He's got some funny expressions but he knows his stuff and connects themes

Really nice guy -- go visit him during his office hours. Lectures get kind of frenetic sometimes. Be sure to take a thesaurus to class, as he has a tendency to use somewhat highbrow language. Fair grader.

Very entertaining to listen to - makes even boring topics humorous. Gracious at office hours; willing to help you out. Expertise wide and broad.

A good lecturer -- brings overhead outlines to class that helps to follow the general flow of the lecture. Interesting, too. A fair grader and more than willing to answer questions over e-mail or during office hours.

Very straightforward lectures. Extremely engaging. He'll keep you awake. Big Red Sox fan.

Prof. Roberts was a good professor. He definitely knew his stuff and was more than willing to help. He managed to make history seem exciting and upbeat - almost always paid attention in class.

What a sweet guy...really wants you to be interested in history. Very fair tests!

just simply...an awesome professor. sometimes he goes too fast in lectures and uses big words but because he just tries to include everything gor your benefit and learning. go to his office hours, very kind, extremely helpful and very funny GO SOX!

NICEST professor..ray of sunshine among the stick up their asses bunch at the history dept. fair but hard grader...but he's ALWAYS willing to help...can't remember authors names if his life depended on it though...haha...

Very approachable and nice. Teaches with a lot passion and enthusiasm.

Lectures are interesting and he's incredibly nice, helpful, and accessible. He makes every single topic seem important and interesting.

He is an unbelievable professor. He makes even the most bland topics interesting. He has a WEIRD accent blend and emphsizes random words, but this is what keeps you listening. I never liked history until I had it with him. TAs are great too.

Roberts is awesome. You aren't required to go to lectures but I went to them bc they were great (lots of notes though). Exam and midterm were very fair. I hated history until his class. He had some really good TA's as well. If you get put into this class by chance then consider yourself lucky!!

He loves what he teaches which makes his lectures somewhat interesting. He is often hard to follow though and is a little all over the place. My TA was not good which the class more difficult. You will have to work hard to do well.

Great, great, great. Take this class with him. He loves what he does and is really passionate about history. That enthusiasm will definitely rub off. Engaging and funny lecturer. TFs are good, too. Final exam and midterm were very fair, almost easy. A lot of reading, but don't have to do them.

Probably the best professor I've had at BU. He's really into what he's teaching and he's genuinely interested in whether or not his students succeed. Also, he postponed the midterm until after the Red Sox-Yankees series. You just don't get any cooler than that.

His lectures actually make you want to be there. He turns boring material into intersting information with his captivating personality. By far most interesting and best prof. at BU!

This man is AWESOME. His lectures are really educational but not boring at all. He's adorable and sounds like the dinosaur from Toy Story. His tests are fair and he provides outlines of lectures online which are nice.

His lectures are always very informative and interesting. Don't miss them though, because he covers a lot of material that is not always in the book, but shows up on the exam. His exams are fair and you can usually predict them beforehand. His honors discussion section was very enjoyable.

Great prof with a lot of buzzzz. Very high energy and intense but passionate about all that he teaches. Very quirky but cute.

he's a great prof. he actually makes history interesting. he's very enthusiastic about what he teaches which makes the lectures that much better. he makes himself available for any questions or problems students have.

Roberts is an enthusiastic, clear lecturer, attuned to his students' needs, & even-handed in his presentation, taking care to distinguish his opinion from more general claims. He will challenge you to examine the foundations of your knowledge: you'll learn not only history, but gain general wisdom and critical thinking skills. Highly recomended.

awesome. extremely engaging, unpretentious, amazing prof. if there is anyway you can take a class with him, do it. there was not a boring lecture all semester.

One of the best classes I've taken at BU. Roberts is an awesome professor who makes lectures interesting, and his tests are very fair. My TA (DJ) was great, too. Take this class if you need to fulfill a history requirement! (His little stabs at the Yankees are hilarious, too, haha.)

