[tradgirl95]

It would be fitting though that I begin with the beginning of this course. First of all, the course title was something of a paradox I found as it is The History of Now. In a way it is misleading, but at the same time it is not. I took this course thinking I found learn about contemporary issues, but found surprisingly that the course rather was about a history of the environment and its relationship with humans. What a fantastic history course! This is definitely a history that does not get told enough! I would recommend it to anyone who A) loves history and is interested in especially contemporary history as it spans from the 20th century to 21st century (but does occasionally dip into the 18th century and 19th), and B) loves nature--this history teaches people to have a true respect for nature and teaches truly what it means to be an environmentalist and nature lover, NOT a tree hugger! I would recommend this history to both people interested in history and environmental science.

I had Professor Michael Egan as an instructor and what an experience that was! He was a great lecturer not only because he knew what he was talking about, but because he had a great passion for it. You could really tell that he loved what he studied. A small downside, and he even mentioned this at the beginning of this course as a type of disclaimer, when he gets really excited about a topic, he does talk fairly quickly about it. However, he made up for this by recording his lectures so it's not such a big problem as one would think. He also has a great, even if corny at times, sense of humour. He really emphasizes the need for students to become better writers and recorded videos that offer useful tips about writing.

In lecture he threads at least one, sometimes more, historical narratives relating to the topic being discussed that day. He has a lecture slide to go along with his lectures and, as was mentioned before, he records his lectures. He is very good about posting lecture slides and recordings onto Avenue.

Overall, I really enjoyed this class because it was about a history that hardly gets discussed and should be recognized more and more by all. I learned about people and events that I hadn't even heard of, so I was pleasantly surprised at how much there was for me learn.

I think the most important thing I can tell anyone about this course is to give it a chance because it may surprise you. I took it at first glance because the course title sounded so enigmatic I just had to take it, and even when I attended lecture for the first couple of days I wanted to drop it because I thought the professor's jokes were a little corny and I didn't feel like the class fit my version of a "REAL" university History class. But I stayed because I thought I should give him a chance because I may learn something as this was not a history I was used to hearing about. As it turns about, my first impressions of the class were proven completely wrong and rightfully so because they were quite shallow. My lasting impression was that this course, in fact, is making me consider studying more about history in my university career. It ended up being one of my favourite classes because I loved the professor's passion for the material and consideration of us students, and as I've repeated many times, this is a history that is scarcely observed by people.

Anyhow, I could go on for hours telling someone about this course, but for the purpose of this review I'm going to cut myself off and get to the course breakdown

So, the breakdown very briefly is as follows:

Podcast Assignment- 10% = Write an essay on one of the course books and record yourself. Can't be longer than 5 minutes.
Library Assignment - 5% = Watch modules on how to use Library Catalogue; very straightforward
Writing Assignments (3) - 30% (Takes best two and they are then worth 15%) = Write an essay on course books, NO recordings!
Midterm - 15% = Write an essay on question given (He does give you the question a week in advance!)
Tutorial Participation - 10% = These tutorial groups are pretty small I forgot to say, so you must be assertive in making your answers known the tutorial leader when they ask questions about the books you are to read for class.
Final Exam - 30% = Two essays on the questions, once again, given to you well in advance before the exam!

I said it once and I'll say it again, give this class a chance because you may learn something!