The best class on 20th Century US History you will ever take in your life.

This teacher is one of the most exciting interesting ladies I've ever met. She is enthusiastic, funny and makes very organized lectures. High recommend ~~!!!

Awesome lady and teacher. Reminded me of Pat from Saturday Night Live.

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She's enthusiastic, organized, and very interesting- what more can you ask for? She is VERY liberal though

Prof. Kalman is awesome. She has so much passion and enthusiasm for the subject, and her lectures are very interesting.

Very enthusiastic. No grading curve, just papers. Lots of passion for the course. Makes course very interesting and gets you pumped up. One of the best history teachers I ever had. HIGHLY recommend.

Enthusiastism for the course and Roosevelt! recommended for anyone.

You know, I didn't know history could be this interesting. Kalman is so damn enthusiastic, and the course material is great. Get any class you can with her.

I love Kalman, I've had her for 2 classes and am taking one more with her now. So enthusiastic, inspiring, emails you back right away, really cares about students! Funny too. I highly reccommend her to anyone who wants a good history experience.

she rocks

Kalman is an awesome teacher. Go to her office hours and she will give you a nickname. She is hilarious and a great teacher. If you have a chance to take a class with her, take it. She gave out candy bars at the final. mmmmmmmm :)

She is amazing, by far my favorite Professor.

Awesome professor! Very helpful and fair on both papers and tests. Take every class this professor offers!

This class was awesome. She is so smart, she knows everything. You'll learn a lot. There are only two essay tests, mid/final. Be sure to go to her extended office hours a day or to before the exam. Everyone just crams in her office and shares ideas. Easy B+/A Questions in advance and a cheat sheet:)

Great Prof, sooooo nice!! Everyone should take her!!!!

She is awesome. I want to take her again and again. she is so intelligent that I thought her brain was going to explode. Her TA was a little **** but she is a nice amazing professor.

I had Dr. Kalman almost 10 years ago...by far the best that UCSB has to offer. I still keep in contact with her by e-mail from time to time to check on a book she is writing-I want to use it in my AP US history classes in high school. Take this prof...she will not be a disappointment!

Wonderful teacher, one of the best in the department. Remembers all her students, and is great for letters of rec.

She was awesome and so were her classes.

Best teacher I have ever had.

Her lectures are very well strctured and interesting and they really make you look at are history and think about our present and future. I found her to be very helpful and her exams are aren't very hard. Plus she gives you 3 questions that could be on th

by far the most passionate teacher on a subject! her lectures are great! im considering sitting in her lectures next quarter whenever i can without getting credit just because they are so good.

Professor Kalman is the best professor I have had here. Her class is like a favorite show you don't want to miss. She extremely passionate about US history and she knows her****. TAKE HER CLASS! The best is when she gets really pissed off and checks herself.

Theres only a midterm and final in her class where u write about a topic she will tell u beforehand. Hard criteria on grading essays but intersting books and interesting lectures. She is liberal but very openminded lectures and one of the best!

very interesting class. she always says funny remarks and makes the class enjoyable.

I loved going to her lectures, she was so entertaining! There is a lot of reading, but some of it you don't really have to do. She gives you the questions for the midterm and final before so you can prepare, but beware, they are graded pretty hard. Overall, I loved Kalman. Take her class if you can.

Kahlman was a fun and interesting professor. She always plays music of the time period she is talking about at the beginning and the end of class, and she also plays modern versions of songs that are from today. She gives you the midterm and final questions, but they are graded pretty hard. One paper 8pg long. For TA's take Vanessa Crispin Peralta!

Kalman inspired me to become a teacher - she is tough, but if you go to office hours she will help you out and give you ideas on how to answer the test questions

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Attending lecture is a must to get an A, luckily she's one of UCSB's best lecturers. States her political biases up front and invites discussion-doesn't preach. Great sense of humor. Highly recommended.

Had her for US Legal History and for 20th Century History, she is AMAZING. WIll definitely write you letter of rec for grad school, and extremely knowledgable about what she teaches. She is fascinating, wonderful, and funny. If you can, definitely take any class with her

highly recommended. kalman is rad. awesomely dorky, very knowledgable. i didn't do most of the reading, studied wikipedia intensely before the midterm and final, and pulled an -A. no essay required! the class isn't very difficult, but is far from a joke. learn as much history as you can stand. kalman knows way too much about 20th C US history.

Had her for both 166b&c. She is my favorite professor at this university! If you have the chance take one of her classes!!! She is fabulous. Not necessarily an easy A (i got B+'s) but an AMAZING lecturer and interesting material. TAKE HER!!!!

Lectures are interesting and informative, but attending them is NOT necessary. Movies are also assigned; few people actually see them. Exams are in-class essays on questions she tells the class about a week in advance. Questions are factual or opinion based e.g. what if Bob Kennedy lived? People w/ good writing skills will find Kalman's class easy.

