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Dr. Thacker is one of the best, if not the best, history professors at WKU and if you are a history major then you should definitely take one of his classes before you graduate from the university. This class, as its titles implies, covers German history from World War I through 1945 and discusses the political, social, and economic forces that were alive in Nazi Germany. This class is usually only offered as a night class but Thacker doesn't keep you the full time every night and his lectures are very interesting. He covers different interpretations of the events that you study which history majors and grad students should find very interesting and it shows you that there are multiple ways of looking at the same subject.
The textbook is not required for this course, but if you are not good at spelling German names or have a hard time following his lecture it may not be bad to get it. As previous evaluations have stated, Dr. Thacker lectures at a pretty brisk pace and you have to be able to keep up. The best strategy is to write down everything you can and don't worry about spelling the names correctly (he won't spell them all out to you or write them on the board). What I did was to just make my best guess on the names and looked them up after class and that worked out.
The class breakdown is typical of any Thacker class. 25% is your first exam (midterm), your final exam is 40%, you have a 12-20 page term paper on anything you want to write about over the Nazi Germany period which is 25%, and 10% is subjective. To get this subjective grade you need to be attentive in class, show effort, and be in class. As he says the first night, he expects you to be there. Thacker only calls roll the first 2 class periods but he'll know if your there or not (and especially if you sneak out of class halfway through class while its on break). The essay exams usually constitute 3 essay questions (grad students have a special section where they have more thought provoking questions) and you get 2 hours. Believe me, your hand will be aching when your done.
Also, students are required to read 3 books over the semester and he will ask you for a list of books that you read on the last night of class to turn in with your exam. Grad students have to read 5 books and submit a bibliographical essay of no more than five pages on the last night of class.
Overall, very enjoyable class from a very intelligent and respected instructor. I'd definitely recommend Dr. Thacker for anyone looking for a challenge at WKU. It's not an easy class, but it'll have you think more than other classes at the university.
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Multiple Choice
Essay