This was maybe the hardest and funnest class I ever had. Dr. Alvarez mixes education and entertainment into an interesting history class. if you hate history you might try this class, if you don't mind learning something and doing work.

Dr. Alvarez is extremely helpful and he makes learning about history fun. Definitely take this class!

The readings are interesting and informative. He is very knowledgeable about the colonial history of the US but he hardly lectures and puts you into groups to discuss the readings. Confuses you about the readings and has weekly homework due. Extremely harsh grader but he does make you learn new information.

There is a lot of reading but his humor makes up for it.

Readings are phenomenal and so are his lectures. Relies heavily on groups which are a great experience, if he sits with the one your in. Otherwise, you end up with people who don't do the readings and regurgitate what you said to garner the professors praise. From experience his grading is more lenient towards average students and favorites.

If you complete the readings prior to class, you will do just fine. He is very straight forward and honest. Hands down the best professor of my college career thus far!

Tough, but shapes you into a better student. Very understanding as well. Gives a lot of readings, but for free through PDF (which means more money for food!). SEE HIM DURING OFFICE HOURS FOR ESSAYS NO MATTER HOW BIG OR SMALL, do the readings (cry if you have to), and you'll do fine. Show up to class and talk, participation is essential.

Alvarez is a good professor. He is a tough grader but he wants students to understand the material and improve. Take good notes in class and make sure to answer the questions in the essay prompts that he gives.

Dr. Alvarez is a great professor. He is a genuinely good guy and really cares about what he does. He is a clear orator and doesn't cut any corners in his classes. I would definitely take him again. Great person, better professor.

Dr. Alvarez does not hand you your grade. He is exeptionally blunt, so it if you are not equipped to handle honesty, then do not take his class. He is an amazing lecturer and is super passionate about what he teaches. Incredibly, incredibly intelligent- do not doubt this. His classes are always entertaining.

I took Alvarez in Fall 2015 and his class does require a good amount of work, so make sure you do his assignments and expect to do PLENTY of reading because it's pretty crucial in his class. Also be ready to do plenty of writing about what you've learned throughout the course. Alvarez is also pretty funny, so get ready for a laugh as well.

Hands down the best history professor at CSUDH. is the class hard? YES. But he is the only professor who has ever motivated me to go beyond the surface. And holy cow he knows his stuff. Prepare to ready and write everyday. Go to his office hours for extra help! College is hard work, if you don't have the work ethic choose another professor.

The questions to consider he gives you for homework to go along with your reading are the exact same ones that show up on the quizzes, midterm, and final. Everything is free response. If you study the questions and read, you'll pass. Attendance is mandatory, he gives you up to 4 days, but after that he deducts points from final grade or fails you.

You earn your grade. He gave 40 questions to consider throughout and on midterm asked 13, then plus 60 more to consider & final was 15 cumulative questions. All written answers, but are exactly the same. Pop quizzes are random & mixed chapter questions. You have to read and take notes from his lecture. Helpful in shaping you into a better student.

Textbook is online for free. He gives .5 points for trying with a bs answer, dont leave anything blank. Answer the questions in a word document as you go, don't wait last minute. He is straightforward on what to expect (overall class 100 points) 4 pop quizzes +2 extra credit, 5 source analysis, midterm, Final.

I loved this class. Professor Alvarez was hilarious and I almost looked Forward to going to class. The lectures were fun. Plus he gives You the questions to the quizzes and exams ahead If time.

Prof Alvarez is really funny and made this a fun class. There was no book to buy which was nice. He gives all the questions ahead of time. But the pop quizzes were still hard. Luckily some quizzes We're wxtra credit.

Although Prof. Alvarez is funny, his grading can be a bit difficult but as long as you attend class and do your work, you'll pass.

Beautiful human. Great professor.

As long as you do the reading and studying, you should be passing with a good grade. He as a professor has my respect.

One of my favorites! He cusses a lot but it keeps us intrigued. His lectures are amazing. He tells stories that we could possibly relate to and he also talks about his experiences. His grading is fair and easy. Not a history person but really loved the class and him

Do the reading and listen to the lectures and you will pass the class with a B or A. Take notes on the readings and lectures. I enjoyed this history class!

