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AMAZING CLASS! this professor is AWESOME! he was in a rock group! if you don't think you can grasp concepts about race, gender, class (etc) then this class is not for you. TRUE HISTORY! attendence is necessary to understand the theme. quizzes and papers. very enlightening, FAVORITE CLASS EVER! very down to earth...

Joe Lapsely is an awesome teacher. He loves history, and he loves teaching it. One of the best teachers I have had thus far. I know ppl have differing opinions, but this class was anything but boring. Joe is a really down to earth guy, and he was the lead singer in a rock band. Very liberal, hippie-ish. Brilliant man. Not too fond of capitalism.

Excellent engaging professor. Helps students sift through much material to insightful concepts about the subject. Reveals topics as relevant and interesting. A MUST for non-history majors/history-phobic, class discussions actually intriguing and near fun.

Joe is a great teacher. The class is pretty easy consisting of 2 papers, 2 tests (he gives you the questions in advance, essays), and a 5pt multiple choice quiz over the book readings once a week. He knows his stuff and his down to earth. You also get to watch movies once a week, usually on Fridays, which is nice!

Hes great! Very knowledgeable about history. really passionate about it too. short 5pt quizzes every monday over the chapter reading. two tests (essay form, but he gives you 4-6 questions for study guide and test is 2 or 3 of them) very engaging. overall, great class, great professor

Joe is an awesome professor! So interesting! He is a very helpful and nice guy. Gets mad if you don't do your work. Otherwise best prof. i had at loyola.

If you want to learn history really well, take this teacher!! He knows his material and more. He not only teaches from the book, but also life experiences. Class is mandatory but its worth it, quizzes every Monday, and 3-4 short essay exams. Highly recommend him for a history class.

great, take him! i hate history, and i have never learned more or been more interested. not the easiest grader, though, and he did yell at our class once because he thought no one read the book...

Smart guy, funny to listen to. Must read and write a couple papers- if you show up to every class, you might absorb enough to do well without reading a lot.

This was a really great class. The professor and readings were both interesting. You have 6 papers,a final, and some sort of history paper. I did a critical review instead of the longer research paper options. Also i'd recommend going to class but the discussion and lecture is so great i never missed a day.

He definitely knows what he is talking about. He's funny, and his lectures made me laugh a lot. Attendance is mandatory (there's a sign in sheet). Class is just papers and presentations. No exams. I highly recommend doing the assigned readings so you can participate in the class discussions and know what's going on. Take him.

Professor Lapsley is such a great history professor. He knows everything there is to know about American pluralism and is great at teaching it. I loved attending his class. He is funny and also caring. There are readings everyday (sometimes long) and a quiz once a week based on the reading. Two papers, midterm (paper), & final (paper)! Recommended

This guy is wicked smart. While I do enjoy going to class and letting him bestow his greatness upon me, the class is unstructured, rigorous, and extremely demanding. Weekly quizzes so detailed, even after reading material, I would fail. What we learn is amazing, take him if you are a serious student. Papers are difficult- try hard, you will get A

Funny and chill guy. Class was not difficult but you do need to get your concepts clear for papers. You will learn a lot. Very long readings but most are interesting. He is surprisingly liberal (looks really conservative with the country style goatee lol). He is pretty understanding and is not very picky about deadlines. I recommend!

Very nice

He's good at teaching and makes the class engaging with lots of jokes and stories, but there is way too much work for an introductory class. I had more papers in this class than in my actual writing intensive. Don't take him in conjunction with a WI. You'll never sleep. I enjoyed the class and the subject matter was interesting nonetheless.

