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really helpful, will read over papers. knows a lot and makes it interesting with overheads. :)

He had a way of making the work seem "do-able" and the class was very relaxed, I learned a lot and he was very helpful!

Norm is awesome, a bit unorganized, but his use of multimedia really makes the subject matter interesting

Norm is a great prof. If you attend classes and take half decent notes this course is a breeze. There is only one essay however his TA that does the marking does not give high marks

Unorganized? Yes. But, once you get past that you'll discover that Norm is not only an incredibly helpful prof (will read over your essays, help you formulate thesis' etc..) but also, that he is an extremely fair and easy marker. Not many History professors give out A+, Norm does.

Really great guy. Makes a point to learn his students' names and tries to identify with everybody. A bit disorganized, but is a compelling lecturer. Really enjoyable class.

LOVED norm. yeah he's a bit unorganized but he's hilarious and very approachable. Class was never dull and he knows what he's talking about.

Norm's a great prof who's major attraction is that he's way younger then most hist prof's and has yet to have his sense of humour surgically removed and replaced by the slender pole up his nether regions which seems to be a requirement of the profession. Any he isn't disorganized, he's just likes to keep thing fun. Go to class and you'll do fine.

Norm is an awesome teacher. He likes to go off on random tangents when teaching, but it makes for a very funny and interesting class. Very approachable and willing to talk after class or at his office if you need help. Exams were awesome, questions came right from lecture so all you have to do is go and take notes.

Norm is a great prof. He will go out of his way to help you succeed. I learned lots in this class. Norm has a unique, friendly, yet professional approach to his classes which works very well. I would recommend this class to anyone. Norm expects a reasonable amount of work. Students can get good marks if they apply themselves.

Awesome class, awesome teacher. If you have the chance take a class with Norm at UVic! I am a 4th year History major so I know my stuff and Norm is the man.

LOVE NORM. pretty much my favourite professor EVER. A little disorganized but still definitely a great class!

I loved this guy. He was totally funny and laid back. Everything he gave us to read was relevant and help us shape awesome essays. I'd take another class with him in a sec.

All you need to do is ask and he will be a great help

Norm is an excellent prof.He may be completely disorganized but as long as you show up for class you and take good notes you will do fine!He really enjoys what he does and is very passionate about history.If you need extra help he is willing to spend the time.very good at going over papers and tests if you need that to.I would take his class again!

Great guy, classes are fun and if you pay any attention very doable. Always looking to help and if you have any problems he's quick to respond. Have had a couple courses with him and would happily take another.

Great guy, knows his stuff for sure. Computer/Youtube challenged, but manages to provide effective visual aides (youtube videos) to compliment his lectures. Midterms/Exam 100% lecture based. Approachable and friendly, and always willing to help/go over anything you may have questions about. Very apprecative and respectful of student questions/input

Norm was a fantastic prof. He is so disorganized and rambles on with his terrible jokes but at the end of the day he knows his stuff and as long as you take notes and study his slides you will be fine. He is really helpful when you ask him outside of class and will often take you on a walk while he gets coffee to answer your questions haha

Great Professor kept what I thought was supposed to be a boring class interesting. It has made me continue taking history courses and consider minoring in the field

Great prof - absolutely hilarious! The last comment was clearly some embittered failure at History. Hist 318 was easy and fun, I got an A+ in it! Definitely recommend Norm to anyone.

Norm really cares to get to know his students. I found his use of visual aides help tremendously with my enjoyment of learning and retention. Really enjoyed his lectures, though he gets side-tracked once in a while, he keeps it interesting.

Great course. Fennema found the right balance between fun and serious history that a 3.5 week summer class needs. The readings are mandatory, but interesting. Attendance is highly recommended, because he teaches from his lectures. If you aren't good at understanding spoken English, you might not do so well in this one. All around quality prof.

Norm is awesome! I'm registering in any course he teaches from now on. Easy grade, but learned a ton. Love his hilarious lectures, he keeps things interesting. Fair marker, and will give you a ton of help if you go ask. Best prof!

This is the second course I have had with Norm. By far the best Prof ive had at university. His lectures are relatively organized, and incredibly FUN! His jokes are great and his stories about his kids are just priceless. Overall i would recommend this prof to anyone wanting to learn about WW2/20th century history. You will NOT regret it!