Very great professor. Lectures are important but read the online textbook(which is free) and you will easily pass. Take the pop quizzes seriously from the start!

The funniest professor I have had so far. He's very passionate about the subject. It's a very straight-forward class. Show up, take notes, and complete the readings and you'll pass. BEWARE he is very picky about the way you answer the questions on quizzes/exams. put detail into your answers.

He is a really great professor! Extremely outspoken (he's liberal, which is fine with me!). He's such a great lecturer with current examples from pop culture and he will thoroughly explain the rules and regulations of his essay assignments. There is no textbook, just long free reading online. So beware of that! Good luck he's awesome!

Thomas Alvarez is an absolute gem. Lots of students will argue and say that he's "mean" and grades harshly. However, he just wants to make sure you're learning- not memorizing information. He's very clear with his grading criteria, read and answer the questions for each chapter, and you'll do spectacular on the quizzes, midterms, and the final. :)

GET ON THIS GUY'S GOOD SIDE BY ENGAGING AND BEING NICE AND FLATTERY. THEN, he'll be chill w/ you! DO ALL YOUR WORK AND MORE! DON'T be on your phone or laptop during class or he'll hate on you. BRING 8.5X11 in. paper for quizzes. Take notes during lectures. Elaborate on your quiz/test answers: he looks for specifics. POP QUIZZES SO ALWAYS COME!

Prof. Alvarez is tough! However, he gives you all the necessary information to allow you to start analyzing and thinking things in depth. This becomes a useful tool for all his required writing assignments! For this class he did provide the readings on BB . . . there is a lot, and you can't fake the funk. Participation is key, so go to class!

This professor doesn't mess around. He wants his students to actually learn and not just remember he goes over all the reading in class and gives you the questions to every exam and quiz so nothing is ever a surprise it's up to the student to study the answer! He is amazing and funny.

I was hesitant to take this professor because of his reviews, but he's amazing. He is clear about what he expects and is always willing to help and responds to emails really fast. He does give a lot of readings, but it's college you can't expect to not work hard. Overall, a great professor and I am so happy to be taking him again this semester.

One of my favorite professors. I have taken more than one of his classes and I have to say he is one of the best. He is clear about what he expects and tries to ensure that all his students succeed. He is very funny and you will never be bored during one of his lectures. Also, he responds to emails fast and is super accessible for help. 10/10

He is passionate and straight forward and smart, think of the bigger picture with his readings, learn to read and look for topic and sub topics first paragraph last paragraph then the inside of the text. in the past CSUDH History classes 200 and up were closed to none History majors, if its not your major find another Prof. I would take him again.

Professor Alvarez was really helpful on zoom and always available to answer questions. each week there was 4-8 pages of an online text and a short video to watch , a discussion post and a multiple choice quiz. Quiz questions were repeated on midterm and final and the course grade was curved so getting an A was easy

Loved this class. There was no text to buy. He wrote his own text and made some interesting youtube videos. He had a "no fail" policy if you turned in all the work

I must have been in different classes from other people who posted. There was almost no reading in this class and the quizzes came directly from the study questions and he covered the questions that were on the quiz in the lecture before we took the quiz. This made the quizzes so easy. The midterm and final had the same questions as the quizzes.

Discussion posts were great for padding the grade because he graded them super easy and there were three that were extra credit. Same with the quizzes they came directly from the study questions. On the midterm and final, he let everyone write their short essay before hand and just copy and paste it into the exam.

Professor Alvarez is very straight forward, class is not difficult if you actually show up and do the work. Time consuming videos and readings but manageable and interesting.

He's a tough grader but overall the class was very enjoyable and funny. Attendance is really important to pass the class as well.

There were no quizzes or exams. The midterm and final were three paragraph group essays and he told us what the questions were in the syllabus. The professor also told us how to write them. He gave a choice between doing short readings or watching videos. You have to take notes on them but he gave you a B if you just wrote something for each day.

weekly readings that you post and respond to class mates fairly easy readings grading is a little weird he will give you 2.3 on some areas still managed a B I would take him again. some small papers here and there work load is okay

Professor Alvarez is a cool teacher. His midterms are just Essays 1.5-2 pages. He does grade work. Careful writing because he is very adamant about no AI. work every week based on readings.