Spring 2027

Explorations in American History (h)

Explorations in American History covers varying topics on North American and U.S. history, focusing on synthesizing and critically analyzing primary and secondary sources.

offering recorded3–4 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Matt Villeneuve3.8/5Ashley Brown3.7/5

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Sean Dinces

There were lots of readings, though students noted you could get away with not doing them. Tests were easy and straightforward.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Synthesize and critically analyze a range of primary and secondary sources related to North American and/or U.S. history.

  • Build evidence-based historical arguments and effectively communicate their ideas.

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

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

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

Sophomore standing

  • Sophomore standing
HISTORY 221

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

Prerequisite text tree
  • Sophomore standing

Professors

Spring 2027
Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.29/5 from 7 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2026: 3.15 GPA, 69.2% A/AB (n=13 letter grades).

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.33/5 from 3 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2023: 3.41 GPA, 71.9% A/AB (n=64 letter grades); Spring 2024: 3.48 GPA, 76.6% A/AB (n=47 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.23 GPA, 68.2% A/AB (n=44 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

ASHLEY BROWN is recorded teaching in Spring 2019, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MATT VILLENEUVE is recorded teaching in Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SEAN DINCES is recorded teaching in Spring 2014. 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
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 450
LEC 002Classroom Instruction0 / 450

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

Meeting source records
Download part 1

Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Sean Dinces

Students described the class as pretty good with interesting topics. Lecture slides were available online, and the TA determined the entirety of the grade.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.48 GPA, 76.6% A/AB (n=47 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.23 GPA, 68.2% A/AB (n=44 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.15 GPA, 69.2% A/AB (n=13 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Sean Dinces

There were lots of readings, though students noted you could get away with not doing them. Tests were easy and straightforward.

Past student reviews · Sean Dinces

Attendance was not mandatory, but the instructor gave pop quizzes throughout the semester. Exams required explaining the significance of key topics from class.

Topics

  • American History
  • Primary and Secondary Source Analysis

Skills

  • Synthesizing and critically analyzing primary and secondary sources
  • Building evidence-based historical arguments and communicating ideas

Grades

Historical instructor

Spring 2027 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 4 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.22 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Spring 2027

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Not enough comparable courses for Spring 2027 in UW–Madison.

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
HISTORY 221 · Spring 2027

Explorations in American History (H)

Recorded 2026-10-14
HISTORY 221 · Spring 2027

African Americans and Sports

Recorded 2026-10-14
HISTORY 221 · Spring 2027

US Hist in 12 Indian Treaties

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
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    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:448:020107",
    "course_id": "HISTORY 221",
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    "source_course_id": "020107",
    "source_subject_id": "448",
    "title": "Explorations in American History (H)",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 4,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring, Summer"
  },
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    "source_course_id": "020107.53",
    "source_subject_id": "448",
    "title": "African Americans and Sports",
    "credits_min": 3,
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    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring, Summer"
  },
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    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:448:020107.63",
    "course_id": "HISTORY 221",
    "course_uid": "course_e0b33c5d61fb47b7b7235481",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "020107.63",
    "source_subject_id": "448",
    "title": "US Hist in 12 Indian Treaties",
    "credits_min": 3,
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    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring, Summer"
  }
]
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": "6f7d84302633fd09c3ebed56e606dc6bb0f7c02301d67ed0f29eb24f36c277d8",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}