Michael Saler is a GOD

Gives study sheet for midterm and final; tough essays; overall good lecturer

Great class; Saler makes european history fascinating

Great class; review sessions are productive; essays are tough, but fair

Good class to take for the GE social sciences requirement

teriffic professor whom I recommend to all

explains the material quite well; tests are not so bad, review sheets are given

I will take some more of this guy's classes

His class is one of those where you get a real "UC" education

VEry kind professor who is patient; also very knowledgeable

i love this guy, best teacher here. makes school a great and amazing experience

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nice class to take for a GE; Saler is entertaining as well

I enjoyed his class--he uses big words for a change...definitely UC material. And he looks like Ross from ER.

Very interesting class; good teacher. Challenging yet accessible. Is very helpful during office hours. One of the best at UC.

Saler's enthusiasm for his subject is unmatched. He is an expert on european intellectual history and formats the class in such a way that the students can't help but be interested. He is definitely not an easy professor, but his reading list is amazing

He expects more than just regurgitation, but he's so up-front and clear about what he wants that you're basically handed a B; it's up to you from there. He is the absolute friendliest professor in the department.

Incredibly passionate and excited about the material. Presents it in a fun and interesting way. Tests would be very difficult if you weren't given a study sheet w/ the exact questions that would appear on the exams. Highly recommended. I learned a lot

Saler's extremely friendly in lecture and office hours. I'm a history major and I find the lecture and readings challenging. Showing up to class does not guarantee you a B-grade. I learned so much from this professor, though, and I highly recommend him.

The best history professor I have ever had

Very interesting class and excellent lecturer. The take home midterm for 147C was a bit sadistic though. But great class and interesting, albeit long and highly complex, reading list. Lectures clarify though. My favorite class and I'm not a history major.

Interesting lectures, fairly easy grader (but that 147c midterm was awful), nice guy. He's not my favorite, but I definitely recommend him & would take him again. If you don't like reading, don't take History classes.

Professor Saler is very helpful and engages the class with his lectures. He is very thorough, but sometimes overloads the lectures with details. He is very fair, but is relatively difficult. The midterm is all short answer/essay.

Think Ross from Friends.

Enthusiastic professor, interesting lectures. However, he assigns quiet a bit of work.

Extensive reading list, but really great texts. His lectures are dense, and the midterm was 2 6-8 page take home essays. He loves to teach and has a fun sense of humor. Reccomended for serious students and lovers of philosophy.

Have fun if you take it. Nice guy but extremely sporadic during lecture, difficult time finishing thoughts, which makes the class difficult. Tons of reading. Wish I never took it.

His lectures were very clear and helped me understand the texts. Lots of reading, but I'm glad these works were assigned. Pretty reasonable grader; he gives you study sheets for midterm and final. Great class!

He reminds me of Ross from Friends in many ways...the way he talks, lectures, dresses, and maybe even to the way he walks. As you probably guess, his class was quite boring with tons of reading. Final and midterm aren't so bad if you do all the reading.

Lectures are informative and funny. Reading is extensive, but extremely interesting. Only two tests to deal with, which perfectly offsets the reading. If one finds this class boring, they had better stay home and watch TeleTubbies instead.

Great lecturer. Nice sometimes, but many students afraid of him. Final extremely difficult & 60% of the grade, other 40% a v. confusing midterm. Refused to hold office hours during finals out of spite for students. Lots of interesting but dense reading. I don't think he likes teaching, but v. smart.

Pros: Very interesting lectures, never boring. The reviewer who said "I don't think he likes teaching" must be mistakenly rating the wrong professor.. Cons: Tons of reading, 12 page mid-term essay (very difficult). The TA's graded easy, however. I'd recommend Saler to anyone into intel. hist

Saler's classes are easily some of the best going on campus. This is precisely what going to college is about: big tests, great books, and a genuine feeling that you've learned something. Plenty of classes expect the bare minimum, and those are the ones you dump in the memory hole. Just Take it.

Prof. Saler is wonderful. The books that he puts on the reading list are so inspiring. His class taught me to look at life in new ways.

Mixed feelings: very insightful lectures. Course would be much improved if Prof. would consider a different method of grading; my experience in critical theory (a closely related discipline) suggests that it's better to write a series of response papers than regurgitating memorized info.

This class was very interesting and fun. Saler is a great professor who knows a lot about his discipline. The readings were all very interesting and his lectures were funny, insightful and provoking. Recommend to anyone interested in life and learning.

