Really good professor, pretty easy for an honor class!

Very good teacher, readings were really interesting and she showed really good videos. WE WATCHED ALL OF THE GODFATHER!!! Really good teacher and easy class.

Yoder is a great professor. You truly learn a lot of really interesting material in the class and get to watch a lot of films.

Awesome professor, very interesting class and easy for an honors class

She is one of the best professors I've had at UMass. There's a lot of reading but it's all interesting and she makes the class fun. You watch a lot of films (including the Godfather). I would recommend this class to everyone!

This is an awesome class! You have to do a fair amount of work (reading, papers), but emphasis is placed on how well you understand the ideas. Discussions are very enjoyable and informative. I would recommend this class to anyone in Commonwealth College!

She is a really good professor. There is a lot of reading for this class, but the in-class discussions are always really good. The papers are a bit long, but she isn't a tough grader. This is a really good course!

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One of the easiest Commonwealth College Honors courses you can possibly take. The class was discussion-based and provided really intriguing insights into other families. Class grades based on participation, response papers, and presentation. Should be easy for anyone in ComCol. Highly Recommended.

decent honors class, from a historical perspective, good discussions with a lot of reading. response papers every week plus a couple longer papers, not too difficult, worth the 4 credits. she definitely knows what she's talking about, and leaves the floor open for lots of discussion

Great discussion-based class. Long class periods, but the 4 credits and getting an honors class out of the way make it worth it. REALLY easy to do well, take this class.

the class is really great! the readings are interesting and manageable. even though there are 10 2 page response papers she is the easiest grader ever! i think anyone can easily get an A if they put in any effort

Great professor and sooooooooo easy!!! Take this class if youre looking to fill you honors "I". the videos she shows are really interesting, like we spent two whole classes watching The Godfather. easy A if you put in atleast some effort, the class is all open discussion based. highly reccomended

I found it very hard to sit through 2 hours twice a week of this class. But it is pretty easy to get an A, and you get an honors-i out of it.

Professor did an excellent job teaching this class. She gives excellent feedback on papers, and brought in very diverse reading assignments which I think made the course.

Awesome Professor: Very nice, understanding, and smart. The material is interesting and the class ends up just being a discussion among the students. 10 Response Papers and 1 8 page paper. Nice grader if you do the work. Definitely recommend this class.

Professor Yoder is fair. Classes can be boring but it's not too bad. All you do is discuss the readings every day, and you can get away without saying much. 2 papers 5-8 pg papers and a few small 1 pg assignments. I would recommend this professor especially over some of the other professors for this class!

Not a bad honors and history course at all. Decent amount of reading but nothing shocking for an honors class. She's really nice and helpful

Class can be dull at times, but not very mentally strenuous. If you can write well, the class shouldn't be too difficult. There's a lot of reading and writing (5/6 response papers and 1 research paper), but that can be expected from an honors class, and she's often lenient with grades. Make sure to have some input for class discussions.

Martha was a great professor and a very easy grader. Class could be dull at times but there definitely were some great ideas that were discussed in class. There is a fair amount of writing for the course but Prof Yoder grades pretty easily. As long as you bring up good points in your papers, you should get an A.

Martha is a really great person, and really tries to get discussions going. She probably had the most assignments out of all the 291A sections, but her grading was EXTREMELY easy so it wasn't hard to get A's. The class was over all OK, but it was a good way to meet new people and attempt to understand out of the box concepts.

She's a nice lady and is very lenient. Class is horribly boring but it's really easy - I read about 5% of all things need to be read and got A's on papers. Try to stay awake lol.

Great professor. Lots of reading, but the Socratic discussion was engaging.

She's super lenient when it comes to paper topics and grading. The material isn't too hard to understand, and you can easily get by if you missed a reading or two. As long as you show her in your papers that you learned and that her class made you think you should get an A. Also a really nice woman.

