Really funny, interesting, informative. Its a good class, and he definately doesn't teach conservatively. Lots of talk about human sexuality.

Kolya is a GREAT professor, he's interesting and interested in what he's talking about, his lectures are fantastic, he's engaging and funny, and cute!

One of the best professors I've had. His lectures are great, I never lost interest. He is also very laid back and fun, likes to say and show 'shocking' stuff (ie a huge painting of a ****). His mother was a feminist and that definitly shows in his lectures...sometimes a little too much.

He was funny. Put jokes in all the appropriate places. He was also pretty good at describing each painting. Overall a great teacher.

Excellent teacher. Not the least bit boring. You can tell he loves to teach and is very interested in his subject, so he makes it fun for his students. He cracks jokes during the lecture to keep people entertained and inserts slides of pieces that arent

This is a great class. Kolya is a great lecturer. He's passionate about art and it makes coming to class fun and interesting every day.

The best Prof I have had so far at UW...always interesting and makes what he is talking about apply to everyday life. Art history can potentially be very BORING..but not with him! wish more teachers were like him!

Great teacher. Very nice, and interested in making sure students succeed in his class.

Koyla taught at UPS for a semester and I loved him, until he graded our work. He was entertaining and was obviously interested in what he was teaching. However, he is a super hard grader and required A TON of details about each painter/painting on the exams. I just took this class for a core requirement and it definitely wasn't easy.

Kolya is a great professor, and you will do well if you keep up with the assigned readings and attend lecture every day. Tests are straight forward so you really have to know your stuff to do well in this class, but for me it wasn't much of a problem. He was really entertaining, made lectures fun and encouraged a lot of discussion. He's funny too!

The quarter I had Kolya the topic was "Art and Theory since 1945." This class was my favorite in all of college. He is a phenomenal lecturer, very intelligent, eloquent, and kind of sexy as well. The material was both intellectually challenging and interesting. The reading is dense but helpful.

So impressed with him. He's the best teacher I've ever had, this is how university professors should be! He's funny & brilliant, but manages to speak in a very accessible/tangible, as well as honest/candid way. I feel like I'm learning so much & am reassured that really great teachers are possible, classes don't need to be surprisingly contentless.

Kolya is so knowledgeable and really passionate about what he teaches. His classes are exciting, you won't WANT to skip! He's funny and charming, not bad on the eyes either. If you get the chance, DEFINITELY take a class with him. You won't regret it!

Kolya is probably one of the best professors I've ever had. I am generally not very interested in art history but his style of teaching is very interesting and dynamic. His grading/tests are fair and doesn't try to stump you. I would definitely recommend taking a class from him.

Extremely knowledgeable and passionate about subject matter! Would definitely recommend taking a class from him!

My favorite professor at the UW so far - Kolya was knowledgeable, really funny, encouraged student discussion and participation, and made art history way more fun and interesting than I thought it could be. He also did a great job organizing "Soft Power, Activated", a series of talks by women in the art world at the Jake to go along with the course

I was not a fan of Andy, Yoko, or several of the artist from the span of time this class covered, but Rice did an amazing job of talking about what they were getting at and why without forcing the idea that we should also like the artists. One of the few AH classes we did not just need to recall dates, but instead understand the artistic movements.

Just wanted to chime in to say how much I disagree with the last post. This was one of the best classes I've taken at the UW, and the professor was without question the best. He makes art very interesting and relevant to other things without boring you with all the visual analysis that other professors seem to spend way too much time on.

Great professor if you can't handle memorizing 200+ slides (me). Really narrows down the slide number, but requires you to write and know quite a lot about them. Don't have to buy the textbook, just a reading packet that's pretty cheap. This is how every college class should be. Clear hatred for right wing politics. +++

If you haven't taken a class taught by Kolya, go register now! Art history can easily turn into the world's most boring topic, but Kolya made it the coolest/most intriguing lecture class I ever took. He's very genuine, eloquent, and yes I agree he's hot. Don't lag on the readings, attend all lectures, and you will love it and ace the class.