Roberts is a VERY quick talker, but has so much information to give. His exams are what you'd expect -- IDs and essays can easily be predicted, but you should still study for them, because he (and the TAs) like details. He's humorous, and VERY animated while he talks. A lot of people take this for reqs, but take it even if you don't need it!

YAY! Professor Roberts is amazing. YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAAYAYAYAY. best teacher ever. let's all be teachers. WOO! CHICA OW OW!

Professor Roberts was amazing. He was delightful, endearing, and made history a topic bearable for even the most disinterested. I am not a note taker or an auditory learner but Roberts' enthusiasm and clarity changed all that! I never opened a textbook once, and he was all I needed. Extremely easy A, tests are like somthing out of middle school!

Professor Roberts breaks down early American history very well. He tends to ramble about religion when it comes up becuase it is his forte. His class is pretty basic, however, he provides no study guides for tests or anything which is overwhelming seeing as there are many important themes, occurrences, and changes in early American history

great professor. exams are pretty straightforward--study terms from the book and understand the overall concepts of people, places, and things. it helps a lot to go to discussion.

If I weren't already a year behind, I would take this class again just for fun. Roberts is hands-down the best professor I've had at BU, and proves that not all lecture classes are boring. Sure he moves at a lightning-pace, but keep up people! Use some abbriev. lang. in your notes and quit whining. 50 minutes flies by. TAKE THIS CLASS.

Roberts is amazing! such a good lecturer. makes the material so interesting and explains it so clearly. he has a good sense of humor as well. midterm and final were very straightforward and fair. anthony was my TA and he was also great. great class to take to fill a requirement or if you're just interested in history.

A very kind, reasonable man who is tolerant and encouraging. Easy to listen to, and he genuinely cares about whether or not he's clear and you're learning.

I love him! One of the best classes I have ever taken. He relates the material so easily and effortlessly that you hardly realize you're learning. Only one paper for the whole class too.

I know I'm one of many, but professor Roberts is awesome! His passion for history is great and i haven't needed to read the text at all. Just go to class and take notes, that's all you need. I hope i can be as fun of a teacher when i graduate.

Very good teacher but a very detailed class...funny guy though.

Great class, great teacher he really cared about the topic and the class understanding what he was trying to convey. Roberts was animated, goofy and interesting at all times and took different viewpoints at some of the more celebrated historical events of the U.S' first half of history. Definitely take this class-and always ask questions.

Easily my favorite teacher thus far. Funny and easy going. Is very passionate about his work and is very organized. Tests aren't too hard and you can get by with out really reading that much of the text as long as you listen to his lectures.

Really great professor! He is extremely knowledgeable and clearly loves teaching. His lectures provide you with a lot of the information you need for the class, so go to lecture (even though attendance isn't mandatory) and take good notes. The exams are fair--if you study you will do well.

Roberts is very nice and funny. I can see why he's gotten good ratings for his lecture courses. I found his colloquium to be a little boring because all we did was talk about the readings -- he never actually set out to TEACH on the day's topic. This format is great for the historical methods course, but not as good, I think, for a colloquium.

He is pretty awesome! Very nice, very helpful. I've taken him twice and in smaller classrooms he also excels. He's such a nice guy. He always says that his tests are not on trivia. He really wants you to understand topics.. Tests are not bad. There is usually a good amount of reading, most of it is not necessary because he is a great lecturer.

Prof Rob is awesome! He always has his Costa Rica coffee cup, and is very animated. His lectures are interesting, and he always takes questions. Text book reading not necessary, but read primary sources. Tests are mostly based on lectures and main concepts..don't study for hours!

Prof. Roberts is awesome. He's a clear, concise lecturer and he's hilarious. Tests are easy and grading was fair. No need to buy the text book, just go to lecture and discussion

It's obvious history is Professor Roberts's passion. I loved attending his lectures, soaking up the information, and appreciating his extensive vocabulary. Study for your exams and don't skip discussion. His two TAs Jonathan and AJ were great. Take any class you can with Professor Roberts. He supplies you with appreciable endless information.

