Spring 2027

A History of the World in 20 Buildings

Explore world history through great buildings, analyzing the interaction between culture, politics, religion, and architectural form from ancient Egypt to modern globalization.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Jessy Bell

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Jennifer Pruitt

The overall grade consisted of a few exams and papers. Exams were not too hard, but the papers were considered very troublesome and the class somewhat difficult.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Interpret architecture in its cultural context.

  • Analyze the relationship between architectural form and historical change.

  • Observe, describe, and appreciate the buildings around them.

  • Argue for what makes a “great building” in its historical context.

Source: UW Guide 1 UW Guide 2

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

None

  • None
ARTHIST/RELIGST 210

This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • None

Professors

Spring 2027
Historical instructors & teaching patterns

JENNIFER PRUITT is recorded teaching in Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2023, Fall 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
DIS 301Classroom Instruction0 / 200
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 1000
DIS 302Classroom Instruction0 / 200
DIS 303Classroom Instruction0 / 200
DIS 304Classroom Instruction0 / 200
DIS 310Classroom Instruction0 / 00
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 1000
DIS 301Classroom Instruction0 / 200
DIS 302Classroom Instruction0 / 200
DIS 303Classroom Instruction0 / 200
DIS 310Classroom Instruction0 / 00
DIS 304Classroom Instruction0 / 200

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Jennifer Pruitt

Students described the course as fun, informational, and taught by a knowledgeable, passionate instructor who was kind and entertaining.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2020: 3.37 GPA, 75.4% A/AB (n=61 letter grades); Fall 2023: 3.57 GPA, 71.4% A/AB (n=28 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.95 GPA, 97.0% A/AB (n=66 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Jennifer Pruitt

The overall grade consisted of a few exams and papers. Exams were not too hard, but the papers were considered very troublesome and the class somewhat difficult.

Past student reviews · Jennifer Pruitt

Presentations and terms were posted on Canvas for exam preparation. Although the class was sometimes disjointed, the instructor and TAs were willing to meet for feedback.

Topics

  • Ancient Egyptian tombs
  • The Taj Mahal
  • The Parthenon marbles
  • Frank Lloyd Wright and modernism
  • Architecture and modern historical forces: colonialism, industrialization, globalization

Skills

  • Interpreting architecture in its cultural context
  • Analyzing the relationship between architectural form and historical change
  • Observing, describing, and appreciating buildings
  • Arguing for what makes a great building in its historical context

Grades

Latest available · Fall 2024— not enough history to project Spring 2027.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

Grades over time

Through Fall 2024

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Fall 2024 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1330 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records
ARTHIST/RELIGST 210 · Spring 2027

A History of the World in 20 Buildings

Recorded 2026-10-14
ARTHIST/RELIGST 210 · Spring 2027

A History of the World in 20 Buildings

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
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    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
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    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:180:025069",
    "course_id": "ARTHIST/RELIGST 210",
    "course_uid": "course_4518ded01b8015502e026200",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "025069",
    "source_subject_id": "180",
    "title": "A History of the World in 20 Buildings",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Every Other Fall"
  },
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:856:025069",
    "course_id": "ARTHIST/RELIGST 210",
    "course_uid": "course_4518ded01b8015502e026200",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "025069",
    "source_subject_id": "856",
    "title": "A History of the World in 20 Buildings",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Every Other Fall"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Download part 1
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "d3c3e4caca0ff14bd1dff1ee0032f4796ad1b5ab4b89722570bc25b45afba55b",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}