Loved Professor Lapsley. Great history teacher. Only downside is the number of papers. A potential total of 10 papers- 2 term papers, 4 prompts for 2-3 page midterm and final which you are allowed to write ahead of time (he only picks two to grade) Very engaging & fun lectures. Reading heavy with 1 pop quiz a week but the quizzes don't matter much

If you take this class, prepare to READ and WRITE. very demanding. Lapsley himself is an amazing guy and DEFINITELY knows what he is talking about, but he definitely expects way too much. Two long essays and a midterm in final, which you can write beforehand; not as nice as it sounds, 4 prompts but only chooses 2 of the prompts randomly the due day

This was probably the best history class I've ever taken. Joe is an amazing professor who is VERY knowledgable and passionate about the subject. That being said, it was one of my most demanding classes. Get ready for lots of long dry reads and rough essays. Pop quizzes once a week, but he usually warns you ahead of time. Hard for an intro class.

Lapsley is a difficult teacher; gives pop quizzes, expects you to read everything, assigns difficult essays... However, i've learned very valuable things in his class that changed my personal perspective of the world. He is so knowledgable and makes class very entertaining. LOVED his class and all the hard work was worth it for me in the long run.

Dr. Lapsley is a fantastic professor! He provides you a fascinating, non traditional textbook perspective of the history of the American society and culture. He's a rlly nice guy, and he lectures bluntly and to the point which is so refreshing! Mainly Essays: 2 papers, 1 midterm, 1 final, a few MC pop quizzes and participation. Doable A! Must read!

Great teacher, one of my favorite professors at Loyola. He makes his lectures entertaining and is an overall fun guy. Cares about his students & their grades and is willing & ready to help people out when they need it. A pretty decent amount of reading, but that's to be expected from a history class.

The class is you will have two paper (5 pages) with a midterm paper and a final paper. Not particularly hard class.

Joe was a great professor and he is a genuine person. There are a lot of readings because it's history, but it's balanced out with assigned films. The amount of writing really isn't bad - 2 papers, a midterm, and a final.

Professor Lapsley has been one of my favorite professors in my whole college career. He is extremely funny, if a little eccentric(in a good way).His class is going to be pretty confusing if you haven't studied American history already. He doesn't give the clearest instructions but also doesn't expect you to rewrite the Origin of Species. Great prof

I enjoyed Professor Lapsley's class and learned a lot. His lectures are great and he's very responsive to students. I wouldn't take HIST103 as a summer class though. It's an incredible amount of material to get through during a 6-week summer course. Take HIST 103 with Professor Lapsley, just not in the abbreviated summer format.

One of the reasons I am a history major! His American Pluralism is a fantastic course that he teaches with passion. He will bring up topics you didn't even know you were interested in. Also a kind human being with plenty of experience outside academia, and probably the hardest working professor here.

Extremely smart guy. The readings for the class are tricky to find and made me think I misheard what he told us to read in class. He teaches you to think and write like a historian. Essays are hard but he works with you and looks for ways to give you points rather than take them away. Amazing intro to history and reminded me why I love history.

Prof Lapsley is a great guy all around and always makes class entertaining. Lectures can get a bit off track/confusing at times, but the class is determined by many papers throughout the semester, so if you do the readings and write down everything important that he mentions in class (he'll sneakily throw out some answers) then you'll be good.

Joe is a great guy to take basic history with. He goes off topic a lot, but it's usually based around history. Assigns a lot of readings, but you can get away with skipping a few. He basically tells you what material you need to include in your essays. Grade is based off of 2 essays, 2 short midterm essays, and a final paper. Interesting class!

Very knowledgeable on history. Funny and flexible, you can tell he really cares about his students. Very funny in class, has a tendency to ramble a bit but besides that pretty okay.

Take this class. Literally, all you have to do is take notes on the lectures and that is all you need for his papers. It is super easy to do. Even though he has a lot of books on his syllabus, I didn't need a single one. He is super chill and understanding. Funny guy. He only assigns really easy papers. Paper for the midterm and final.

Easy class for tier 1 history. Professor Lapsley is a really funny guy and tries to make his lectures as entertaining as possible. Your grade is determined by papers only, so make sure to do well on them. Final exam and midterm were two take home essays. Lectures can be a little all over the place, but he explains everything if you ask.