Professor Roberts is my favorite professor ever. He is so funny and nice, I look forward to his lectures each week. Don't buy the textbook, only the supplemental books, and read those well. Discussions are mandatory but also really helpful. Take good notes and the tests will be easy. Take this class, you'll be glad you did.

Easily the best lecturer I've had the pleasure to experience at BU. He is witty, comical and so clear it is impossible to be disinterested. He loves what he does and he cares about his students. The main textbook is not needed, but the other ones are. I really am not interested in history, but If I had the chance, I'd take his class again

LOVE ROBERTS!!! He is a great professor!! But his TF's do ALL the grading so if you have a bad Tf like AMANDA MATHEWS your pretty much screwed...she thinks shes better than us cuz she went to BC..wow! his classes is great though love him.

Professor Roberts is great! I was struggling with the 10-page research paper we had to write for the class, and he offered up a new topic that I might be interested in and talked it over with me. He's so helpful, so funny, and not intimidating at all. I loved taking his class. The TFs do all the undergrad grading though. (Jane is a great TF)

He was my favorite professor last semester. His lectures are very thorough and he stops for questions periodically. I am not very interested in history, but his lectures were so funny that I was never bored at all. Take his class if you get a chance!

You need the source books, but not the main text book. Lectures can be skipped only if you can get the notes. Lectures are straightforward and not too dull. TAs might be a little tough.

Very Enthusiastic about his subject. Does require attendance at discussions, but not at lectures. Can be a little too dependent on Teaching Fellows, but very interesting to listen to. If you like history, you will like him.

Without a doubt, the best professor in the history department (and I like most of them). I took the course because I wanted to take one with him. His lectures are a bit too fast, but he welcomes questions. I loved going to his office hours. He truly cares about students and wants them to do well. My TA wasn't too harsh, either. Take his courses!

I loved this class and I definitely want to take another class with him. He made everything very clear and interesting. Some of the reading wasn't the best but such a great professor and always willing to help. Also, he answers emails really quickly and gives an outline for each lecture.

Professor Roberts is awesome. He pauses for questions during lectures and throws his own jokes in for fun. Made history interesting and the class isn't too difficult. The source books were needed, not so much the main textbook but it was still helpful.

Roberts was awesome. He's the only professor I've ever had at BU who truly made me feel like an adult and kept me engaged the entire hour lecture. I had lecture MWF and no matter how much I skipped other classes on Fridays, I always went to this one. He'll learn your name and is SUPER approachable. Take this class if you can!

Roberts is one of the nicest, friendliest, and most knowledgeable professors at BU. Makes the intro US history class easy and interesting - i hated history and survived with an A. Constantly tells jokes and asks for questions - the work load is pretty light as well.

Best professor this semester. Very funny dynamic lectures. So nice and appoachable. Truly cares and wants to get to know students. Very reliant on TFs. Can be a problem but wasn't bc they were good. They grade everything and make the exams. Exams were fair but may change according to new TFs. Work load is manageable. Discussion was great with Tessa

The best history professor i've ever had.. makes a subject that can be pretty dull into a pretty interesting lecture. Makes a lot of corny but funny jokes and the tests are pretty easy

Excellent professor. He gives particular focus to the concepts and trends of history over detail. His lecturing style is clear and easy to keep up with. His expectations of students for the test stays close to what was covered in lecture. I never had to talk to him outside of class but had the impression that he was definitely accessible.

Lectures are SO boring, and he can be a little snarky, but he's overall a really good guy. Bring your laptop, because he talks way too fast for lecture, and he also speaks in long-winded sentences. Overall though, it's really easy to get a good grade.

Possible to get an A but have to work hard. Lots of reading which is not all required but it can be tough to figure out what to read and what not to. lectures are interesting but the material is very theoretical. lectures are not required but discussions are but there are only 4 discussions the whole semester. 1 midterm, 1 paper, and a final.