Class was sometimes boring, and there was a lot of readinghomework in comparison to other section teachers. However, she's a really nice woman. She's always trying to keep a discussion going in class. As long you can write reasonably, you'll get at least an A-. Participation can help boost your grade.

Assigns a decent amount of work, mostly readings and papers. It seemed like the day we passed in a paper, we were assigned another. Luckily she is the world's easiest grader so you don't need to put a lot of effort into the papers. In addition, she often leads the discussions so you can simply skim the readings. She is extremely nice and helpful.

There are TONS of readings, but she is lenient when it comes to grading papers. She is nice and understanding, and she stresses her points in class very clearly. Participation helps your grade. There are no quizzes or exams. Good professor overall, so take her!

Professor Yoder is great! She demands a lot of reading, as expected in an honors class. It's basically essential to read all the material, as you have to write a 2-3 page "comment paper" every week, plus an end-of-semester research paper. However, the class is entirely discussion-based, and she keeps it interesting. Do the work and you'll be fine.

Martha is very interesting and always helps out the discussion! She needs participation in class because otherwise she gets upset that the class didn't do the work. The papers can be tough but talk to her and she will help you out with what she specifically wants to see. You definitely need the books but check for free pdfs first!

Martha was great! She is extremely understanding and always helpful! If you don't do well on a paper she'll let you redo it to replace your grade.

Martha's actually great to take for ideas! You have to write a lot of papers but usually, they aren't too hard and she's an easy grader on them. You can also rewrite any paper. As long as you complete the papers and show up to class you'll get an A.

A lot of readings and it's kinda hard for me. I'm the only one international student among the class and my English is bad. But I love this class! Prof. Yoder is very considerate! She always helps me a lot and I rewrite my papers based on her suggestion. It works! As long as you put enough efforts, she will know. And your grade can be paid off.

Professor Yoder makes history super interesting--incorporates readings and documentaries on each of the subjects. The class can drag on a bit being solely discussion but the topics are interesting. There are 1-2 response papers each week and a final paper. Other than that the homework is reading and watching anything assigned. Overall a good gen ed

Making an A is easy if you put in the work, but there is a lot of it. Class discussions are awesome, and Professor Yoder is really good at stimulating discussion with students. Great course, lots of work, but a really rewarding experience for new honors kids if you put in the effort. Only complaint is sometimes she's flakey with due dates.

Martha is a great professor but gives a lot of homework, especially in the form of reading that often is not great for class. In addition, there several essays for the class. She grades fairly easily and allows you to rewrite essays, but you need to put in the work if you want an A.

Way way too many papers, like seriously, you'll be drowned in readings and essays almost every week. 10-12 paged final research paper. However, Yoder is a good person and overall, she's great at teaching. Just please don't take it if you don't have to.

You have to attend class to get get a good grade and I think she did a very good job at stimulating and continuing class discussions. The course was really reading heavy but a lot of the time you could get away with only doing bits and pieces of it.

Professor Yoder is really good! I think the year I had her she won a teacher's award from the state. I'm also a history major so the class was for my major, but she makes the class adaptable and interesting even if you are not into history.

Professor Yoder is great. Grading based on three papers and in class participation. Grading was super generous considering I got an A on everything and generally prepared for class only minutes before it began. Sometimes in class work could be tedious, but like I said, grading was ultra easy. Would take again 10/10 times.

You have to read A LOT of things, but Martha Yoder is a genuine professor and she's very helpful in office hours.

Prof. Yoder is an absolute angel of a professor. You'll have a great semester with her as she sees students as people, has a rewrite policy for comment papers, and understands being a student. The class can be admittedly boring in nature, but as long as you put in the effort and engage consistently in discussion, you'll be fine.

Possibly the most sympathetic professor in the honors college. Patient and respectful with student-to-faculty communication, grading policy was super forgiving, wants students to succeed, inspiring and sees students as people, and reasonable with accommodations. I give Yoder a 10/10.

