2.2
Quality4.1
Difficulty11%
Would Retake95
Reviews11%
Would Retake
95
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
10
4
11
3
15
2
19
1
40
What Students Say
“DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS”
HIST101 - 3.0 rating“Terrible teacher and terrible class”
HIST101 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
94%
Textbook Required
50%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.35 avg changeRatings by Course
HIST282
5.0
(1)HIST211
3.2
(9)COLONIALNA
3.0
(1)HIST101
2.6
(38)HIST201
2.5
(11)Difficulty by Course
HISTORY000
5.0
HIST150
4.8
HIST201
4.4
AIID101
4.0
HIST282
4.0
Reviews (95)
No Comments
Pretty liad back and easy. You just sit there, write a few notes, discuss things and thats all. He gave 2 papers 1 midterm and 1 final. Attendance isnt that important. But he discusses After the Fact way to much. My suggestion, DO NOT take a early morning class with him. He'll put you right to sleep.
The first day of class I thought "this guy is gonna suck." After a few classes, it turned out I was wrong. Professor Atkinson is mad chill. He's VERY helpful, always answers emails (and quickly), and really does care about your progress. Workload is pretty average I'd say, and he's a fairly easy grader if you show some effort. Give him a shot.
Great professor - had him for two classes this semester and loved them both. He gives A LOT of reading, so be aware of that if you don't want to keep up with much work. He really knows and loves history. His teaching style allows the students to pretty much run the class as they want. Definitely take him if you're an early American history major.
Assigns a lot of reading! I definitely think that the class could have been better off with less reading that everyone could actually take in and have an interesting discussion about. Nonetheless, with Atkinson you actually feel like your taking a college class... unlike many of the adjuncts at the school who are obviously just there for a check.
At first I really did not like him and was very stressed out by the workload, but as the class progressed I became a little more relaxed. Know that his expectations are high and there is a LOT of reading, more reading than is actually possible for a normal person.There are only two tests and two papers and if you put in the effort it is do-able.
worse ever do not take him he's not helpful at all
I hate history, and this filled a requirement, but it was only bearable because the teacher is helpful and passionate. There is heavy reading which you must do to pass. Put in the work and you'll get a good grade.
Do not take. Coming from a B + student. History is my best subject. Never failed a class in my life. This man failed me after i went to every class, participation high, work ethic even higher. I went to him for help on a 30% grade paper. He steered me in the complete opposite direction, was almost annoyed at my appearance. Worst teacher I ever had.
Ok; I am taking historiography because I have to. I have never taken a class with this professor yet, so I figured I'd give him a shot. Worst decision ever. The final essay is a special format and explained VERY poorly. He is no help at all in clarifying. I will never take a class with him again, and I regret giving him a chance to begin with.
Atkinson is the worst professor I have ever had. Although I did learn from him, he is a nasty grader when it comes to papers and he does not know how to explain what he does want. I wish people in charge would look at ratemyprofessor before hiring him. I'm not the only one who feels this way apparently!
Not only does this creep not explain the requirements for the paper. But, once the papers are handed back he adds extra requirements and takes points off...how the heck are we supposed to know that?! Does he think a bunch of college students can be mind readers?! What an awful experience.
Had him for historiography and had a horrible expereince with this guy. The class is a requirement for me and I had no clue what i was in for. he is so boring and is awful at explaining what he wants on papers, which are 60% of the overall grade. He is a harsh grader, a lazy grader, and doesnt really care about his students. Avoid him at all costs!
I honestly don't understand why so many people didn't like his class. He isn't the best lecturer I've had at Ramapo, but he's far from the worst. The papers and tests were pretty reasonable as long as you put some effort into them and studied. Overall, I didn't find it very difficult.
I know students find him unhelpful and indirect, but that was not my experience. I had him for Colonial North America and not only is he enthusiastic about his subjects, but he teaches you a lot about it. He is a difficult grader when it comes to papers. There is a lot of reading and you have to stay on top of it because it all counts.