Great professor. Engaging in lecture, you will have no trouble paying attention. Really knows his stuff and will go over anything a multitude of times to make sure you understand.

Good professor, fun guy. Win - Win. Discussion is pretty lame though.

Lectures consisted of an hour of preaching with barely any visuals. It was hard to keep up with what he was saying because he talks so quickly. But overall, it was an easy and fair class.

Professor Roberts is a really nice guy. He's very clear and will throw in a couple of jokes here and there to keep the class alive. Before taking this class, I had little to no interest in history. However, he really keeps it interesting. Great guy.

Professor Roberts is a briliant professor. He likes to keep his lectures interesting with jokes and stories. I've heard that he had minimal visuals, but he started using powerpoints that were easy to follow along with this semester. He can sometimes be a fast talker, but if you tell him to slow down he definitely will. Thrilled to answer questions.

Prof. Roberts is an amazing professor. While the class definitely relies heavily on the TAs, he presents the material in an amazing and interesting way. You definitely have to follow along, but I found the material interesting. He is also very nice and wants the class to ask questions. The tests weren't hard at all. Take his class!

US History to 1865 is probably the most boring part of American history, but Roberts chooses interesting lecture topics (this is a survey course, not everything is covered) to keep things interesting. He doesn't use many visuals, though. My TF was extremely knowledgable, and discussion was helpful. Overall, Roberts is a really smart, quality prof.

Heavy reading and if you miss 3 discussions you automatically fail- but the course is extremely fair and exams clear. He is more than happy to answer your questions and will stop the lectures to clarify anything confusing. He's less focused on memorizing random facts but instead on a deep understanding overall themes in history. Take this course.

Great professor, makes the most mundane topics very interesting and easy to follow along with. However, you must attend all lectures and discussions to do well! Lots and lots of note taking, however I barely read the textbooks and it didn't affect me much. Participate a lot in discussion, it's a big part of the grade. Easy grader, great class!

Prof R is a great professor and definitely knows his stuff. Only complaint is that his powerpoints are kind of bare, so if you miss something, you can get pretty lost. But he checks in on the class and sees if anyone has questions, plus his tests focus mainly on big picture stuff so it's cool. A very fair grader and a very nice guy. Awesome class!

I had Dr. Roberts for HI302 (Science and American Culture). The class was very interesting, and he is clearly very passionate about both the subject and his teaching. He is extremely accessible, and always willing to meet and talk with you. The grade is based on 1 midterm, 1 paper, and 1 final so you need to make sure you work hard one each.

Professor Roberts is an incredible teacher. Not only is he extremely knowledgeable in all of the topics he discusses, but he is equally passionate. He keeps lectures interesting and wants his students to get involved. I think he may be the most intelligent professor I've had at BU. The class is hard, but if you study and take notes, you'll do fine.

Professor Roberts is an awesome professor that is extremely fair. The tests are big picture concepts so don't worry too much about remembering dates or little things like that. In the discussion section make sure to talk for participation. There is a lot of assigned reading but I never did it and still did fine. Prof R makes history interesting.

There's only 3 grades for the semester, so you can't mess it up. He's not good with technology, so his slides aren't great. BUT, he is an amazing lecturer, very knowledgeable, and cares a lot about his students. Take thorough notes (your hand will hurt at the end of every class) and you'll be fine. Make a study guide as you go, so you don't cram

You definitely don't need to go to lectures to do well in the class. There's only 3 grades + participation, so definitely participate in discussion. I managed to get good grades on the other assignments without listening to 80% of the lectures.

Class: lectures, several discussions (attendance matters there, readings due on those days), midterm, final, final paper (the three grades). Some of his information seemed a little out of date but accurate. Overall a really great guy and an absolutely fantastic lecturer. He could narrate an audiobook or documentary so well. Great guy!!