Fall 2026

History of U.s. Media

Explores the evolution of US mass media within political, social, and economic contexts.

offering recorded4 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Kathryn McGarr3.8/5JD Duncan

Summary

1 / 7

The course includes three tests and a large final research paper, with textbooks and novels as required reading materials.

Grade history

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

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

Junior standing

  • Junior standing
HISTORY/JOURN 560

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

Prerequisite text tree
  • Junior standing

Professors

Fall 2026
/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.00/5 from 19 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.

For this course: 3.5/5 raw quality · 3.5/5 difficulty · 2 reviews

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

Kathryn McGarr is described as dry and disorganized, with lectures not posted online, requiring attendance. The course involves three tests and a large research paper, with textbooks and novels as materials.

McGarr is praised for being engaging and understanding of student experiences, making dull topics fun. Her lectures are considered interesting and well-tuned to the class.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2022: 3.81 GPA, 91.9% A/AB (n=62 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.77 GPA, 87.4% A/AB (n=95 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.69 GPA, 82.2% A/AB (n=118 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

No course-specific feedback yet.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Kathryn McGarr is the current instructor, but no reviews exist for her. Historical reviews for Stephen Vaughn describe him as engaging with decent readings, though some found the workload heavy and lectures dragging.

JAMES BAUGHMAN is recorded teaching in Fall 2007, Spring 2009, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2015. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

KATHRYN MCGARR is recorded teaching in Fall 2018, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Fall 2024, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

STEPHEN VAUGHN is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Spring 2008, Fall 2008, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Fall 2014, Fall 2016. 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

Fall 2026

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction14 / 1002
DIS 301Classroom Instruction1 / 252
DIS 302Classroom Instruction5 / 250
DIS 303Classroom Instruction5 / 250
DIS 304Classroom Instruction3 / 250
LEC 001Classroom Instruction87 / 1007
DIS 302Classroom Instruction19 / 255
DIS 303Classroom Instruction20 / 251
DIS 304Classroom Instruction22 / 240
DIS 301Classroom Instruction26 / 251

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

Reviews of Kathryn McGarr's HISTORY/JOURN 560 are polarized, with one student finding her dry and disorganized while another praises her engaging and empathetic teaching style.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2022: 3.81 GPA, 91.9% A/AB (n=62 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.77 GPA, 87.4% A/AB (n=95 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.69 GPA, 82.2% A/AB (n=118 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

The course includes three tests and a large final research paper, with textbooks and novels as required reading materials.

Lecture slides are not posted online, making attendance necessary for accessing course materials and notes.

Topics

  • Evolution of mass media in the United States
  • Political, social, and economic change

Grades

Historical instructor

Fall 2026 · 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 Fall 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Fall 2025 · 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

1320 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
HISTORY/JOURN 560 · Fall 2026

History of U.S. Media

Recorded 2026-09-07
HISTORY/JOURN 560 · Fall 2026

History of U.S. Media

Recorded 2026-09-07
Raw records
[
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:448:010762",
    "course_id": "HISTORY/JOURN 560",
    "course_uid": "course_0c69bb7e7198e2a783522b58",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "010762",
    "source_subject_id": "448",
    "title": "History of U.S. Media",
    "credits_min": 4,
    "credits_max": 4,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  },
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:512:010762",
    "course_id": "HISTORY/JOURN 560",
    "course_uid": "course_0c69bb7e7198e2a783522b58",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "010762",
    "source_subject_id": "512",
    "title": "History of U.S. Media",
    "credits_min": 4,
    "credits_max": 4,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-09-07

Download the original dataset
Model outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "8e2e9400061afe1ccb679eb84814bc6d0e59062c37947dc61479da8a933a7293",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}