Just take a class from this guy. The starting point is art, to end point is big questions you hardly every get a chance to think about, let alone discuss in any depth.

The class was very interesting, and Kolya was great. We had great discussions about things that actually matter in real life.

Really interesting lectures and great professor, but seems to not take subject that seriously. Great for students who are taking their first art history class, maybe a bit informal or redundant for majors and those looking to really focus on modern art history. Overall, very enjoyable class

GO TO CLASS! He is looking for very specific/detailed answers on the tests. You have to be able to write a 10 minute essay on each of the 5 artworks and 25 minutes on a larger theme. He does not care if you know the artist or date; ID is worth <5%. We go into deep discussions about prevalent issues in our society. Best art history class I've taken

Kolya is a great professor. He will repeat an idea in multiple different ways to ensure everybody understands the bigger concepts. He tells great personal anecdotes, and rather than focusing on your memorization skills, he encourages thoughtful engagement with key ideas.

I've taken many classes from Kolya. He's amazing. Great topics, clear and really interesting lectures, fair tests. He'll always make time to help out, too.

His lectures are engaging. Puts art history in context with history and contemporary times. One of the best classes I've ever taken.

Kolya is hands down the best teacher i have ever had. He is inspiring anf really helps his students. There are no tricks in his class. Show up, do the reading and listen and discuss and you will be fine. He goes above and beyond to help you and his tests are not hard if you have put in the effort in class. Over all amazing

Awesome class! Take Art/Identity/Politics if you can. Everything you'll learn is so relevant, if you care about social justice.

He does his best to keep students engaged, and it really worked! Only downside is that he does not record his lectures, so if you skip, you have to get the notes from someone else.

Interesting class

I'm a science major but took this class for VLPA credit--best decision! He is by far the best professor I've had at UW. He is passionate about social issues and is extremely fair and well-reasoned in his arguments. It's almost impossible to be disinterested--his energy and passion about a variety of issues is captivating. Would take again!

Kolya is just amazing. I've taken 4 courses from him and every time I can't believe how he manages to take urgent issues in our contemporary world and link them to the ideas embodied in the art, criticism and theories he's teaching. He's an inspiring teacher, one of the best I've ever had.

Kolya is such an amazing professor. He's very approachable and overall a great person. His lectures are always very thorough and he grades hard because he expect his students to be learning from lectures. He's always willing to help a student out if there's something they need help on.

If you think his test are hard, you're crazy-he doesn't require that much of you... Half the time I couldn't keep up with the reading, but it's the lectures he mostly tests on and he will give you the things to study! I am an okay student (3.3 average), but I always got well above that in his classes. I always looked forward to his classes!

Its totally ridiculous to hear others say that the History of Photography was hard. Please. All you had to do was come to class to get a good grade. He only gave "pop quizzes" (they were open note, easy) because people weren't talking, and basically to take attendance. That said, the class was really interesting, especially after the midterm.

Thumbs up

Really cares about students, and lectures aren't boring at all. Thoroughly engaging and easy grading despite the heavy amount of readings, lecture, and assignments.

Very good class

Prof. Rice is EXCELLENT! The lectures are very well-organized, he follows his syllabus, and he covers the course content within the allotted class period. His class slides and printed Study Guides give a good overview of the visual art and artists, all within the social context. Take this class for INSPIRATION, it makes art history comes alive!

I never took an art history class before so I didn't know what to expect. Professor Rice made history come alive. He not only talked about the artists but also about philosophy, politics, and the history of the times the works were made. I really loved the class, and he's such a good lecturer.

Easily one of the best professors I've had. Fascinating lecturer (often didn't take notes b/c you want to listen) and as someone who usually doesn't participate in class, I felt welcome to share my opinion and as if the space was safe. Absolutely loved the class, reasonable reading and grading.

Really excellent lecturer. Well organized class and clear expectations.