She is one of the best history professors at UCSB. She's SO dorky but you can tell she really loves what she does. Class is pretty challenging, but just read the textbook. Class is fair: midterm worth 40% and final worth 60%, but if you do better on the midterm than it is worth 60% and final is worth 40%. no paper! LOVE HER!!

she is great!!! I learned so much and she is so entertaining and funny!

Incredibly clear lectures with an intellectual outlook on history. Just the fact that she turned down tenure at Harvard to remain at UCSB is undeniable proof that her class is a great aspect to your undergraduate education. I almost want to change to a history major so I can have more classes taught by her. It was great just to enjoy learning.

SO much fun =) She's adorable, and her lectures are really interesting. Her lecture format makes it easy to follow, and she knows SOO much about the material. Tests and papers are a tad hard because her prompts are too specific, but it's worth it to take the class.

I had Kalman for 166B and C. She is a great lecturer, probably on of the best. Very knowledgeable, funny, and open to opinions. Helpful in office hours too. Only midterm (40%) and final (60%). I didn't do any of the readings, but went to all the lectures and got A's both semesters.

AWESOME! Amazing lecturer! Makes going to class funny & interesting, especially if you're interested in the subject. Even if you're not, you will be! It's so interesting that i forgot to take notes sometimes. Great images and stories. How hard the class is depends alot on your TA, but Kalman is great!

LOVE her! She's so boisterous and passionate about what she's talking about that it's too hard NOT to like the class. 2 papers, midterm and final. All writing style, but if you get the overall concepts not too hard.

She is very into what she teaches, makes great connections and interesting comments. I don't like history much and thus far this has been my favorite class. The TA you get will determine how well you do, so make sure you get a good TA.

Kalman's really a pleasure to listen to in lecture. She's a great story teller and is very passionate about the subject matter. Pretty biased, but she addresses that. You get the midterm & final in-class essays in advance, but they require a fair amount of prep to get a good grade.

LOVEEEE HER! She's AMAZING! Gives you the essay questions before midterms and finals and picks one for the test. Funny, sweet, and cares about her students. One of the best at UCSB! Truly wonderful!!!

Excellent teacher! Her lecture style is almost like telling a story, which makes it easy to listen to. She is extremely passionate and knowledgeable about this time period (1950-mid 1970's). Grade is based off of essay style mid-term and final in which you get the questions before. Overall an easy, yet very interesting class.

Best prof ever! Made lecture enjoyable and entertaining. Really tries to boost up your grade by giving out the prompt for the midterm and final and weighting the test you do better one higher. Kalman rocks!!

Not the biggest fan of her lectures. I feel they're not in-depth enough for non-history majors and lacking in structure/missing key themes for history majors. But for a GE history class, she teaches pretty well and probably makes it interesting for those who dislike history.

Best professor ever! Lectures are clear and informative, the powerpoints are detailed (although they aren't posted online), and the exams are easy. Plus she's super funny!

What a great professor. Loves what she does and it shows. Lectures are fairly in-depth which could help you out on the midterm and final since they require some nuance. It takes a lot of studying to prepare for the midterm and final, but a lot of the themes and topics overlap, so that makes it easier. Can't wait to take another class with her.

i took 166c and 102lk--loved both! kalman's lectures are easy to follow and so very interesting. youll want to go to class! she gives you the midterm and final prompts beforehand and lets you bring a cheat sheet with you during both exams. easy, passionate, funny, informative...my favorite teacher at UCSB, hands down. you wont regret it

Kalman is an excellent teacher. She is fun and engaging which helps making going so early in the morning worth it. She is very nice and I would recommend going to talk to her at her office hours. Taking her does not mean an instant A but doesn't mean its unfairly difficult either.

great lecturer. interesting material, but exams do require a GOOD amount of studying. i did not do the reading, however but who does. jsut study hard all the prompts she gives as it is chosen at random and your fine. good class overall

Great teacher. Taught everything you could need to know about the Supreme Court. tests were straightforward, lecture was a little boring but definitely worth going. Highly recommend HIST 166LB

Kalman is hands-down one of the best professors at UCSB. Her class is stuffed with information, so it's definitely a challenge, but I've never learned (and been captivated) so much about history. I recommend her for any class she's teaching because she knows more than any one on the subject of U.S. history. Read, Attend lecture-you'll get a B or A

Best history professor at UCSB. Great lectures, great content, amazing class. Genuinely cares that her students do well. I go out of my way to take any course she is teaching.