Prof. Saler is a great lecturer- very enthusiastic and interesting. He gave an excellent study guide for the midterm and actually GAVE us the final exam questions before hand. The paper is not very long and totally do-able. I did well in the class without doing most of the reading (but I did go to almost all the lectures). Interesting class.

He got me to appreciate poetry and literature more than I did before so I guess he did his job. It's funny to see him take an extreme stance when discussing the meaning of works. I'm certain at any given time he promoted misogony anti-semitism and fascism (playing devil's advocate of course). I'm still bummed I bombed the final and got a B though.

Explains everything in detail. Really passionate about all the "dead" philosopher and the "live" ones as well. Start working on papers early, he will help you and guide you along. Visit office hours and keep in touch with the TA he will help you too. Don't forget to read. DO NOT WALK OUT DURING HIS LECTURE!!! He takes it personally.

Probably the best lower division class I've taken here. He conveys the subject matter extremely well and in an interesting, easy to follow way. He's extremely intellectual and witty, which I absolutely enjoyed. He makes fun of people when they walk out, so don't do that. Highly Recommend this guy, but he can be pretty tough.

EXCELLENT PROFESSOR! He takes a very difficult subject and makes it interesting and understandable. I would encourage anyone to take his class! Paper assignment was creative and straightforward. Tests were fair.

One of the best classes I've taken at Davis. Saler is an amazing orator. The reading assignments are lengthy, and the essays dabble in difficult concepts. But if you attend Saler's lectures, both the exams and the papers are a breeze. Be prepared to learn about Saler's politics; he incorporates his leftist convictions into lectures.

by far the BEST option for this course. No matter what history 4c course you are taking you will have to read around 8 books (including or in addition to the textbook). He gives you about 30 ID's and 3 essays before the MT/Final and he picks some of them to test you on. FANTASTIC professor, incorporates every aspect of history (particularly art)

Hands down the best history prof. I have ever taken. Incredibly good at cross-referencing, explaining abstract concepts, and keeping your attention. Had no idea intellectual history could be so fasinating! TAKE SALER if you have the option.

One of the best history professors in the history department. Lectures never put me to sleep unless I was already tired in the first place. Best of all, he took a really boring subject (Intellectual history) and made it really interesting!!

Saler is one of the best profs. in the History department. Wonderful lecturer who explained challenging concepts well. Tests were hard insofar that if you did not do the readings then you'd be screwed. Moreover, wonderful class and wonderful prof. However, challenging nonetheless. Do not slack off - it will hurt you dearly.

Very college like class. puts up bullet points, writes down a few words, but that's about it so this is definitely not a class to sleep through. Seems a bit overwhelming considering how much he covers, but if you keep up with the outside readings then essays aren't too difficult. Form a study group for the midterms/final and it won't be bad at all

Professor Saler is great lecturer. He puts just enough into his outlines so that you can follow his main points, but mostly you just have to pay attention to him. He has an engaging style, though, so usually this isn't difficult. He assigns a lot of reading but, frankly, you can get away with doing all of it.

His lectures are interesting and he answers the questions well. Grading is different. The grade is based on midterm, final, and a term paper. You do not get the midterm till almost the last week, and you get the term paper back on the day of the final so there is no way to know how you are doing till the end of the course. Way too hard.

This class is a challenge, but Prof. Saler is fantastic. Midterm, one term paper, and a final. He gives you study guides so you know EXACTLY what is on the exam. A great class if you're interested in psychology, art history, and symbolic literature. Lectures are sometimes hard to follow, but he clarifies if you ask. Overall a fun class!

Saler is my favorite history professor at Davis. He is brilliant and funny and overall a great lecturer. He is great at picking the most interesting parts of the material to discuss and his tests are graded very fairly. If you can answer mid-term/final questions using actual sentences he used in class you're golden. Great class.

Professor Saler is awesome! He keeps lectures fun and interesting and is very passionate about history!

Saler was an awesome professor. Made the information extremely interesting. Reader graded more difficultly than he did, but make sure to attend lecture. His points are easily reincorporated into the papers you write. Take Saler, he's super smart and interesting!

He's an amazing lecturer who knows his stuff and makes it interesting. That being said, the class is all papers (and essays for the final) and the reader was far stricter. He's helpful during office hours. There's a lot of reading, but he gives you a study guide for the final. I'd recommend him, just be prepared to work hard.