Prof. Yoder is very sweet. Her lively, personable, inspiring, and benign personality makes an intense honors class like 242H bearable. Best of all, her grading policy is very lenient (after all, you get graded on effort and engagement rather than amount of key terms used on the comment papers). Take her.

Martha Yoder is a huge gem of a professor and a person. She encourages students to participate and ask questions and never makes them look dumb no matter what perspectives they bring up in discussions. Doesn't believe in exams, and she is a prime example of a kind professor who cares more about teaching students than exerting authority.

Heavy discussion-based class. Lots of reading (but you can get by just skimming it). Really kind and caring, and really good at teaching and inciting discussion. Overall, good prof, not a hard class if you put in effort for the papers, and i learnt a lot.

Martha Yoder was great for 201H. She helped engage interesting disscousins and was very reasonable with the amount of readings. Three papers and she gives you plenty of feedback and time to complete them. Would definetly take again.

Martha is SO sweet. She's inspirational and so thoughtful. History 242H can be intense with a lot of papers to write and a 10-12 page final research paper, but she's very easy on grading and will always go out of her way to give great feedback. If you put in the effort, she will reward you with high grades. If you can get her, GET HER.

Professor Yoder is a real gem. She doesn't believe in giving students a tough time, but rather she's respectful, forgiving, sweet, caring, and gives students multiple opportunities for students to do well. Sure 242H is a lot of work, but it's totally worth it, and she's a good lecturer and very reasonable and insightful with giving feedback.

Martha Yoder is a very sweet woman who wants to help students, and taking a class with her helped boost my work ethic and confidence by teaching me that it's ok to ask multiple questions (no matter how silly) instead of none.

Consider yourself fortunate if you have a class with Martha Yoder. Hands down one of the most empathetic professors I've ever had. Caring, reasonable workload, excellent facilitator of discussions, always sweet and compassionate to her students, doesn't believe in exams or quizzes, and accessible outside class and office hours. I give her a 11/10.

Martha Yoder was extremely accommodating in the spring of 2022. She cared about her students, was very flexible with deadlines, and gave plenty of time for students to finish an intense 10-12 page final research paper where she gave a lot of good feedback so that students could have more time to revise it.

As someone taking a lot of back-to-back classes, Professor Yoder was super sweet and understanding in the spring of 2022. She always went out of her way to help and made herself accessible outside class and office hours. If you want a class with a nice and helpful human being, take a class with her.

Martha Yoder was super warm and understanding in the spring of 2022. She always went out of her way to help, the amount of readings was super reasonable, and she made herself accessible through email and office hours. If you want a great professor a nice and helpful human being, it's her.

HIST242H with Martha Yoder is a great class to take. She's a very laid-back, friendly, and helpful human being who runs her classes well. Her discussions are lively, and her high level of understanding and respect towards students creates a warm and accepting environment that is totally suitable for learning.

Martha Yoder is a gem of a professor who really cares about her students. She doesn't believe in midterms and finals but rather gives a 10-12 final research paper as an alternative to exams that serves as a rewarding opportunity for students to explore a bunch of themes in American families. Lots of papers, but it's totally worth it.

Professor Yoder is really good at making a class that could be a potentially stressful endeavor like 242H a fun and entertaining experience through her warm and caring personality, high level of kindness and sympathy towards students, willingness to work with students, and by making herself accessible through email.

If you see Martha Yoder's name on your schedule, I recommend taking any class with her. She's a prime example of an understanding and sweet professor who has reasonable course standards and thinks highly of her students. If you're lucky enough to get her, GET HER.

Very forgiving professor. HIST242H is meant to be a lot of work as it's a history class, but if you put in all the effort, she will give you at least an A-. She has somewhat high expectations for the essays, but fortunately she never gives below a B+. Super funny and caring and makes the class as interesting as possible.

Martha Yoder is a sweet, fun, and laidback angel of a person herself. She was very humble and understanding, she frequently listened to students when they were feeling burnt out, and 242H under her was managed well.