Great professor! Really knowledgable and excited about the topic. Lots of details are involved and the lectures are full of information. Overall a great interesting class

I LOVE Kalman! She is funny and makes coming to class enjoyable. As long as you come to the class you will be fine. Any emailed questions, or questions she couldnt answer in class, are answered in a timely manner, and then sent out to the rest of the students so they are included too. Take her class, it's easy and she's great.

i took both 166A and 166B with Kalman. she is a fantastic professor who is truly passionate about history, politics, and law. her lectures are FULL of info and she goes very fast, but as long as you keep up with readings you will connect all the info you need to write your midterm and final. both in class, and she gives you a study guide for both

Great, kind professor and interesting class. I only went about 3 times, and didn't do the ridiculous amount of reading and still received a B. Don't really need to do the reading, just be knowledgable and able to write an essay based on the questions she gives you.

She is the best lecturer I have had. She is more of a story teller than a lecturer, being able to talk endlessly from start to beginning, connecting everything she talks about that day. Wonderful lady. She gives out the possible essay prompts for the exams beforehand, but they are quite challenging. Very interesting teacher and subject

What a lady and what an easy class. Lectures are fun, she brings the topic alive and the grading was a joke. She gives you the questions before finals and lets you have a cheat sheet. So so so so easy.

Dr. Kalman is literally the best professor I have ever had. Although the essay questions for the exams were provided in advance, the topics were quite in-depth and required a lot of analysis. Attending lecture was a pleasure--Dr. Kalman makes every single topic fascinating to listen to. I would highly recommend taking a class with her if you can.

Prof. Kalman may be the best history professor at UCSB. She is a sweet, generous woman who genuinely cares about her students. She is incredibly smart and can make the most mundane material very interesting and entertaining. She is a fair grader and has never pulled any tricks in either of the classes I have taken with her. Take a class if you can!

Loved professor Kalman! She is clear and a good lecturer. Only a midterm and final and you can take a cheat sheet and you get the questions ahead of time. Still it was a lot of writing and you will definitely have hand cramps but I recommend her! Textbook comes in handy when prepping for exams.

Professor Kalman is one of my favorite professors I've had at UCSB. I'm not a history major, but I chose to take a second class with her because she is so good at what she does. Her lectures are so enthusiastic and knowledgeable. It is worth the test difficulty, because they are some extensive essay questions. Use the booksvideos for the tests!

Great professor! lectures are clear to follow and she is entusiastic. read and watch the videos she lists and spend the time to make a good cheat sheet, its worth the extra work. Only a midterm and final but don't let that fool you the essays are not easy just becuse you get them ahead of time.

Her lectures are long and packed with info. She makes them interesting though. No homework, some just short papers, MT, and final. You must do the readings to be prepared for the assignments and tests. She gives you 2-3 prompts before the tests from which one will be selected for the test. Make sure you answer every part of the question.

If I wasn't graduating, I would definitely be taking all of the classes she offers. She's really passionate about history, and is super engaging during lectures. Her exams are not bad as long as you prepare for them in advance and go to class. One page cheat sheet given to take into final and prompts given beforehand. She's fantastic.

Professor Kalman is a very sweet and very engaging teacher. She is very approachable and is easily likable. Her tests and essays are rather difficult for a GE history class. They require a lot of time and analysis into them. Overall good class, but way more difficult than other history classes.

Prof Kalman is one of the most passionate professors I've had. She lives and breathes US history. But he is rather scatterbrained and doesn't go over important material, instead sharing anecdotal stuff that isn't super relevant. Her reading and video assignments were not the best and took forever to do. Not the best for a GE but a good hist class!

Laura Kalman is a very great professor, and is honestly one of the funniest professors I've ever had. Lectures are a lot of notes and really scattered, but she cracks jokes the entire time and had me crying. Tests are honestly pretty intense, and you have to put a lot of time and insight into the material in order to do well on the tests.

Interesting lectures. A lot of reading. Tests are all essays, graded fairly easily. Lectures optional but fun to listen to.

Expect split grades (C-/D+) until the end of the course. Its confusing and sad.

Prof. Kalman is a very funny and eccentric person; polka-dot socks, mild lisp, and always wearing a jean jacket. She kind of reads off the slides in class a little too heavily, but she's very engaging and into what she does. Cool lady, go to office hours! Super lenient about rescheduling the final/midterm with a good reason. Essays are info heavy.

Transfered to UCSB as econ/acct, but with history as my passion. Kalman convinced me to change my major. By far one of the best professors I have ever had. Lectures always fascinate me, even when they at first seem dry. High expectations for essays, but if you answer the prompt fully, it's an easy A. Taking her for my research seminar next year

Kalman is the sweetest little lady around. She is so fired up about history it is hard not to get excited too. She is my favorite professor at UCSB. Watch out for the essays though, make sure to answer the prompt fully and then some. Reading and watching the documentaries are a must too.

Tests will be essay based, but she will give you the question before and allow a page of notes! I would recommend reading and attending lecture. Kalman is hilarious and adorable!

She makes lecture worth going to but you dont need to bc she posts the slides and all the info.