Without question he's one of the best professors I've ever encountered. His topics are always interesting, he's an amazing lecturer, and while he expects a lot from his students he's always fair and, in my experience generous when you need help.

Kolya is an excellent professor. Every course I've taken from him (3) have had very interesting and relevant content, and he's such an interesting thinker and charismatic lecturer that I looked forward to coming to class every time.

Kolya is an amazing lecturer and cool guy. The most important thing to succeed in this class is to attend lecture!! I did a couple of the readings and attended every class and felt prepared for exams. I came out of this class feeling much more knowledgeable. His discussion of social movements in relation to art makes this class extremely relevant.

Kolya made art history so much fun. This class specifically was online and I thought it was going to be really hard to stay motivated to watch all the lectures and do all the readings, but Kolya made everything interesting. There is a weekly essay every week, however they are not hard as he points out exactly all the points you have to include.

Very interesting class. Part history of photography, part the way photography has been theorized--how it communicates, is manipulated, creates reality effects, and so forth. There are weekly discussion boards and a number of informal essays, but they're really not that much of a time commitment and he grades leniently in my opinion.

This is the only art history class I have ever taken and it was excellent. Kolya is an amazing lecturer, grades with clear criteria, offers helpful feedback, and is hilarious. I enjoyed coming to class every day, and would take a class from him again in a second, if I weren't graduating.

Kolya is an excellent professor. He challenges you in interesting ways every class to think deeper about things that really matter. I wish he taught more courses!

Awesome if you show up, the lectures are better if you do the reading but honestly the reading does little in comparison. 10/10, plus a really genuine and cool guy

Kolya is an awesome lecturer and the subjects he focuses on are really interesting. He has high expectations, but they're clear and he'll go the extra mile to help you.

Engaging lecturer. Wants you to be specific in essays. Doesn't require extreme detail but it is wise to note specific examples he uses in lectures (not everything, use your judgment). Grading is generally fair. Don't take if you don't care about art, but it's fine if you have no previous art history knowledge. About 10 pages of reading a night.

Prof. Rice does a superb job covering the key elements of Art History - major artists, key concepts, major periods and movements of art. His Study Guides are exceptional ! - These lecture guides give you all the key facts, so you can just add some notes to tie everything together. He's very professional and knowledgeable. Take his class!

Kolya is not only a great lecturer, but a teacher who deeply cares about student success. He makes a point to always leave comments and feedback on assignments, and he also prepares lecture guides and detailed assignment outlines that are extremely helpful. I took the class with W credits so it was a bit more work, but more enjoyable than expected.

Expensive book. So many T.A. graded papers. Very nitpicky during &quot;reflection&quot; essays. Almost impossible to get an A on them. Be ready.

I get why the last two reviews of this class emphasized it's difficultly--its not an easy A, that's for sure. It's a &quot;W&quot; writing intensive course, so guess what, there's a lot of writing, duh. I'm enjoying the lectures especially, and have no problem following the ideas--and I've had zero art or art history. Excellent feedback and quick responses!

NOT a difficult class, despite all the whining about it. I love Kolya's classes. Give me a break on the 25 hours a week--you'd have to be a moron to need that much time (have you noticed how the last 3 reviews use the same words--same student whose pissed about a grade I'm guessing).

I think the American Art History class is very good, and the workload seems fair for a &quot;W&quot; credit, but not easy. I've had no problem getting immediate feedback and help, and I've asked for it several times already. I'm really impressed with how Prof Rice and his TA were able to make this work last minute with all the chaos the virus is causing.

This class is hard but not impossible. I received my lowest grade in it but the Prof. is knowledgeable &amp; willing to help. It wasn't easy but as I went along in the class, I improved &amp; had a better understanding of what was expected. He also always checked in to make sure he got feedback on how the class was going &amp; how to make it better for us.

Despite everyone's complaints this class was not bad. Professor Rice's lectures basically give you all the information you need to write the essays and the feedback for revisions is super specific. Reading wasn't necessary and as long as you listened during lectures. Really interesting material and organized regarding assignments.