Martha Yoder was very enthusiastic and empathetic in my first class with her, and her top priority is for students to worry less.

Yoder is an absolute gem of a professor, one of the most thoughtful professors you'll ever have if you're in CHC. She's good at making boring classes lively and engaging through being an exceptional facilitator of discussions. Apart from that, she's sweet, charismatic, and American Family ended up being a class that I loved, thanks to her energy.

Martha Yoder was great to learn from in 201H. If you want to have your confidence boosted by a very flexible professor, I recommend her if you can get into her class.

Can't say enough nice things about Martha Yoder!! Genuine, respectful, and cares about her students, reasonable grader who gives at least a B+. As long as you bring in good points in your papers and put in effort, you will do well. Fortunately, the participation portion is the easiest part of 242H as her bubbly personality makes it easier to focus.

One of my favorite professors I've had so far. Martha Yoder is really good at teaching and stimulating lively discussions and encouraging everyone to participate and will always go out her way to give good feedback on papers without being condescending or rude. Overall, very kind and caring.

A really nice and helpful woman, although the grading policy for papers is really hard to predict (but she's not a tough grader!). Participation will get you through it.

Professor Yoder is a gem. She's very sweet, understanding, and greatly cares about the wellbeing and excellence of each and every one of her students and is always willing to give good feedback on papers. I'm way more confident in writing lengthy research papers, thanks to this class. If you want a really good history gen-ed, take 242H!!

Sweetest professor ever. Very caring and reassuring in office hours. Pretty responsive to emails. Always made herself accessible through email and outside class and office hours. If you want to boost your confidence in writing papers by a very nice and helpful human being, take 242H with Professor Yoder.

Martha Yoder was such a sweet woman. She really cared about the wellbeing and success of her students and frequently made an effort to connect with them. She did not force students into uncomfortable situations, but rather she always went out of her way to resolve doubts they had. I wish I kept getting a fun and lively professor like her.

Professor Yoder is a literal angel. She was so sweet the entire semester and made it clear that she cares about our wellbeing and wants us to succeed. American Family can be an admittedly dry class due to the subject matter, but Yoder is way more forgiving than any other professor you'll have and does a great job making the subject matter engaging.

History classes can be a lot of work, especially with tons of readings to analyze and papers to write and even if it's honors. But with Yoder, fortunately that doesn't matter because she's considerate, and the fact that Yoder doesn't believe in exams makes American Family a lot less stressful. You're missing out by not taking classes with her.

Professor Yoder is an amazing human being. She's forgiving, warm, caring, inspirational, passionate, bright, and a phenomenal professor and a really nice woman. I want to make an effort to have a casual conversation and connect with her for an entire day, both personally and professionally. I would be happy to take any class she touches.

Professor Yoder is a funny and nice woman with a great reputation of being a lot more empathetic than some of the other professors at UMass. She is passionate about her classes, she makes an effort to connect with students casually and cares about their success, learning, and wellbeing, and she does a great job making class stress-free and natural.

Yoder is a great professor who's lovely to be around. Hard to dock points for things directly related to her and not the tough nature of honors classes, but at the end the workload could've been less depressing had some changes been made to the format (Some readings which suck, too much papers to write with unclear prompts). Very nice woman tho :)

Professor Yoder is a class act! I messed up the A due to my own lack of confidence, but she drove excellent seminars while encouraging to learn. She knows what she's doing, her classes are generally well-received by her students, and she loves having enjoyable conversations with her students. Great professor and an even better person.

Professor Yoder is great. She is SO nice, and you'll love her as long as you don't disrespect her by looking at your phone or sleeping in class. Class participation is a MUST, despite her relatively forgiving expectations for the class. You walk away with valuable takeaways by participating in discussion and doing the readings she gives you.

