overall an interesting course. Should not be to difficult to recieve a B atleast

Best lectures. Even made reconstruction interesting. Definitely a former hippie, and still holds those beliefs...

very funny guy, though maybe not so much if you're a conservative. gets pretty angered if you leave class while he's still lecturing. tests are pretty easy, especially when students are sending completed study guides out over the listserv.

Incredible professor - very approachable with amazing knowledge of subject. Class composed of student presentations with very little actual lecturing. Two projects plus a final exam with extensive reading requirements. Made class very informal and entertaining, despite its being 2.5 hours long. Always felt like I could have stayed another hour!

one of the best lectures ive ever had.

He definetely enjoys what he does and it makes it easier on the class. There was a lot of reading and i did take lots of notes, but i enjoyed the materiual and how it was taught. Dids I mention he might be a liberal....?!?!?!?!?

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Smead is a very unique professor-he can turn boring subject matter into interesting material. Class consisted of 3 exams and 1 paper. Exams were essay questions only. You need to be able to expand a lot to get a good exam grade.

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Very interesting class - not even a history or government major, just picked it to complete CORE requirements, but i think its my best class here so far! makes lecture very interesting and funny, although sometimes he doesnt think through assignments, especially when assigning students toread a whole book in a matter of a week without thinking that they have alot of other work to do...

I LOVED Smead's class! I didn't miss a single lecture. He's really interesting and turns boring American history into something you actually want to learn about. If you're looking for an easy A, take HIST157!

Hated history until I took this class. If you do all the readings and go to lecture and take good notes, its easy to do well in this class.

I liked the class overall but thought he was kind of overrated. Granted, the class is interesting enough, but it's definitly a review.

Only TAs grade so really all I can say is that he is an interesting lecturer. Lecture was funny, engaging, intelligent and well presented. Technically you don't have to show up but they were always interesting and help you learn the material much more easily.

Great Professor. Tests are a lot of writing (essays) but you are given the option of which question to answer which makes them quite easy (as long as you did the review). I know a fair amount about history, but still attended every class cause he is a great lecturer. He makes funny remarks and made boring history quite interesting.

wow. excellent teacher. this guy knows everything that is, was, and probably will be history. class (terrorism) is graded on 1 presentation, 1 paper, 1 additional presentation/paper, and class participation. good feedback, very knowledgable... highly recommended. if you dont like history, get this teacher, hands down.

Alright class overall. Pretty good TA's and straight forward readings and tests. Put effort into it and you'll get a good grade.

Its important to take notes with him, because the tests are pretty much based on the notes, and some of the reading.

Lectures can be dry (and if early in the morning, skippable) but he is very clear and concise with what he expects and what you'll have to do to get an A. Probably the easiest class I took all semester.

GREAT teacher. Very smart & knows what he is talking about. He is very funny and has good guest speakers come to class. The class is very interesting and as long as you follow along w/the lectures and take notes it's an easy A.

Believe it or not I hated history before I took his class, after i took his class..i have grown to love history! he is very funny and makes history somewhat interesting! Attendance to his lectures are not mandortory but definatley to discussion. His exams are essay format and not very difficult if YOU DO THE READINGS! Over all GREAT CLASS

Its an easy class 3 exams 1 final no papers. There are some quizzes in discussion but if you go to lecture they're pretty easy. You do have to read a bit for the class but otherwise its an easy A

This guy is great. The way he presents lecture makes you never want to be absent. He is very humorous too, one of the funniest professors. His exams are all essay. There was one 5 page paper. You must include as much detail in exams or he will take off points (like dates, names, etc). He is deff. one of the most well rounded professors. Not hard.

This guy is real funny some times.

I absolutely loved him. I actually liked going to class because he made it interesting which is saying something because I am the worst about going to class. Highly recommended.

super funny guy. great lectures. only three grades and no papers. I had a great t.a. which helped a lot. Pretty easy, just read the textbook and to class and listen to the lectures and you can get an A

Such an awesome class! Smead made it so interesting, I actually enjoyed going to class. I only got a B because my TA was a tough grader :(

He made the class interesting. Clearly had biases, but kept them in check as well as he could. Go to class, because the slides are way too vague to study off of. if you have to miss class, subscribe to the itunesu account he has, they can be helpful. The paper was tough because it can be hard to find primary sources. take good notes in class.