Prof. Lapsley is a good pick if you're looking for a very easy history class! He only grades you with papers, but they're pretty simple if you have a clear argument supported by the evidence he tells you to use. He never has homework other than readings/videos, but I literally never did any of that and was fine. Sort of an oddball, but he's nice!

I learned a lot from this class. He clearly spends a lot of time choosing sources that you can understand, and you also get a real idea of what was going on back then. You have to write papers, but that is it so really you can read on your own time. He is super flexible with due dates but if you want it graded sooner turn it in by sakai date.

Class lacked structure but if youre good at taking notes you will be fine. Hist 103 was so easy because of him and he only graded off of a few papers and no quizzes/exams which makes it impossible to get anything below a B. Take him.

I loved Professor Lapsley's class. I would describe it as American history but all the parts they don't teach you in high school. There is a lot of reading but it is relatively manageable. He is a funny professor and it is obvious that he likes being there to teach.

LOVE JOE. TAKE. His material is SO interesting. He is unorganized, has a course plan but does not follow it. Ask him what to read instead of reading along with the syllabus. only graded on 4 papers. Make sure you read bec you only use his readings for the papers. Learn to take notes well bec his lectures are crazy. Cares deeply about his students.

He's a good professor but the class wasn't organized. Didn't really follow the syllabus and lectures were all over the place. There are 2 papers for the midterm and the final, 2 separate papers during the semester. Total of 6 papers all semester. No graded hw but you have to read stuff before each class and lectures are based off the reading.

Very nice guy and passionate about his class. Be prepared for MANY readings for homework. 4 essays throughout semester; you will be fine if you complete readings, take notes, and pay attention in class. Course has large workload, but you will be fine if you put in time and effort. Overall, you will learn a lot in this class and it is worth it.

His class is relaxed, he just lectures about the readings you were supposed to do (i did not). He grades only based on essays, which can be 4-5 pages long. Not a lot to say about the class except from it being an essay heavy one, if you don't enjoy essays don't take this class. If you don't mind typing and don't like working too hard pick his class

Interesting lecture I enjoyed this class I though the professor was entertaining. There was a good about of reading for homework and you have a few big papers but other than that pretty easy just show up for your attendance grade.

I literally loved this guy. The class was lecture heavy and you do have to do a lot of reading, but he was so knowledgeable and understanding and I learned so much from him. Definitely take this class, even if you're hesitant about doing a lot of readings he was literally phenomenal and super kind and funny.

I never did any of the readings, just took notes on what he discussed about them, and looked back at the passages to find quotes for essays. Lectures were easy to follow, he literally summarized everything you need to know. Super chill dude. For papers, he would dedicate a day to tell you what pdfs to use and topics to discuss. Easy class.

Very lecture heavy, so be ready to sit and take notes. There were about six essays which weren't too difficult if you actually paid attention but he makes the prompts too broad so I was never sure if I truly had enough details. I'm not sure what would get you an A in class because he doesn't have a rubric. he's a little condescending ngl but funny

Very lecture heavy class, lots of readings and films are needed to review prior to lectures as well. However, he knows his stuff and while there are quite a few papers, he is a very reasonable grader. He really enjoys class participation - so be prepared to talk about the readings everyday. Again, he's a very knowledgeable person, so ask questions!

Best professor I have ever had don't believe the bad ratings. So kind and is very lenient with your papers. Make sure you pay attention in class though. He is very chill fr fr. Plz take his class.

Genuinely an amazing person and teacher. If you want an easy but informative class take this one.

Professor Lapsley is a great professor. He is very nice and welcomes class discussions, the course was made up of 2 analysis papers, a midterm paper and a final paper. A lot of the course is just showing up to class for participation points. He grades a little harshly but will review your paper before the due date and tell you what to fix. Took 212