Took him for US history I. He might be tough for historiography but he gives a fair work load for his 101 courses. Helpful with paper if you ask and has farely basic midte and final- a lot of memorization but not too crazy about dates. Great professor.
he sucks. i had him for my first year seminar. he doesn't explain anything well. hes a hard grader when it comes to papers and when you ask for advice he doesn't help.
He's probably the smartest or second most knowledgeable history teacher I've had there. (Carter Meyer being the smartest) He's a nice guy as he tolerates disruptive and annoying students.He's a tough grader on papers, and sometimes forgets that his students aren't nearly as smart as him and he can come off as condescending & unhelpful w/ papers.
I had Roark for Colonial North America, he's a pretty awesome guy. He gives a lot of readings, but it's expected in a history class. Also, he gives out questions each class, & you generally work with a partner, but he grades tough on papers. He's a great professor & very passionate about his job. Overall, awesome Prof to have!
Very passionate and made me actually interested in the topic. Class was Colonial Latin America. Really liked him and he was very helpful.
Great Professor. Only tests on notes. If you come to class and participate it is impossible to fail.
Very knowledgeable but very selective. Went over the American Revolution in 5 minutes but will spend an hour on puritans. I found him to be a tad stubborn, he is always right even when he is wrong. Aside from that he is nice and knows his history very well. Workload is ok; reading intensive and he's a prick grader.
really great guy. truly knowledgable about history and humble regarding his Ph.D. Show up to lecture and take cornell style notes. lectures get boring sometimes but you don't have to read the textbook. really tough grader on papers but if you go to his office hours you're guaranteed to do well.
Nice guy and he knows his stuff. Easy grader on essays. There are only two of them - i whipped them up the night before and got 100 on both. conversational lectures, so it's not too boring. i'd reccomend him if you have to take history for gen. ed.
Have him for US I. Not a bad professor. Workload is above average but readings are 50-200 pgs. every week, with two papers each 4-5 pgs. based on them. First paper 10% and the second 30%. Midterm and final work the same way, 10 and 30%, respectively. If you do the readings you are guaranteed to do well.
Roark is actually a fine professor so far! It is reading intensive, but he gives questions and you work in groups. Midterm and final are all essays, but he reviews before. I do not understand where the negative ratings came from. If you aare majoring in history take him.
This is an amazing professor. His lectures are not so boring and he gives questions each week on the readings. I bombed the midterm since I was screwd but he will help you. He is a fair grader on papers but tough on the midterm and final. Take Roark for US 1.
US 1. Weekly questions on the readings come in handy for the two papers and two exams. Does not really explain anything well when it comes to papers but is willing to help. His lectures are actually not boring. I hate history and might fail him but I honestly enjoyed his class. Highly recommended for history majors.
GREAT professor. I took him for US 1 and it was so much fun. I hated history before but he made lectures interesting. I may fail the class but I learned A LOT from him. He responds to e-mails VERY QUICKLY! Tough grader on assignments but is willing to help and he REALLY DOES care about his students. Take him! You will LEARN.
Ugh... His grading on papers is so difficult. He is so strict. And if you bring your paper in he will not help at all. His midterm wasn't bad, he let you have a sheet you brought it. But honestly not worth it
If you can avoid him do it. Really smart man but that does not make him a good teacher. I have him for historiography (boring subject to begin with) but he makes it so much worse. He doesn't actually explain his assignments. He tells you to email him and he will answer your questions but he doesn't always respond. Will not take him again.
For an intro class you take it easy, but if you stay dedicated visit him frequently and know him on a personal level he is very easy to follow. I fell asleep in class often as I sat in the front row and he still warmly received me overtime because he knew me on a personal level. You may not be me, but if you work for the grade it will come.
It's not easy, but don't get too worked up-it's not that bad. His biggest problem is he is not that clear on what he wants, but he is very willing to help if you ask him. His quizzes are based off of readings, so do the reading (it sucks, I know). His grading isn't that bad, just make sure you put effort into it. The class is pretty dull,but its ok
He is so boring. All he does is lecture in a monotone voice. I am a lover of history, and I hated this class. Ended up dropping and retaking with a different professor because he was so bad. I already knew all the material, but I thought I'd die of boredom in this class. Easy to doze off and lose interest. Take someone else!
