Western Kentucky University / E / Marc V. Eagle

He speaks very fast and at times it is hard to follow his lecture.

Poor lecture skill and slide usage, fails to keep class active and interested in discussions, quizzes weekly in short answer format, tests in multiple essay, and grades marked down for not knowing things we were told did not matter. Unrealistic expectations from freshman level class regarding writing skills and reading comprehension. AVOID THIS TEACHER FOR WHAT SHOULD BE A SIMPLE GEN-ED CLASS.

Well Eagle definitely knows his stuff when it comes to history, however, he talks so fast and skips through the notes before anyone can get anything written down. I have completely slaved away for this class, which I did not see coming as it is only a gen ed class. You have 2-3 weekly readings and a quiz held over the material. Two papers are assigned, which totally killed me. He is not specific about the topic. Although you can send him your rough draft, he will only pick it apart and tell you to completely rewrite it. If you take this class you better count on coming to class every day and reading the entire textbook. I would not recommend him.

I hate how he grades, I hate how he lectures, I hate that he literally takes points off my attendance grade if I so much as check the time. I feel like he talks down to me and treats me like a moron. I love history and this class is horrible. Potential students should spare themselves the GPA hit and take somebody, anybody, else.

Unless you are already a Latin American history and culture buff, I would not recommend this class. This is by far the hardest and most painful class I have taken at WKU. Within weeks of beginning the semester, we were required to know over 50 items on the map of Central and South America. He does not give you a key either, you have to remember all the names of the countries, capitals, major cities, and landmarks. You have to be able to fill them out on a completely blank map, and you have to know their importance as well. That was just the first quiz... On the tests, you will be given an extensive list of topics to study, of which he will pick 4-5 identifications, a few short answer questions, and 3 essay topics to choose 1 from. You also have a debate which involves a 2 page and 5 page essay along with the discussion. There are only two exams, midterm and final and several quizes in between. The quizes are either the map type I mentioned or a summary of a chapter which you are given 10 minutes to summarize 30 or so pages. He is an extremely tough grader. The best grade I have gotten on anything was a B-, and that was with 10+ hours of studying and what I believe would have been an A+ with a typical grader. If you decide to take this class, be ready for a rough semester and good luck, you will certainly need it.

I am very interested in Latin American culture but this class was just overwhelming and confusing. Dr. Eagle has very difficult tests and is an extremely tough grader. It's impossible to get a perfect grade on anything in his class. I actually received back a paper that had one paragraph circled saying "too much information." The next paragraph had written beside it "not enough details." He also has a very sarcastic personality and is somewhat arrogant. It is very difficult to please this hard grader, but if you know your stuff front and back I guess you have nothing to worry about.

For a required course, Eagle's class is rather difficult and time consuming unlike the identical courses taught by other professors. Every week the student is assigned a ten (multiple choice) question take home quiz and a reading assignment complete with at least two short answer questions. These are assigned even on midterm week which takes away from a student's time to study. There are three exams: two midterms and a final. The exams are all ID's and essays. For the ID's the student must identify the term, explain in detail what it is, and then explain the significance. The student must chose around four out of seven ID's to complete. Each ID is expected to be a good paragraph or two. There is alway an essay portion of the test where you must write a five paragraph essay for a very general concept covered during the section that is being tested. There are two essays on the final: one pertaining to the section covered right before the exam and another that is cumulative. The study guide isn't very helpful since it has around 25-30 ID's on it to be studied when only around seven will be on the exam. The class itself is lecture intensive.

Overall, if you are good at managing time and essay questions then this is the right class for you. On the other hand, if you don't enjoy history and are not willing to dedicate too much time to it, it is best if you find another professor for this required course. I've heard that other professors teach a much easier class.

If you take pride in being an academic and love a challenging course, then take Eagle. However, if you really hate to read then I'd suggest taking another course. Eagle is extremely knowledgeable and you can ask him anything - he'll know the answer in all likelihood. I really hated having to read 3 different books (cover to cover) and his homework every week really got on my nerves. Eagle is an effective professor, but he's challenging. He's pretty tough on the 2 papers you have to do. Eagle has very high expectations of his students.

Eagle talks WAY too fast and you can never get down all the notes before he moves on. He jumps from topic to topic a lot and my notes always look like a jumbled mess. He gives two major papers to write but isn't clear on the instructions and looks at us like were idiots when we get bad grades. He doesn't teach as much as he does ramble. If you can write super fast and you have excellent hearing you should take him but I wouldn't recommend him to anyone.

I did not specify my grade because I just took my final...it will either be an A or a B. This class is difficult, however it is possible to make a good grade if you put forth enough effort. The lectures are interesting but hard to follow (he talks extremely fast, which will overwhelm you in the beginning). 15% of the class is participation and quizzes, 40% consists of two short papers, the midterm is worth 20%, and the final is worth 25%. A major plus, in my opinion, is that a research paper is not required, which is unusual for a history course. The two short papers (3-4 pgs a piece) are not difficult but I wouldn't say they were easy either. Prof. Eagle is a moderate grader. My main complaint with this course is that there is SO much info you are required to know for the tests and I don't believe that you can adequately complete them because you do not have enough time. Also, Prof Eagle is not one to cut you any slack, which I don't guess you should really expect. I am a history major and I would not suggest that you take this course if you are not required to. However, if you are you will learn a lot about Latin America (he really knows his stuff) but this is defiantly not an easy course. He will provide you with help outside of the classroom if you ask and is quick to respond to any email questions. I think that Prof. Eagle is generally a nice guy but I would caution you about this course if you are not willing to put forth quite a bit of effort.

Eagle definitely knows his stuff on Latin America, that being said there are alot of cons. He talks way too fast and jumps from country to country making things more confusing. He sticks to the attendance policy and expects you to read the entire textbook as well as other books and sources. I wouldn't reccomend him unless you are very studious.