Best professor I've ever had!! He's hilarious. I'm taking my third class with Norm this semester. I signed up for this class based mainly on the fact that it was him teaching not so much the course itself. He has all his readings for this course online, which is awesome because you don't spend any money on books. Can't say enough good about him

Go to class and you will succeed; all of the exams are based on his lectures. He makes the lectures interesting too! Lots of jokes, funny guy! Very helpful with everything. Fairly disorganized, though he's getting better. Make sure you wear a watch in his class too, he doesn't keep track of time.

Fennema is a champion. He loves his subject, makes class very engaging, and supplements the essential historical framework with a ton of interesting stories and jokes. That being said, he's chronically disorganized, especially in his lecturing. Still, if you enjoy the subject, I can't recommend him enough.

Great Prof, I love attending class, I just wish he would write out names sometimes and allows us to ask more questions during lectures considering the small class size

Amazing prof! I'm so glad I found him in first year so I can take as many classes as I can. Fun, interesting lectures, easy midterms/final (I doubt I'll get another 102% on a midterm), essays are a little tough, but it was my first in university so I had a lot to learn. Great Prof! Highly Recommend!

He is very disorganized with his notes and lectures but is a fun guy. Don't ever miss a lecture, all his test material comes from them. Really easy going with assignments and due dates. Will let you defend your marks if you think something was unfairly marked. Hilarious, every class was a good one.

Norm is a great prof- total opposite of the other regularly boring history profs. He genuinely knows everything there is to know about his subject, and it shows in his lectures- which seem to be completely from memory! The only problem is note taking is very fast paced- power points are only just pictures to go along with his lectures.

African American history- Great class, great prof. Always had fun and If you study it's an easy A. Those complaining probably didn't do well. Take his class!

Prof Fennema would be the perfect prof if he took a public speaking class. After a semester of awkward pacing, mumbling, and scalp rubbing, sitting through his lecture became painful. He is a treasure trove of information, but his lectures are disorganized, and scattered. Even though he is a nice guy, I can't bear to take another class with him.

Very knowledgeable and interesting professor, always willing to help. Power points are mostly pictures and exams are all from lecture so attendance is a must. Midterm was basic and easy, final was a lot harder.

amazing

Norm is one of my favourite profs at UVic. Although his lectures are a little disorganized, his expectations are very clear. His exams are straightforward, and there are never any surprises. He made a 3 hour lecture on a Monday night actually enjoyable. Hilarious sense of humour as well!

Lovely guy, but I'm never taking another class with him. I found it very difficult to pull what was important out of his lectures, he's very disorganized and tangential. His midterm spanked me hard. Obviously others have had a different experience, and his lectures were very interesting but never again!!

Norm is by far the best prof in the history department at UVic. This is a university course, don't expect to do well if you do not attend lectures. Norm's passion and knowledge for American history shines in his lectures. If you want to do well, take good notes and study his outlines- simple as that. This class was a highlight of my uni experience!

Norm is pretty disorganized but he's super passionate about teaching! Awesome prof, but be prepared to study and work hard!

What can I say? This guy is THE MAN. So upset I discovered him in my last year, would have loved to take all of his courses. He's incredibly knowledgable, basically teaches off the top of his head, and has an amazing ability to parse through huge amounts of information and synthesize it into a teachable and valuable lesson. Best in the department.

One of my favourite profs at Uvic. Absolutely hilarious guy too. Be prepared to read, as you have shorts notes to write each week.

Had Norm for the 3 310-series classes he teaches. One of the best profs at UVic hands down. Fantastic lecturer... he does go off on tangents, but use the note slides and you'll be fine for the exams. His workload varies in each class (310A has a lot of reading), but you'll always feel like you learned something. Hilarious, great guy!

Best history prof at UVIC. His tests, papers, and reading summaries are all marked reasonably. Lots of reading to do and small assignments every week but his lectures make up for it. He's a really nice guy and he makes you want to go to class. Would highly recommend.

Norm is a great guy! His lectures are a bit unorganized and he tends to ramble then try to finish his lecture in the remaining minutes. But - he is a really nice guy and is willing to explain and give extra help in his office hours. I always laughed when going to class! Tests are so tough! If he gives the option do the essay over the midterm!

Norm is hilarious! A bit scatter brained but will always make the class laugh. He truly cares! His powerpoints are the bare points for him to do his lecture so make sure you go to class to get all the information.

Bonus marks for writing a joke on the tests. Completion marks based assignments. Tested on things only discussed in class. A list of movies given to watch. Most informative prof I had all year. What isn't to love? If Norm teaches your class, hands down pick him every time. What a beauty.