He's a nice guy. He acknowledges that historiography is a pretty boring concept, but as long as you keep up with the readings and papers, you should be fine. The first half of the semester wasn't too bad, but towards the end of the semester, there were many presentations and essays due. Also, he is not clear about assignments.
Had him for History and the lecture was long. He's really boring and all he does is talk for 2 hours. Monotoned voice and hard to stay awake in class. He's easy going but its a lot of reading.
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS... I am a very good student, and work hard for my grades but received a C and B- on my papers. After being absolutely stunned to get a C on my paper I reached out for help on the next paper. After working together and going to office hours three times you would think I would at least get a B+, think again I got a flat 80.
Extremely difficult class for an intro level. I do not recommend taking this class as an elective or at all if you can avoid it. He grades on aspects that are not related to history and is kind of disorganized when it comes to attendance. He seems to get defensive if you try to talk to him about grades also. He is not easy to talk to about anything
Terrible teacher and terrible class. His material is very dry and he makes the classes awkward . It'll def make you reconsider being a history major to avoid his classes. He never takes attendance and just passes around a paper that can easily skip you esp if your presenting. and he grades paper differently depending on who you are/ he likes
I just realized I am not the only student to have had issues with this teacher. I was told he failed a lot of people including me and I wasn't the only one he gave bad extra "help" to. He almost wants the class to fail I feel because he doesn't explain things well. Don't take this teacher, you will be upset with your grade and regret this gen ed
Signed up for his class and dropped it instantly after my friend told me not to take him. Says he's misleading on everything and does a lot to make it look like he's helping on paper but in practice he just complains about you inconveniencing him and no matter how much you think you're doing right you're 100% wrong and will end up failing the class
Regretting immensely taking his class . Led me to think it was an easy class until it was too late to drop without failing the class. Is very condescending when it comes to almost everything
His classes are very difficult to handle. Not because of the course material but because the teacher is not very clear and unless he knows your a history major he doesn't give you help. He'll make you nervous during presentations also, it's hard to explain. I don't recommend waiting to find out
It's definitely not an "easy A", requires a lot of attention in class, heavy notetaking and studying. Lectures are veryyyy long. Grade is made up of very few things. Isn't always clear on assignments, but open to help during office hours and answers emails efficiently. Put in the work and an A is very possible.
grade consists of only a few assignments inc. midterm and final. very lecture heavy, very dry and boring, but if asked to clarify he will. jumps around from historic events and gets confusing. he can be funny at times if he wants, and is a very nice man. have to work for an "a" in this class. can't use computers for notes, and he talks fast
A perfect example of a horrible teacher cares not at all for any of his students and will make it known that he despises your entire class for your own sake avoid him at all costs. ps he makes you read entire books in two weeks
Hes a good professor that challenges you to think for yourself. Do not take him for your lazy and looking for an easy class to pass. I like Roark he catches too much flak. In addition, he is REALLY smart!
do NOT take this class. He is so mean and does not grade fairly. by far the worst class I have ever taken.
He is a very interesting professor, however the toughest grader possible. He offers no extra credit. Tried very hard to get good grades, had to withdraw because it was not looking good. Wouldnt recommend him for any class if youre not an impeccable writer
With few assignments that are graded harshly, there is A LOT of homework. If you don't do the assigned questions, you won't get participation points. I'm usually an A student but couldn't make up for my harshly graded papers-only A went to office hrs. A lot of material that isn't actually all on exams, so you studying EVERYTHING for an A- at best.
He's a really good guy, but he's a brutal grader. Great teacher if you're into history like he is.
Don't take Professor Atkinson . Maybe if you're really interested History, he's the professor for you, but he is the driest professor ever. I had him 11:20a-1p, and he took the whole 1 hour and 40 min just talking. The lectures also don't have structure, and doesn't even follow the txtbook. The amount of stuff he expects us to read is killer too.
If you aren't a history major, you may find yourself bored in class. You don't have to participate in class, but he will talk for the entire class and read off a presentation. The work was manageable, but you might find that you're teaching yourself the content in the end.
