James Sack - University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL

Professor: James Sack

Department: History

College: University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: HIST101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Don't recommend him. like the person below me says, he teaches old school. No powerpoints. Therefore, you have to really go to class and listen. If you dozed off for like 5 minutes, you miss a lot of crucial information. Take something else if you can.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: HIST100
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Sack is an old school professor. You must attend his lectures, pay attention and take notes. There are 2 exams, 1 paper (5-7 pages), 1 quiz, and 1 final. He is a great professor, he gets to know his students on a name basis and interacts with the class. If there is something that's unclear, discussion and reading the textbook helps.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: HIST101
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

There are no power points. He just lectures. you must go to class and discussion to get the notes for the exams. if you plan to take history 101 with him, try to take in the fall semester. he offers extra credit just for showing up the day before Thanksgiving. not sure for spring break. he's a nice guy but boring. again, take him in fall if possibl

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: HIST101
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He is a nice guy but his lectures are very boring and drag out. The exams are easy if you prepare in advance and attend the discussions. Going to class is not mandatory but I strongly suggest if you don't go to class to attend the discussions to get all the information you missed.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: HIST101
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Great professor and would recommend because this is his last year.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: HIST101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Probably the easiest and funnest class I've had so far in my college career. If you attend his class in the fall, show up to lecture on the day before thanksgiving, he'll give you extra credit points equivalent to an A on an exam just for showing up!

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: HIST101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Show up to the lectures and actually PAY ATTENTION. If you do and you take notes in class, easy A. You have 3 exams 1 essay and a quiz that he drops if you did not get an A on it. The TAs grade the midterms. He really knows his stuff and occasionally is funny too. You don't need the textbook but you need the other books. I really liked his class.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: HISTORY100
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He sounds like teachers off of Charlie Brown. you have to read a lot during this class. Although he is sometimes funny he drags on too long on subjects.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: HIST101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Loved this class. I found the lectures very interesting and the books used were very well written. I also had wonderful TA's that were always helpful. Professor is a sparky chap that puts life into a subject that can be horrendously boring. Testing protocol makes it easy to show what you know.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: HIST100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

His lectures are extremely boring and he has a dry sense of humor but he’s highly educated and a really great guy. I would only recommend him to History majors because the non-history majors WILL get bored. You have to be interested in the topic to really learn anything in the lectures, otherwise you’ll only be learning through the textbook.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: HIST222
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

The exams are easy, BUT you are left guessing till the end what they are gonna be on since there is no syllabus and the 5 pg study guide is useless. He knows a lot and if you have any interest it'll be an easy class.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: HIST222
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I admit, lectures may cause eyes crossing in boredom as he goes on into the smaller details of English Hist but he would wake you up by saying something unexpectantly funny, simply by poking fun at history. In the end, I liked him. The only thing that bothered me is he fed us A LOT of info but didn't narrow down what we needed to know for the exams

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: HIST100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Sack is sometimes really boring, but sometimes is funny. He's obviously a dry, sarcastic sort of guy. But, loves the work he does. Tests are straightforward, and so is lecture. If you read, you'll have it on lock. But go to lecture, too, since he elaborates on topics more there.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: HIST100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Very knowledgeable and matter-of-fact. He has this quirk where he asks questions of the class and asks for your name if you answer, then remembers your name. I had 1 class with him before and have 2 with him now, and he uses the same format for all of them. Definitely recommend. :)

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: HIST100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Very knowledgeable, he will give you all you need to know for the exams in his lectures, but its important that you show a reinforcement of the material by reading the text. Don't fall behind bc the workload gets somewhat heavy after midterms. provided you do the readings and go to class, it is hard NOT to get an A. :)

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: HIST100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

The grade scale is not clear cut, he basically grades you on effort I'd say. Theres 2 exams, one paper, and a final. The final wasnt cumulative though which was nice. I got a C- and a D on the exams, got a B on the paper, and idk what i got on the final but he gave me a B in the class, which i didnt expect! He knows his stuff though.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: HIST100
• 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:

Easy to get an A in this class - take notes of everything he says but make sure you know the MAIN IDEA of what he is saying. He gives alot of small details in lecture but theyre meaningless. Just know the broad concept of what hes saying. No need to buy the books, except when writing the paper.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: HIST100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

If you not good at English, don't ever take this class. His Fxxxing TA grade really hard. Finally, I received a D!!!

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: HIST100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

The class itself's pretty easy if you want a decent grade you prob dont even need to go to lecture. Prof. Sack really annoyed me at first he's super sarcastic and he will shoot down any answer you give to a question, thus I never raised my hand in class. He makes things super awkward too haha but you kinda get used to him in the end its an easy A

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: HIST100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I LOVE prof Sack! He's so knowledgable and funny. Class lectures can be boring if you aren't interested in history, but he really makes the topics easy to understand. Tests aren't too hard as long as you come to class or read the textbook. His TAs grade way harder than he does. Very friendly and makes an effort to learn your name if you participate