John-Paul Himka - University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB

Professor: John-Paul Himka

Department: History & Classics

College: University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: HIST114
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Super nice prof and is super well read. Gives a diverse outlook on current events. Memorize the stuff on his notes that he posts online and you'll be golden! He gave use two novels to read and the first one was bad so he gave us the questions on the midterm ahead of time, but not for the book for the final but if you just read it you'll do well!

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: HIST114
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Great professor! Lectures aren't super necessary to attend if you're up to date with current events, but he makes them worthwhile with really in-depth discussions and great guest speakers. He definitely knows his stuff, and is entertaining to boot. There was no textbook when I took it, just assigned research for seminars.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: HIST114
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Fantastic prof. Probably the best I've had the UofA. He's hilarious, chill, friendly, super smart and he really knows what he's talking about. I can't find a single bad thing to say about him. Attendance isn't mandatory but you still should go to class since the exams are only based of what he talks in class. Doesn't really use online resources.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: HISTORY114
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Easy class. Super friendly and all around cool individual. Midterm and final were easy, 10 short answer questions then a long answer. Has three "tutorials", where you meet at a specific time and chat about whatever topic he has assigned, which makes up 20% of your grade. Easy, but half of the class got stuck with a unfriendly TA, which sucked.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: HIST114
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

I really like him and he is a good prof. I am an international student and English is not my first language. This is my first year in Canada and I found arts classes are extra hard for me. Recommend!

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: HISTORY114
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Absolute beauty of a prof. Do not hesitate in taking this class!! He genuinely cares about his students, and the topics themselves are incredibly interesting if you're into current events, politics, and economics. For the tutorial, just showing up gets you a 90%; every time you speak after that your grade goes up 2%, so just say anything haha.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: HIST114
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He is very helpful with the research paper if you follow his suggestions. If you listen in class you don't have to read the notes. The recommended readings were interesting but not really necessary. Both required texts were good as well (must reads). He's a very seasoned, and experienced teacher, despite being a bit scatterbrained at times

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: 75448
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Very scattered lectures, hard to follow along, dry content unless you LOVE history. Not particularly approachable. Inconsistent grading. NO FEEDBACK on exams - just a grade. One of the books did not seem like a history book, it was all economics. It was very hard to understand. I do not recommend this class or the prof.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: HIST114
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Himka is a great lecturer with an obvious passion for history that comes across well. All lecture notes are posted online but if you can show up, go. He's got a great sense of humour and a knack for tying topics together succinctly. Goes off topic sometimes but the notes he posts online tell you what you need to know for the tests, which are easy.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: HIST114
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Amazing! Definitely made the class an absolute joy to attend and kept the lectures fascinating! Quite an easy marker but requires a fair bit of reading from his students. All in all, the best prof. I've ever had and I can't wait to take another one of his classes.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: 114
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Lectures are vague, more or less. His notes are excellent, however. The tests and evaluations are easy as long as you've done some reading on the assigned texts. Talk a lot in tutorials and you'll get an easy 90+.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: HIST
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Himka is one of a kind. Great Professor!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: HIST112
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Holy Cheese and Crackers Batman John-Paul is amazing!

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: HIST114
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Best Prof ever! Easy, and seriously HILARIOUS! Tutorials are really fun too!

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: HIST114
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Absolutely fantastic class and phenomenal prof! Super interesting and if you like current events then this is definitely a great, easy, and interesting class. Would recommend this class to anyone in a heartbeat!

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: HIST114
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Great prof! Thought he was inebriated for the first lecture, but he grows on you. Knows his stuff and keeps class interesting with his own stories. Exams are straightforward (although MC should not be equally weighted with an essay IMO.) Tutorials are a good time if you like to stir the pot. Good GPA booster.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: HIST114
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Amazing class, amazing prof! He is such a great lecturer, easy to do well

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: HIST114
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

This guy is a beauty. He knows everything about the subject and he has some great stories. A very Interesting Prof. It's easy too. So it's an interesting GPA booster. Not having a textbook is nice, but it means you have to go to class. But class is fun, with his jokes and sometimes inappropriate inappropriate remarks. He tells it how it is.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: HIST114
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Fantastic prof. He's hilarious, very knowledgeable about the subject, and explains it very well. Hist 114 is probably the most chill class ever. No textbook used in the course. Only complaint is the tutorials in which students are separated into groups and do group discussions. Kinda pointless and a waste of time. However, I highly recommend him.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: HIST114
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

John-Paul is a great guy and a great prof. His exams cater to those who show up to class because it asks a lot of random questions that aren't in his online notes. If you deserve a good mark, you'll get it. The course material is really interesting and he stays relatively unbiased, which is nice.