Awesome professor, super sweet lady. You dont need to attend lecture if you understand the curriculum. Class is two papers and a final, papers were super easy only like 5-6 pages and the final was in class but you could bring a page of notes. I went to her office hours once and she was super easy to talk to. Easiest A I've ever got but dont be lazy

Literally the best you can get in the whole history department in UCSB. Very Approachable and inspire insightful conversation on different topics. Do go to her office hour, you'll nor regret. Just talk to her about random or even personal stuff. She handled her biases very well and is willing to engage with disagreement in a very respectful way

She was the best history teacher I have ever had in my college experience. Knowledgable on the subject, always willing to help. She is so sweet, hands out full packs of candy for the final paper! She is awesome, if you ever get the chance to take her classes DO IT. You WILL learn something. :)

Laura is the best, ive taken her 3 times while at SB. Approachable, her class is also straight forward, midterm/final. I love US history and shes extremely knowledgable on the subject. Her information always amazed me and she never failed to make me smile. AMAZING

Super sweet, and kind teacher. She gave out the final questions 1 week before the final. For the midterm, I got a B and really thought I wouldn't get an A because of how much the final was worth. However, for the final, I wrote a lot (1 1/2 blue books) and ended up getting an A. So if you work really hard on the final you can get an A.

Her midterm is 40 % and final 60 %, which is okay. She is an amazing lecturer, you barely need to read because she's so good. Uses YouTube documentaries and not alot form the actual textbook.

Prof. Kalman is really caring and is like a cool grandma. You don't need to go to class at all, just read the book and/or watch the videos she posts. However her lectures are really fun and exciting. I'm almost sad that I didn't go at all to lecture the second quarter I took her class. I would 100 percent recommend taking her class.

One of the best professors I have had the pleasure of taking at UCSB. She is hilarious and super approachable. Go to office hours to get to know her better, you will not be disappointed!

Awesome. That go to history professor you take at least once. Classes are just lecture. One midterm, one final. All papers. The amount of info she goes through is insane so take notes, but she's just so woke and sweet. A LOT of people skip near the end but it's fine, because nobody will share their notes with you leading up to the final :)

I've had her twice now and she's really charismatic and know's what she's talking about, while she doesn't take attendance I strongly recommend showing up! She assigns readings and documentaries to watch, and your only graded on the midterm and final which are an essay responses, the midterm's take home and the final in class

This was a HARD class, but Kalman is so sweet and wants you to succeed. The class is only graded on the midterm and final so you need to work really hard to make sure your essays are up to par. She gives out the final questions in advance and allows a page of notes during the final, which helped, but you still need to prepare a lot.

An amazing prof who engages her students with hilarious yet thought provoking lectures. Take home midterm and final, both very double. Non-history major and did well. The textbook is pretty helpful with writing the papers as it gives more details than the lectures but it's not completely necessary if you're more so aiming for a B range grade.

the sweetest professor! her lectures are very interesting and she's very knowledgeable. she's super helpful too! she makes a spotify playlist to go with every lecture. such a cutie

Kalman is wonderful. She has made this online class easy during a really hard time. She's incredibly knowledgable and really sweet when you talk to her outside of class. Graded on two papers and attendance in section. Weekly readings are discussed in section. She is inspiring! But if you don't like history you might be a little bored. She is great.

Took her during the first quarter of online classes at UCSB due to roni rona. By far my fav professor. Fun, interesting, and rewarding class. Highly recommend her. I hate readings and I usually skip them in other courses. I was genuinely motivated to read because of how interesting the short readings were.

had her online and wish I had her in person. amazing lectures and my fave prof at UCSB so far. made me want to minor in history. her class is so amazing and the readings were so interesting. learned so much and had fun doing it

Professor Kalman is very knowledgeable, passionate about her teaching & the material, and dedicated to her students. I took this as a GE, and Im glad I did. She was considerate of the fact we were learning remotely during a pandemic, and was very flexible with students. Papers werent too hard, lots of different interesting topic options.

Professor Kalman was super sweet, but the lectures were often boring and difficult to follow. I was never sure what was important for exams and what information wasn't. It relies a lot on writing (no MC exams) 2 papers, and weekly forum responses that are pretty difficult. I wouldn't take it for a GE if you don't have to but I did learn a lot!

Prof. Kalman is very nice, but her lectures are so damn long. It is obvious that Prof. Kalman is old-fashion in terms of her lectures (as in they are not done in a organized slideshow way) so it may be a change for those use to that. There is also not much to be graded in this class (just midterm and final) but the grading is easy.

Lectures were fast paced which I enjoyed, recorded and posted too. best part about this course was my TA, highly recommend J Haider. I found the class to be very interesting and enjoyed section. Felt like I was really asked to think, but not sure if that was because of the professor or my exceptional TA. would recommend. 3 essays for grade