I really loved the way he lectured. Very captivating and he really knew his stuff. Interesting class. A lot of reading, but interesting stuff. I thought I was going to get a worse grade but I ended up getting an A. Definitely recommended :)

He's a brilliant instructor, but his grading (or maybe his TA's) is rather harsh. Study a lot, do all the readings, go to class, and you should be fine. His class is a lot of work, but it was interesting and I learned a lot. His sense of humor is unique, but very funny.

Great professor! Very clear lectures, and I loved the way we read literature that went along with the time period we were studying. It is a lot of work to get a good grade, so make sure to study a lot before the exams, and to spend a lot of time on the essays. Participate in lectures and do well on quizzes, because they can be huge grade boosters.

professor saler was very engaging and passionate about what he was talking about. he was considerate about the students' concerns. there was way too much reading, but the class was manageable. the class was interesting, and saler is brilliant. he really made his4c an interesting class. he talks fast though, so don't doze off or you'll miss things.

I absolutely love this class... I am a total history nerd but even if I wasn't this would still be my most interesting, mental challenging courses. Saler is hilarious and you get to learn random cool history facts at the same time. It it a challenging course but part of the midterm is like an AP Euro FRQ. Saler is the best.

Any history student at Davis needs to take a class with Saler. He's such a great lecturer and he teaches cultural history, so it's not just about dates and events. His paper topics are hard, but they really prompt you to think and really apply what was learned in class. He's extremely approachable and easy to talk to during office hours.

Saler is a very engaging lecturer, but he speaks very quickly so you have to pay close attention. Grade was based on 2 essays, 1 midterm, 1 final, and online textbook quizes. He gave a very generous study guide for the exams, which are bluebook. The class involves LOTS of reading, around 5 books plus the textbook--so be prepared to read.

Prof. Saler is the best lecturer I've had at UCD. He has genuine passion for intellectual history and does an amazing job conveying the information. His lectures are very old school but very effective. I could listen to him talk about Hegel for hours! Reading is heavy and the grader you get will determine the overall difficulty of the class.

The workload is intensive, but I got a lot out of this class. The lectures are really intriguing but there is a lot packed into each one, so don't hesitate to stop by his office hours to flesh out ideas. The reading and lecture material was engrossing, and Professor Saler himself is very personable and talkative. Highly recommend.

His lectures are interesting and you have to attend them to understand what's going on in the class. Your grade pretty much depends on your TAs though because they will be grading your papers and exams.

What people say about inspirational speakers is definitely true of professor Saler. His lectures just hooked me in. They are definitely heavy, and he goes through multiple points in one session, but they are extremely interesting. He is very responsive to emails and is always attentive during his OHs. I would definitely recommend him.

He's an amazing lecturer. Incredibly intelligent and insightful, very accessible and caring. The class was difficult, though. We read a lot of really dense material. Lots of novels. Lectures can feel a tad long some days, but overall he's a great professor. It's just a lot of work. Essay prompts are really broad, but he gives you a study guide.

Took Michael Saler in Fall 2017 for HIS 4C. He was a good lecturer and most of it went over the readings from the textbook. You can pass the class if you read or go to lecture. Weekly quizzes based on readings, essays based on novels assigned and connecting them to certain topics on the class. Easy if you put in the work.

Really a fantastic professor. An expert on cultural and artistic history, and gives inspiring lectures. Probably the most reading I've done for an undergrad course, but the material is so edifying that I didn't even mind. Prompts are difficult but take good notes and go to lecture and you'll get an A. Funny and accessible outside of class.

I absolutely loved this class with Prof. Saler. His lectures have a lot of passion and energy behind them and the material seemed very relevant despite being a history class. He prepared us well for the exams, which were done via blue book and were generally in an ID/short essay format. Tons of reading, but it was all interesting in some way.

Extremely knowledgeable in artistic and intellectual history. Highly recommend taking his courses if you want to challenge yourself and learn more about philosophy. There's a lot of reading but all the books are interesting and highly relevant for the time period he covers.

Professor Saler is an amazing professor. He took time to discuss readings with me outside of class and cares about his students. Really great lectures, but they are detailed so take good notes. Grading was very fair.

Michael Saler was a funny, interesting lecturer. Some of the readings and essay assignments were challenging, but he was available outside of class to discuss them. The reading load was heavy but manageable and grading was fair.