Most entertaining lecturer in the whole school. He loved talking about sex, and constantly made me laugh!! Try 2 get 2 kno your TA 2 get a good grade

Great lecturer and super engaging. You don't have to come to class if you subscribe to the itunesU and listen to the lectures online. Tests weren't too bad if you study hard!

Great professor. Pretty good overview of the second half of American history considering how much there is to cover. Super easy class if you pay attention, take good notes, and study. I just used the textbook as a supplement to the lectures

There's a lot of material to learn but he tries hard to not make it more difficult than what it could be. Take good notes, pay attention, and you'll do fine. Book reading comes very handy. If i could, i'd be very inclined to take his 300-level class.

Since they changed the class from 180 to like 202 or something, its an easy class IF you get a good TA. He doesn't do grades but he does give you good material and overseas the TA's tests so they won't put random stuff. TONS of reading but you can BS your way to a B or better. A bad TA though could make this an awful class.

So much fun to listen to these lectures-he is very knowledgeable and passionate!

The honors seminar is interesting. He is not a easy grader. The average for participation was a 87.5 and the high was a 95. There are 5 grades, each worth 100 points (2 papers, one final paper-two essays, participation, and presentation). A few students had a second presentation (a couple substituted it for final paper). Interesting class.

The bulk of this classes grading falls onto the TAs, but Dr. Smead is a great lecturer. He's fast paced, and funny which are rare qualities in history professors it seems. He's very knowledgable, however, we didn't finish the course material because there is so much to cover in US History from 1865 to present.

Interesting class. Good discussions. He lets us out of class sometimes 10-20 minutes earlier in spring 2013. The grades were 1 presentation, 2 papers, one final paper-two essays), and participation (500 points total). A few people had a second presentation and it could substitute the final or could be included in the grade with the final as well.

I took this course at UMBC and absolutely loved it. Professor Smead is very clear in what he wants to communicate to you and his tests aren't too bad. You just have to take really good notes when he lectures, and you should be prepared for his exams. Awesome professor.

HUGE FAN. Best professor I've had in college.

Great lecture, didn't mind going to it at all. He makes it all interesting. I'd definitely recommend taking it, and I'd take it again if I could.

Really funny guy who makes lectures pretty interestingentertaining. All exams are just essays and identification and he puts up study guides before each one. So just study what he tells you to and you should get a decent grade. Recommended.

He's funny and makes history clear and come alive. I wasn't a big fan of US history before taking his class.

Smead is a good professor, but his TA's aren't great. I had Peter Libero and I would definitely stay away from him. Lectures are OK, tests are always essays, but the length and number of essays varies from time to time. TA's grade exams and are generally very tough graders.

Very laid back professor. We were supposed to have multiple tests and papers for our class, but he said "screw it" and just gave us a few take home tests instead. He is an entertaining and engaging lecturer and answers questions thoroughly, which is good because lecturing is all he does in class. Would definitely have him as professor again.

Mr Smead was one of the best professors I had during my time at Maryland. While I didn't necessarily agree with his politics, I thought he did a good job of being fair and objective. His lectures were clear and concise. If you enjoy the subject matter, you will do well in this class.

Smead knows his stuff. He is very good at making boring things a lot less boring. He does make sarcastic comments that don't bother me because I agree with his politics, but definitely could understand how it would piss someone else off. He is very chill and seems willing to explain things and help students the best he can.

He's kinda all over the place in lectures. Often behind the syllabus. Doesn't matter- he makes jokes throughout. Not a huge history fan, but I enjoyed his class and learned a lot. I procrastinated so the textbook annoyed me, but it's actually helpful. Try to keep up with the reading on syllabus- if you cant, it's good to read to prep for the tests

Dr. Smead is the GOAT. I would highly recommend taking his class. For someone who's not a fan of history, I had a blast taking his class. You learn A LOT. Nonetheless, It isn't a hard class nor is it easy, but as long as you attend lectures/discussions, you should pass his class with a grade to your likely.

I was so excited to have this professor. He sometimes can go on tangents and has some unorganized powerpoints, but he is very knowledgable and passionate about what he is teaching. He is very approachable and flexible with the class schedule.