Professor Yoder truly cares about her students. She is an amazing professor - she wants people to be happy, healthy, and smiling. She stresses the importance of being comfortable to talk, and the environment she creates for any class she touches allows lifetime learning - she always makes you feel like your opinions matter and values diversity.

Martha Yoder's expectations are explicit - she knows how to manage classes well, and her syllabus is elaborate. Not a tough grader, but you do need to put in the effort to get a high grade. Final research paper can be soul-sucking, but very rewarding if you devote a lot of time and effort into it. Overall, very kind and caring, and I learned a lot.

You have to put in decent effort for a high grade, but Professor Yoder is so sweet and clearly wants her students to succeed and ensure that they feel comfortable participating in in-class discussions. The grading policy was relatively easy, and her History 242H class had a positive impact on me as a student and a person.

Professor Yoder is a very sweet and helpful woman herself. She's talented, knowledgeable, caring, wants to make an effort to connect with her students, and all in all a wonderful human being. This class is laid-back. As long as you put all effort and get good feedback on papers, you'll get a decent grade.

I loved Professor Yoder so much!! She is the sweetest, and she really cares for her students and makes a great effort to get to know them! 10/10 recommend taking her if you're in CHC.

Knowledgeable, inspiring and considerate.

A lot of readings and I'm a very slow reader. But a considerate professor like Martha Yoder makes this history class a lot less stressful and one worth taking. She's a relatively easy grader when it comes to papers, and I think she did a very good job stimulating class discussion. The main thing I appreciate is she doesn't cold call.

Martha is an absolute angel. Her syllabus made it clear that she really wants her students to succeed not only in her class but also in everything else they do. This class can be intense a lot of papers but luckily you don't need to print a physical copy of them (she told us this!). This woman is SUCH a flexible professor and a very sweet person!!

Martha Yoder is such a sweet and sympathetic gem of a teacher and person herself. I messed up the easy A due to my own incompetence, but Professor Yoder consistently made every lecture as interactive and lively as possible, so the participation portion was a breeze. Great at communication, and way more considerate than most of my other professors.

Professor Yoder was SO nice to everyone in our class. It is more of a discussion based class than a lecture based class where you discuss the readings/films she assigns for each class. Only reason I deduct a point is because some of the readings were a bit monotone, but most of the assignments were worth it, especially the final research paper.

This class really helped with my ability to write well-thought-out research papers. Take this class if you want to gain confidence in writing papers, especially if you're not a history major.

I can't praise Martha Yoder enough. So much to say about how nice and respectful this professor is that there's no way I could fit it into 350 characters. If you can get her, GET HER.

Professor Yoder is quite helpful in her office hours and is very forgiving with deadlines, but loose deadlines can be dangerous as every assignment can pile up if you slack off. That said, she was great at stimulating discussions and is passionate, and knowledgeable on American family. Her grading policy was relatively easy yet reasonable.

The most considerate person I have ever met. Professor Yoder was really nice and accommodating this semester when I had a class conflict with her office hours. Not only is she good at making the boring subject matter interesting, but she is also patient, caring, and approachable. Lots of work, but everything is graded fairly and mostly on effort.

Martha Yoder is an absolute gem of a professor, the most helpful CHC professor you'll ever have. She's so sweet and accommodating and cares greatly about her students, she doesn't believe in exams anymore, and she gives you all the resources for you to succeed in her class. So, the only one stopping you from doing well in her classes is you!

Martha Yoder is very sweet and caring and will help you out if you have anxiety. However, don't take 242H back-to-back with other classes, or you'll be drowned in too much readings and papers like before. 242H is also one of these classes with too many lengthy readings/films.

Such a sweet professor! Very clear and reasonable grading criteria, although two comment paper grades are dropped out of the 10 you write. To make things better, Martha Yoder grades more on the amount of effort you put in than the quality of your writing. Show up to class. She likes participation but won't push it if you're too uncomfortable.