More than half of the class fails his papers. He spends a very small amount of time helping students with papers. Not only did I visit the Center of Reading and Writing several times but I also visited his office hours for help on the paper. After completing and writing a paper that I thought was great, he gave me a D. First time failing an essay.
not a fun class at all, the midterm was impossible: a full essay, 5 full paragraph long IDs, and few multiple choice within a little over an hour. personally i used to like history but this guy made me hate it now. theres def better history profs u should try to take
I do not know why he is rated so low. His class was so much fun and you truly learn a lot from him. Yes it was lecture heavy but he made it fun
Nice man. Reading heavy. Tough Grader. Lots of lectures. Both exams and papers. Personally, I would never take again.
All he did was talk in his lectures and the power points were so bland. I got zero information out of this course and the assignments are very difficult. He speaks in the most monotone voice so it's really hard to actually pay attention. The midterm and essays are awful. Topics are boring in general and I would not take this class again. Horrible.
BEWARE! He's a very harsh grader that doesn't provide much feedback. It's hard to get a good grade on his essays.The midterm was near impossible with an essay and five long paragraph responses. He offers no extra credit and no partial credit on matching.The lectures are long and dry. I took this class as a gen ed and quickly regretted my decision.
He's a very nice guy but his grading was so tough. He has a very specific criteria and if you're not a good writer, it will be even harder for you. There's also a good amount of reading that you will have to do.. Also, the lectures are typically all class and follow no order so get ready to practically type everything he says if you want to pass.
He didn't use Canvas at all, which is awful for me because I rely on the Canvas To Do list in order to remember what I need to complete, grades, etc. EVERYTHING was on Google drive. His lectures were extremely boring and I was struggling to stay awake. I do not recommend him at all. It took over a month and a half for him to grade the first paper.
Did not grade a single assignment until the week of withdraw date and graded very harshly
His lectures are super boring and his instructions are not clear. Super tough grader and assigns 3 papers during the semester. If you don't pay attention to the lectures, you can't pass the midterm or the final. Gives no notes or handouts that can help and he wants you to read a lot during the week. Does not engage with the class at all.
really just awful. not helpful at all. doesn't answer questions but instead responds with a passive aggressive statement. nothing good to say about him whatsoever just awful awful awful awful awful
Overall, I think he was a super nice and friendly person, however the class lectures did not really matter, and the paper assignments are a little complicated. If you are a good writer, it is an easy class, however coming into the class, I did not realize how much there would be.
As a person he is nice and passionate about what he teaches. However, his instructions are INSANELY vague, his materials are unorganized, and he leaves you to figure everything out yourself. Incredibly harsh grader (seriously it's BAD) and the struggle is not worth the gen-ed credits. I would never take him again and regret doing so to begin with.
Nice guy. Knows his stuff. ROUGH class. Readings each week + questions sometimes. No tests or quizzes other than midterm & final. Lectures were boring if you don't like history. Harsh grading on papers. Took a while to grade. Half the class withdrew after midterm. No study guides for midterm & final. But if you like history, you'll like this class.
I definitely do not recommend this professor. Had to drop this class due to the extremely hard grading. Classes are simple and he will not force you to pay attention but the papers and midterms will get you.
Not as bad as these reviews are saying. Yes, the class is boring if you're not into history but if you need it for credit its fine. It is lecture heavy which can be pretty rough, but he's very nice. I barely paid attention and I just made sure I studied a good amount before the midterm and final and I did fine. He'll heavily critique papers though.
Teaching style was simply just lectures with some class participation. No ability to convey material clearly. Paper prompts were confusing and bloated. Paper grading took longer than it should and paper feedback was subpar. Gave vague feedback that was of no help to improve future papers. Also doesn't use Ramapo's LMS (canvas) which is outrageous.
JUST AWFUL STAY AWAY!
beware, this teacher is extremely difficult for grading wise.
This class is mad stressful and heavy with papers. There are 5 papers in total, including the midterm/final. I had to purchase expensive online books(to save money), 3 in total, and you were expected to read a whole book in like a few days. He's an okay guy, but you have to do everything by yourself. If you have to take this class, he's just fine.