Classes are always entertaining, and exams are fair and usually on the easier side. Definitely would recommend taking a class with Norm to anyone willing to attend the lectures.

Norm is amazing. He's my favourite prof. I've taken two classes with him and will be taking a third next semester (HSTR230A, CS102, HSTR310D). His lectures are disorganised and there are no notes to help you if you miss class. If you miss a lecture you're screwed for that content, however, he's always willing to help people who want to learn.

Absolutely tremendous prof. Take a course with Norm and you won't regret it.

This was a summer class where about half of it was watching films, so it was pretty straightforward. Norm made the class fun and interesting. He's a funny and interesting lecture. You had the option between the midterm and the essay, which I loved. Long readings, but you only had to do one page summaries on them. Overall a great and easy prof.

I really valued Dr. Fennema's continued commitment to encouraging his students, including in taking utmost care to provide detailed, supportive constructive feedback. He marks assignments promptly, and always provides helpful insight of the topic. As a student, you constantly feel that Dr. Fennema is cheering you on. Highly recommend!

Norm is one of my favourite prof's at UVIC! His discussions are easy and requires usually 2 summaries a week for discussion but are a pass/fail system on the summaries (usually a pass). The tests are simple and his lectures and info slides are great study guides. If you get to know Norm, you'll have a great time and do well!

Norm is consitantly the most caring and genuine prof Ive had at UVIC. Attendance is 100% necessary in order to do well, but going to class is hardly a chore. Would certainly recommend taking any of his courses.

his quizzes are an easy A

Best proff I've had at Uvic. Extremely caring guy, extremely funny, extremely easy course. Would 100% recommend him and hope to take classes with him again.

Norm is probably the best most easy going proff i've had at UVIC! Easy marks, fun class and very understanding guy. I know he sets up his classes the same so all should be just as easy! Best proff ever.

Great guy

Took Canadian studies online as a pre-req, and overall had a good experience. His weekly discussions force you to stay on task. Genuinely seems to care about his student success. Marks assignments fair, but on the more difficult side. Offers clarification upon request.

Fennema was amazing this semester. His lectures were sometimes hard to follow cause he can get off topic but he really tries to engage with each student and make the class materials accessible for everyone. I'm taking his sports history class just because hes teaching it. SUPER kind teacher, great guy

Can go off topic quite a lot but he's super funny and his notes were very straight forward but prepare to rewrite them out of class as his lectures could be a bit confusing with his distractions. Exams were easy. Textbook was a waste of money so don't bother buying it.

TAKE HIS CLASS. I took this as just a credit, never wrote a history paper before. Norm is great, no tricks to his class but show up to the lectures and take notes because he does not post. I took this class to get a solid mark, could have done better if I put in some time but happy with what I got for the work I did!

Norm is a legend and if you attend class and take half decent notes you will get a good grade, he makes super fair tests and quizzes too.

Norm (as he prefers to be called) is a hilarious prof, who made lectures really fun to attend. I normally hate discussions but even those were enjoyable in his class (no TA staring you down). Also extremely accessible at all times. But rambling lectures and little feedback throughout the course lead to an enjoyable but somewhat useless experience.

A caring prof that makes the class interesting. Final exam a bit harder than expected but put in the time and he marks fairly. His essays are marked a bit harder than normal for the amount of time you put in. I think his TA needs a slap to be fair, he deducted marks because I put a period after a citation.

Norm is a real gem. Goes above and beyond for his students.

Lots of LOLs in his email replies, quick to respond with real advice, fair but hard marker, intelligent and inspiring. Great course for enviro education!

Heavy reading and a lack of instruction , very hard marker more like an english class than anything else. Awful

Norm is one of the best profs I've had. Gives very engaging lectures, is super approachable and shows a real care for his students. Always take his class if you can.

Norm is a great prof. I think his lectures are a bit tough though because there is little to no information on the board, instead he just expects you to write down what he says. His TA on the other hand is not so great, and is a harsh marker. Most people had to get there test "re-graded" because the TA marked correct questions wrong.

Norm! what a beauty. Perhaps the funniest prof I have encountered. If you enjoy low quality dad jokes and puny one liners this is your prof. If you show up early to class you are treated to hear some of banging tunes courtesy of his personal playlist. He delivers quality lectures with enthusiasm and charisma. The term paper is clear as day.

Norm is a quality prof. He is critical & engaging. He created audio PowerPoints instead of videos. This made taking lectures notes easy. The course functioned well and any naysayers likely did not read the syllabus. He provides lots of feed back on assignments. My only beef if that his comments on assignments can seem kind of mean.