If you're lucky enough to get American Family: A Historical Perspective with her, go for it. Not only does she have a lot of enthusiasm, but Martha Yoder is also a true gem when it comes to history professors. Her response times via email are usually within 24-48 hours, she's very caring and respectful, and her grading is always fair.

Martha Yoder is so nice! She's relatable and SO caring. I'm not the fastest reader, but I found the coursework to be completely manageable; she lets you do rewrites if you only submit fragments of your comment papers, and she really wants her students to succeed. Overall, I highly recommend taking a class with her if you're in CHC.

I would give Professor Yoder a 6/5 if I could. She cares greatly about her students, her classes are always universally acclaimed, she is super personable and someone you get to know, and she sets you up for success as long as you put in effort.

Martha Yoder is the sweetest professor I have ever met. Always cares about her students, I would take any class with this professor, especially 201H, if you want to learn a lot and get a decent grade. Also, her syllabus is organized, and American Family is the best class I've ever taken. Plus, lots of opportunities to connect and easy to reach.

Professor Yoder has been the most helpful professor I've had so far. Extremely humble and empathetic, great at communication (email replies were usually within 24-48 hours), was always willing to lend a helping hand and give good feedback on papers without being rude, and consistently made sure people worry less. If you can get her, GET HER.

Professor Yoder is great! I truly have no idea why someone would say they won't take her again or mark her down.

Professor Yoder is great and really cares about her students! She made sure the structure of her classes was as flexible as possible and always listened to her students when they were feeling overwhelmed. She has high expectations, but luckily that doesn't matter because she grades more on effort than the quality of your work (not a tough grader!).

Professor Yoder has high expectations as expected for an honors class, but she's a very sweet and emotionally caring professor who is amazing at driving discussions and will answer questions without making you look dumb. Her open-minded personality makes American Family a good class to take. Overall, I recommend 242H over the other history gen-eds.

Professor Yoder is super competent when it comes to running a class. She's knowledgeable and inspiring during discussions, and while the number of papers to write my seem overwhelming, it's more manageable because she gives lots of useful constructive feedback to help students revise them. Overall she's wonderful and 6/5 would recommend.

Professor Yoder is a saint. Not only is she good at making soul-sucking classes like American Family lively and engaging through selecting interesting films and readings, but she also cares so much about your success, your learning, and your well-being. She is so sweet and considerate, and I am way more confident in writing papers, thanks to her.

Martha Yoder is an absolute gem of a professor and a person. Structures and designs her classes so that every student in her class succeeds and learns a lot, especially those who are very slow readers. I'm not even kidding. Apart from that she's sweet, considerate, genuine, and a wonderful human being, and it was a pleasure to take her class.

If you see Martha Yoder's name, TAKE HER CLASS! Really kind and caring, clearly saw her students as people. Papers weren't graded harshly with lots of feedback given. Great at communication (response times were within 1-2 days), welcomed all opinions and frequently listened to her students. Unbelievably easy to do well, and participation matters.

If you're in CHC and have a choice for a history professor, take Professor Yoder. She was a fair professor who wanted her students to do well and frequently listened to any concerns her students had. On top of that, she welcomed multiple opinions in discussions and was relatable and caring. I'll definitely take classes with Professor Yoder again.

Professor Yoder really cares about the success of her students and definitely is one of the better professors that I have had at UMass so far.

Professor Yoder is a saint when it comes to listening to student concerns and working with students. Show her that you are willing to put in effort, and she will give you multiple opportunities for you to succeed in any class she touches.

Very nice and caring woman. Puts lots of effort to make sure that you thrive. Reach out to her, and she will help. I've never had a more respectful professor.

201H is a horrible class, but Professor Yoder makes up for it. She is a wonderful person who is even better at inciting discussions.

Yoder has an unmatched humility, and the whole spring she was respectful and considerate. Understood the workload of students, made herself accessible, and always cared about the well-being and success of her students. She has high expectations for the class, but as long as you put in good effort you should have no problem getting a high grade.