Tough professor. However, if you work hard enough, participate, and do the readings and study efficiently, you'll be successful in this class. Participation does count. He gave a few opportunities for extra credit. Office hours were helpful. However, certain instructions on papers can be vague/unclear. 3 papers, midterm, and a final per semester.
Tough on his grading for papers- graded even tougher on grammar than my English professor. Nice guy and cares about his students just lecture heavy. Teaching style is basically just talking to himself.
RUN...In the beginning I thought this class would be fine until I got my midterm grade back. In class he is very nice but is so vague when it comes to instructions. An extremely harsh grader and gives minimal feedback. There is 3 papers, a midterm, and a final. Also be warned this man takes months to grade assignments.
For Hist-150, he is the hardest professor you can take it with. You will work so hard for the most average grade. If you aren't interested in draining yourself, seriously avoid him unless you know everything about history. For the average person keep in mind there are way better professors who don't teach a gen ed class like a level 4.
Class normally consists of lectures and slides. He strictly abides by the syllabus so watch for that. I still don't know what I got on half of my assignments and he takes a while to grade (doesn't use canvas). He grades harshly so if your essays aren't strong go to tutoring. He was a fine teacher but for someone who isn't a history major, boring.
RUN!!!!!!!! RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN!!!!! THEN RUN FASTER BECAUSE YOU NEED TO RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN!!!!!!!! RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN!!! YOU NEED TO RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN.
do not. I repeat. do not take classes with him.
these reviews are correct, dont take.
really rough grader
Run as fast as you can, this man is the hardest grader known to man. youll never please him even though its a gen ed, this class will make you want to be dead. the midterm shocked us all, half the class was wanting to withdrawl. every day I saw his workload, I wanted to drive off the road. into a hole I burried myself, retire please and send help.
Professor was lecture heavy. Did not make the class entertaining. Gave vague instructions. Extremely tough grader. Did not receive the grades I deserved. For final, I studied EXACT same material as my friend did and our grades were completely different. Does not follow attendance policy, if you miss one class unexcused, it effects grade. DON'T TAKE
I had a medical emergency and he used that against me. That is why I dropped his class.
You should avoid. Lectures were boring and long. He assigns everyone questions based on the readings so make sure to read. The papers were extremely confusing. The study guide and exam were nothing alike, so my time spent studying was worthless. A couple papers, a individual presentation, and weekly hw. Barely passed this class.
Very unorganized canvas page, almost impossible to navigate through it because it's lumps of text all over the place. Hard to know what your grade is because he doesn't put it into canvas so you have to wait until the end to find out. So many assignments due in a short time. I didn't know this would be a history course or I wouldn't have taken it.
Please save yourself. Do not take his mans class.
Don't, just don't.
If you want to feel like you're in a CCD class this is the class for you. I have never read more about religion ever and been more bored. My biggest advice is go see him at least once. After I went to see him I had much better grades. Prof Atkinson isn't terrible, but if you're anything but Christian/Catholic I would not take him. Avoid if you can
This professor was too hard, if you like reading get ready and writing papers. This class was harder than it should have been.
His tests were very difficult and not easy to study for. He was also anti religion.
i used to not look both ways when i crossed the street on my way to his class just in case someone wanted to get me out of my misery early
Refuses to use canvas, everything's on a disorganized google drive. Good luck trying to find anything without opening 20 folders/tabs. Made us read 128 pages in the span of 3 days of a narrative. Essays are 4-5 pages and tedious, and he grades it as if it's a level 4 class. if you don't have strong writing skills take a different professor.
RUN FROM THIS GUY... EVERYONE IS RIGHT!!!! "Oh this course will be easy because its a gen-ed right?" WRONG! The class is called the chaotic years meanwhile the most chaotic thing about the subject is some dude crossing a river. The class though... very chaotic. Zero organization, extremely hard grader, and gives zero feedback.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
94%
Textbook Required
50%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.35 avg changeRatings by Course
HIST282
5.0
(1)HIST211
3.2
(9)COLONIALNA
3.0
(1)HIST101
2.6
(38)HIST201
2.5
(11)Difficulty by Course
HISTORY000
5.0
HIST150
4.8
HIST201
4.4
AIID101
4.0
HIST282
4.0