Norm was a great prof to have for an asynchronous class. Gave solid feedback on assignments and papers, but it is a heavy course load with LOTS of reading. His classes are discussion board format, so if you're anxious about online participation I'd recommend taking his class.

Learned a lot from his lectures and really enjoyed the content in this class! The weekly reading summaries were kind of a drag though, but not horrible. I would recommend this class

On the whole, I am willing to give Norm Fennema a 10/10. We have had several virtual office hours sessions, during which he would properly answer questions and clarify aspects of the course. One some occasions, he also exchanged some jokes. So, the professor has a good sense of humor. One significant area of improvement is communication.

Norm is very amicable and makes sure that his students know that he is there to help if need be. However, he puts minimal words on his slides and rambles at a million words per minute so be sure to go to class. Weekly readings are always way too long and Friday discussions are mandatory. Bonus marks on exams for jokes. Good guy, not the best prof.

Norm is clearly passionate about teaching. He is funny, charismatic, and cares about his students. His lectures, however, can be difficult due to the lack of information on his slides. He also did not record any lectures so one would have to catch up if a lecture was missed. Expect a midterm, a final, and a major paper worth 40%.

I learned a lot from Norm's lectures and always enjoyed his lecture style. A very funny prof, and he gives extra credit for history jokes on his exams. Readings were heavy for weekly discussions, but were usually interesting.

Honestly, love Norm. He teaches history in really interesting ways and gives us perspectives I hadn't thought about, at least in this course. Is he a little bit scatterbrained? Oh yeah for sure, but you'll do fine if you take good notes. He does have a lot of tiny assignments though so be aware of that if you have a busy semester already.

Norm is a super fun professor. The course was completely asynchronous which was amazing. The movie selection wasn't my personal taste, but it provides an interesting perspective of American history. The assignments were super simple (forum posts, midterm OR paper, reading notes, final exam which isn't cumulative. Great course, easy yet interesting.

Prof. Fennema is very fun and enthusiastic professor who makes a good balance a lectures and group participation with the courses' content. We did quite a bit of reading, and he did an effective job with making the subject very intriguing stuff, much more so than I had anticipated. Definitely want to take another course of his.

Norm is a great guy, knowledgeable on the history of sports, and genuinely makes an effort to make the lectures as entertaining as possible while also keeping the course load light. If you like hockey, or Canadian sports in general, this is a great elective and the Prof makes the course for sure.

Really liked the course structure and enjoyed his lectures. He makes an effort to make the lectures engaging by making jokes and being enthusiastic. This class became one of my favourite electives, I found the topics quite interesting.

Norm is easily one of my favorite profs. He was hilarious, and his lectures were always interesting. He talks pretty fast and has few notes on his slides, so make sure you write down a lot during class. The readings were a little heavy, but they are easy reads and usually interesting. You get 10% just for showing up to class. Highly recommend!

Norm is excellent at teaching World War 2. He is clearly very passionate and knowledgable on what he is talking about. His lectures are entertaining and very interesting. There is a textbook that he says you have to read but I did not and it was not needed. Attendance became kinda mandatory halfway through the semester and is worth 5%. Best class!

Apart from the large amount of reading, Professor Fennemas class was pretty enjoyable. It was a summer class for international students planning on attending Uvic in the fall.

I LOVED NORM. This man cares about his students and the topics he teaches. He's engaging, funny, and best of all, fair. I would absolutely take his course again.

Norm's CS102 is a challenging course, but engaging lectures and unstuck study make it manageable. The workload is hefty, but the professor is approachable and cares about student success.

Probably one of my favourite profs so far. Funny and a nice guy. He's pretty into WW2 as well which makes the class enjoyable and more interesting. I will say his slides are bit unorganized but it's not as bad as some people say they are, as long as you know how to take good notes you'll be fine.

With this being an online course, there isn't a whole lot to say. The lectures are pretty outdated and need some fixing, but other than that, it was straight forward. Quizzes, two midterms, and a final exam.

I found Norman to be a really helpful and pleasant prof. He responds promptly to emails and he seems like a nice man.

His lectures are really engaging and interesting to listen to, but make sure to listen carefully because most of his exam questions are based on what he says in lecture. Definitely a lot of reading involved in the course as well, which is tested. Overall, I really enjoyed Norm as a professor and would definitely recommend taking one of his classes!

He was funny and nice. slides were confusing sometimes but midterm was fair and he gave flashcards to help us with the content. final is online, should be chill.