Such a sweet professor! Does not grade too harshly, very flexible when it comes to accessibility, super helpful both in office hours and via email, discussions are lively and class is an open and friendly environment, and she really just wants to see her students do well. If you love discussion-based classes, you will love Professor Yoder.

Wonderful professor who is very compassionate towards her students, HOWEVER she does assign plenty of work so make sure you don't wait to start her papers which usually range from 5-8 pages. It might be hard to balance if you have a lot of work from other classes so if your major is especially demanding maybe pick a different professor.

242H American Family Values with Professor Yoder was an enjoyable class. She is passionate about what she teaches and very understanding. There's a lot of reading material, which can really suck sometimes. About 10 informal papers, and 8 of the highest grades get counted. Overall, love the professor, love-hate relationship with the class.

Martha Yoder is a great professor who does expect a lot of outside work to be done. The class consists of group discussions as well as small group discussions. The homework is usually just to do assigned reading but only a few times do you need to turn anything in. You also have to write 3 big papers which count for the majority of your grade.

Prof. Yoder cares a lot about the material she's teaching, and really wants to see her students succeed. I cannot recommend her enough

Professor Yoder is a true blessing to UMass CHC. She's fair and approachable, and her number one priority is student success and learning. She's passionate about helping students in office hours. Respectful instructor and someone that I wish I could take more classes with. American Family is a great class, although it fills up quickly for a reason.

This is an honors course so the heavy workload was expected. A ton of reading but the subject material was interesting most of the time. Three total papers that serve as midterms and finals and you can rewrite the first two at any time throughout the semester to get a better grade. Very communicative, I enjoyed this class a lot.

Martha was super friendly and very accepting of any feedback given to her. The course was a lot of work, with assigned readings of 60+ pages and occasional films to prepare before discussion in class each week. We did 3 essays this semester so it was a lot of effort, but she gave solid feedback and really took the time to read through your work.

Professor Yoder seemed to assign more work than other 201H professors, but overall I liked her. Homeworks were a lot of work, sometimes over 100 pages of reading, and 3 essays composed 50% of your grade. I'd recommend that you always send her a draft of your essays-- she gives super helpful comments! Manageable class, reasonable professor.

This was a great class overall and I found Professor Yoder to be a very knowledgeable and passionate professor. However, it was a lot of work even for an honors class and although the various topics discussed were interesting, I didn't always understand how they were related to each other.

What an amazing professor. I am a very anxious person who is more of a listener than a speaker, which made this seminar stressful at first. But prof never forced me to speak, which made me naturally more comfortable with participating. Lots of reading!!, everyone has to lead a group discussion, and 3 major papers. Last units are most interesting.

This class is extremely reading- and paper-heavy (expect a paper every week or so), and you are expected to discuss the material at length in class. Prof Yoder makes the subject extremely interesting, but as a gen ed (I am a history major), I would say this class is quite difficult, though I'm glad I took it. Learned a lot.

Professor Yoder is a wonderful professor and is extremely knowledgeable. Her lectures are engaging and interesting. Very reading-heavy, but that's expected from an honors history class. Paper every week, but they're only 2-3 pages. Grading is fair and she's very helpful outside of class. Overall great class and professor.

Martha was a great teacher and made a class like 201H very enjoyable. There are 3 big papers and each person has to lead a discussion at some point in the semester. She does assign a lot of reading but you can easily get by without reading it all. She's incredibly nice and will always value your opinions no matter where they lie.

By far the best professor I have had at UMass. Professor Yoder is understanding, and knowledgeable, and provides relevant and fascinating readings and documentaries. I have learned more in this class than in any other class. There were three papers, you had to lead a discussion, and a few other small assignments along the way. Take this class!!

Her 201H was very difficult, but she is a great professor who assigns very useful readings and hosts good discussions.