Kolya is a fantastic lecturer, he's clearly very knowledgable and always does his best to keep class interesting. Everything important to know for the tests was covered in lecture so going to class is a must. Before tests he made it clear what he was looking for and grading was very reasonable. Super fun class that I would highly recommend.

The most organized and well-structured online class I've ever taken. Nearly every question I had could be answered by just scrolling through FAQ stuff and the syllabus. Prof Rice was also very accessible outside of class when I had more specific questions. His lectures were the main learning material, so don't skip them! Highly recommend.

Kolya is a very good lecturer and cares deeply about his students and material. He is very well educated on art history and is able to teach the theoretical concepts well.

Rice was a pretty good prof, and the course was super interesting. His lectures are very informative, so don't skip them. Lots of reading, but you can get away with skimming. Decent essay feedback but they can be very picky and inconsistent. Overall, I'd definitely recommend it for a W credit.

Kolya is a pretty good prof. His lectures are really interesting and thorough (although the sound quality is very poor). There is a ton of reading, but you can get away with skimming them since the lectures cover mostly everything you need to know. Clear grading criteria for essays, but TAs can be picky. Overall, I'd recommend for a W class.

The feedback is excellent. Cost significantly helped me to improve my writing and has expanded my understanding of identity politics in art history , the strategies used by artists to incite social change toward tolerance of the many diverse identities and acknowledgement of shared experience.

Professor races lectures were amazing. He is very attentive and gives excellent feedback that will improve your writing. There is quite a lot of writing but We covered a lot of artists and they learned so much about the different art movements and how they incite positive social change.

This class has been great in general, but I really like the way Professor Rice was able to adapt it to an online format due to covid. Everything was asynchronous and for being a 5 credit VLPA and W course, I feel that the workload was exactly fair (no discussions on busy weeks). Some Sunday due dates. Rice and TA's were helpful and understanding!

I absolutely love Professor Rice! The class did require a good amount of time and effort but it was so worth it. This was my first ARTH class and I absolutely enjoyed every moment of it, from the material and class structure to the feedback. It was so stimulating! And Prof Rice is so understanding, I would take his classes over and over again!

Coming from a Math Major, ART H 381 is easily among my best classes ever at UW, and Kolya was a huge part of it. Amazing lectures, knowledgeable, relatable, accommodating, funny, flexible, SUPER NICE, and CARING. Whatever your background, take this class; you'll love it. Prof. Kolya really just changed how I look at art in museums forever.

While he certainly could use a mic upgrade, considering all lectures are prerecorded and have captions it's not too bad. Lecture and paper heavy class, but if you put in the couple of hours each week to write a paper and truly understand the (tons of) material you're pretty much guaranteed a 3.8+. Solid class and I enjoyed the online structure.

Super kind and reasonable professor. Interesting and engaging lectures that I looked forward to attending. Acknowledged that W courses are difficult and would frequently check in to see how we were doing. Would recommend and take again!

I loved this class and thought that Kolya was a great teacher. I was always learning something new and interesting every lecture. It was writing heavy, but I think that was just because this was a W credit class, and not because that&#39;s his normal teaching style. Overall I&#39;d highly recommend taking one of his classes.

Kolya is my favorite professor I have had thus far at UW. He is very intelligent but also funny which keeps lectures interesting. I have taken many of his classes and I respect him greatly as a professor. He understands that his students are busy and because of this, his classes are frontloaded so that the end of the quarter is more relaxed.

Amazing class on really important subjects!

very cool, informative lectures with lots of examples for understanding

Very lecture heavy so make sure you show up and take notes. Professor is an amazing lecturer, even though they're long and content-heavy, he makes them fun, humorous, and engaging. Lots of reading and writing so if you don't enjoy that and don't have to take this class, then probably don't.

Professor Rice was an excellent lecturer. The content he presented was all very interesting and he kept people engaged with his humor and asking questions to the class. The writing assignments were quite heavy seeing as this was a W credit class but overall, it was manageable!