Terrorism is an amazing class. You only have to do one presentation, one paper, a journal, two papers, and you have to participate. Do another presentation for extra credit, it's worth it. Participate and talk after class to help your grade. If you care at all about the subject, you'll love this class.

Dr. Smead is the best! I had a lot of health problems first semester, and he was super caring and accommodating. He is extremely knowledgable and passionate. He assigns a ton of reading, but it isn't required to get a good grade. Some of the texts are long and dry, but if you're invested you can learn a lot.

Howard Smead is a very good professor. He makes history interesting and he knows what he's talking about. The class is NOT an easy A. It's one of those classes where it's really easy to get a B but, super tough to get an A. Which TA you get is super important they grade essays which are worth 80% of exam and they decide if you get an A or B.

One of the most knowledgable people I have ever had the pleasure of being taught by. The grade received is dependent upon how your TA grades your stuff, but take this if you like history.

Professor Smead was great. He was entertaining and knowledgeable. Your grade in the class will depend on the TA, and the discussion sections can get a little boring but overall great class.

Professor Smead is one heck of a history professor. HIST266 pretty much involves explaining US history in it's entirety, and the class itself is very interesting. You're graded on weekly online discussion posts, a few midterms, and a final. Attendance isn't mandatory, but keep in mind it's lecture heavy. Our class ended up taking the tests online.

Smead is a great teacher! Because of the pandemic, everything was online, so it was all self-paced. There were powerpoints along with audio clips of old lectures which helped me better learn the material. The only thing is, I wish he would provide better feedback for essays & discussion posts. He just graded things and left minimal if any comments.

I didn't like professor Smead's lecture style at first. He went on a few too many tangents and I felt skipped a lot of interesting aspects of the periods we were learning about. As the semester progressed, his class grew on me a lot. His lectures became like listening to a well narrated history documentary and it was easily my most favorite class.

Dr. Smead is my favorite professor at UMD. If you reach out to him he will go out of his way to help you in any way he can. His lectures are sound like well-narrated stories and were interesting if you pay attention. He really cares about his students and is an overall amazing professor. Exams are online and open note, easy gen-ed too.

Professor Smead is a great lecturer and you will leave his class knowing significantly more information than you knew prior. He's very straight forward with his assignments and even gives you small notes on what you should read up on for the exams. I couldn't recommend him enough

Smead is a GREAT lecturer with a very pleasant, dry, old man kind of humor. Your weekly hw will depend on what TA you have, but it will always be easy/manageable. There are two midterms and a final, all essays. You're really pressed for time though, I would recommend coming up with a few claims for all the topics you're being tested on beforehand.

I had Dr. Smead in Spring 2023. He is hilarious and knows a lot about history. He is an excellent lecturer and the class was amazing and I learned a lot. The midterm and final exams in the class are take-home, which is great. I did however give Dr. Smead a 4 and not a 5 because he makes you buy his book and laptops/phones are not allowed in class.

Professor Smead is an expert on American history, and provides a perspective that is both critical and honest about this country. He uses a textbook, but honestly as long as you take notes and do the work, you will pass. Very easy class, he can be somewhat disorganized, but is a fair grader and flexible.

Dr Smead is a good professor. Attendance isn't mandatory, and he posts all of his lectures online, and he also explains them in more detail in class. The only work you have to do is the discussion due every Sunday, and it isn't required, but taking notes can help you, especially on the tests. The tests were all online and isn't hard if you do notes

Professor Smead is a cool dude. The class is 3 exams, which are 2 essay-based questions. They are all online through Canvas but you have to show up in person so you can sign a paper saying you were there. He posts slides online so you could not show up for any of the lectures and do fine. Overall, a pretty easy class to take care of a Gen Ed.

Smead is a great lecturer. He expounds beyond what you see on his slides; you can tell he is passionate about his job. 2 midterms and 1 final. Exams are taken on Canvas (midterms: in person, final: online). 1 discussion post due every week on Sunday @11:59pm. 1 essay (1750-2000 words) due by end of semester. TAs are extremely slow graders.

This was a very interesting class. The class had a textbook that was free online, but I never needed it. All tests were to write timed essays on your choice of a few given topics from lecture (so notes were pretty important for the class). There was a weekly discussion post, but it usually took less than 30 min to write and was graded very fairly.