Her 201H class is quite difficult, but it is a 200-level honors course so it is expected. Be ready to do lots of reading and discussions. The papers she assigns are fairly long, but she is a lenient grader (the grades I get on my papers are usually higher than I expected). My only critique is that she needs to improve her organization on Moodle

I LOVE PROF YODER. But holy was the class tough, but to be expected. In my experience, easier than AP Lang or AP Lit. Lots and lots and LOTS of reading. And you have to do it for daily class discussions. So sweet and caring. Love talking to her and hearing her opinions. Paper prompts were as interesting as she could make them. Hard but worth it!

Professor Yoder is a genuine and kind woman. She cares about her students and the subject matter and loves to offer her wealth of knowledge. There were a lot of papers (including a big final paper) to write, but the workload was reasonable and she doesn't grade them harshly at all; her feedback is always helpful. Overall, a very enjoyable class.

Professor Yoder is an incredible professor. She is kind, reasonable, and helpful to all students. Get ready to read a good amount, but the readings are all very engaging, and she's a great facilitator for class discussions. Compassionate, made herself extremely accessible, and encouraged a warm and welcoming work environment. 10/10 would recommend.

Martha is very nice but also assigns a lot of work. If you take 201H with her, be prepared to do a lot of reading. You also have to write 3 papers, lead a small 5-7 person discussion, and do a few small assignments, BUT she is a very easy grader. The work is tough but the grade outcome is worth it. Again, she is very nice and gives good feedback.

Professor Yoder is the best 201H teacher there is. Grades are based on 20% participation, 40% split between a few Essays, 15% on a group discussion lead, and the rest among smaller assignments. Attendance is mandatory as it's such a small class, however, it's very low stakes and you're just expected to contribute what you can. Yoder is fantastic.

Professor Yoder's 201H is no easy feat, but the effort pays off. The readings are demanding, but with tools like unstuck study, ChatGPT, and study groups, the workload becomes manageable. Yoder is an engaging instructor who values all perspectives.

Yoder is an extremely knowledgeable, engaging professor and uses various types of material including movies, essays, articles, book chapters, maps, sites, and interactive activities. She is well-prepared for class and mindful of the different ways students best succeed. While this class was a lot of work at times, it's amazing if you participate!

The professor is dedicated and truly cares about students. The class can provide thoughtful dialogue. But, there was just simply too much reading. Although this is a 200 level honors course, having to read 100+ pages for homework multiple times in short spans is inconsiderate. I would suggest taking this course if you have the proper schedule.

Professor Yoder is a truly wonderful person. She is kind, thoughtful, and helps students as much as they need. The course itself requires lots of reading, which is not her fault, and that's the only part of the class that I struggled with. Do your reading, go to class, and you will be set. She even lets you revise papers for better scores!

Great class and a great professor. She gives a TON of work but she is a great person and clearly cares about her students.

American Family with Professor Yoder was challenging and required proactive effort, but everyone in my class loved her for her excellent teaching and genuinely kind, open-minded personality in discussions. While the coursework demands dedication, her approachability, helpfulness, and engaging teaching make the experience totally worth it.

Professor Yoder transforms a heavy reading-heavy history class into an engaging, thought-provoking experience. She's kind, approachable, and genuinely invested in students' growth. With her honest, grounded guidance, papers and discussions (especially the final paper) become opportunities to learn, not just assignments to complete.

Professor Yoder's classes are rigorous but well-structured. She balances high expectations with kindness and encouragement, helping students thrive. Her thoughtful feedback, empathy, and genuine care make the workload meaningful rather than overwhelming.

Professor Yoder is a considerate and dedicated instructor. Her classes require effort and participation, but she provides the guidance and flexibility students need to succeed and learn. Her empathy and enthusiasm make even long readings and multiple papers worth it.

Professor Yoder makes you think critically but never overwhelms. Her feedback is honest, grounded, and thoughtful, her discussions lively, and her support genuine. Hard work in her class doesn't feel like a burden, rather it feels like progress under someone who truly cares about your success, learning, and well-being.