Kolya is an incredible professor! Though it is a W credit, he works with the TAs to ensure that students can get through the two final essays step by step, with a lot of feedback. He is passionate about his field of work, his lectures are engaging and witty, and the assignments are doable as long as you show up/watch the live stream.

The tests and writing assignments would be taken straight from lecture. Having good notes and paying attention will help. Overall I loved this class and learned a lot.

Kolya is an amazing professor who genuinely cares about his students. He is very understanding and accepting. His lectures are super interesting and fun. I 100% recommend this class.

I recommend this class and the teacher both are really nice. Assignments are easy as long as you express that you learned something in each week's writings then you'll pass the class easily. My only complaint is that there is a lot of reading but you'll mostly have to only listen to the lectures to help complete the assignments.

Really interesting lectures and clear criteria for assignments. It is writing heavy, but it is a W course so that's what I expected going in. I didn't expect to find out how complicated and interesting the theories about photography are and how relevant they are to understanding all the visual media around us all the time.

Kolya is a fantastic lecturer. The course was at 8:30 but I always wanted to go listen to him. I totally loved this class and would take any of his courses. The workload was average to easy--just a midterm, final and a short paper.

Awesome lecturer. I wasn't excited about an 8:30 class, but he made every meeting really interesting. The course is super informative if you don't know anything about art because it starts with very traditional stuff but ends by explaining all the different reasons for abstract art. There are two exams and one short paper, so not too much workload.

Professor Rice is a wonderful person, who was super understanding of some circumstances I was dealing with, and super caring. If you're having a rough quarter, just reach out to him and be honest; he will be extremely kind and flexible. The material was very interesting overall, and while there were a bit of essays, they weren't too much.

So awesome! Took Survey of Modern Western Art; Prof is great at lecturing, an easy grader, lenient with deadlines, super knowledgable!

This man had me considering minoring in art history! Even though I hated the main assignment, that doesn't detract at all from the fact that he's an amazing lecturer and funny. Even when I was falling behind in lectures for my major, I still found myself wanting to make sure I stayed up-to-date with his.

very cool prof. 8 discussion posts, around 4 short summary essays, 2 long essays. online class very well structured

I'm surprised by some of the reviews here. I thought this class was very easy. I finished with a 100, never got lower than a 100 on any assignment. Maybe spent like 3-5 hours a week on this class. Don't just read the instructions, read the rubric for the assignments to make sure you're meeting all requirements. Would take again.

Very interesting class that connects art to real world issues concerning diversity. Average workload and clear rubric for every assignment.

Prof. Rice is superb. His overview of "Arts and Architecture of Europe and America from Romanticism to the present" is an excellent survey of the key paintings, sculptures, and monuments of these periods. He is an outstanding lecturer, he knows the details as well as the cultural, economic, and political background of the visual arts.

Great lecturer and fun class discussions

The lectures are good quality, there are readings but you can honestly get by skimming them for the most part and going back when needed for essays. A little bit of writing but they're not difficult. Prof is accomodating to questions, participating is mandatory (in class discussions with classmates, going to every class). Easy going guy.

An amazing professor who makes lectures engaging and fun. Heavy on reading and writing, but worth it - the assignments are doable with good notes and Unstuckstudy to help with study prep.

kolya is a great professor, his lectures are very engaging and i always had a lot of fun in them. he explains difficult/complex concepts in a very clear and accessible way. there is a lot of writing, but most of it is pretty easy if you have been going to lectures and taking notes. i would love to take a class with him again.

really amazing lecturer, but easy to fall behind with taking notes on lectures since there is a lot of content. if you keep up with the content, quizzes & writings are easy. TAs do majority of grading & give good feedback, writings are broken up in sections, making it easier to keep up with especially as a writing credit.

If you are new to art history, he is a great teacher. He doesn't assume students know certain parts of history and will happily answer any questions. He's a funny guy and makes class enjoyable. He also chooses great TA's who are very helpful. As long as you do the readings and work, you will be fine.