Amazing lecturer; very passionate about hip-hop, and you learn so much about the genre and history, along with listening to some great songs during lecture. The papers are very easy to get a good grade on, but they are a large chunk of your grade. Two of the three books are very interesting reads, and the other only requires one chapter.

Shashko's lectures are amazing. Worth going to all

Hands down the coolest and most entertaining lectures I have been to on campus. Shashko never left me feeling bored or wanting to leave his class as he is an amazing storyteller. With that being said, you will have to read quite a but to succeed on the three papers for this class, but were not entirely difficult. Highly recommend this class.

Such a cool professor and so interesting and compelling. He tells a really great story about history and music and the songs are so great!! Best ethnic studies credit.

Professor Shashko is one of the only college professors you will ever have that truly inspires you and makes you excited to attend lecture. Coursework is simple and straightforward. The most knowledgeable people I have ever met regarding music with ability to teach music in a way you had never known before. Great Professor, best at UW Madison

You must take this class! I was genuinely EXCITED to attend lectures. Shashko is amazing and truly cares. Fun class, it was a breath of fresh air. If you're into hip-hop, rap, or R&B, you'll love it. Lecture notes submitted for attendance. Also, stay off your phone- he notices. Take detailed notes during class, they'll really help with the papers.

Super engaging lectures, attendance is checked by submitting notes at the end of lecture but I rarely wanted to skip class. The entire course was super informative and I highly recommend to take. Essay rubric is unclear until explained in discussion, but the essays are super easy to write if you just look over the book and attend lecture.

The essays for this class are a little unclear, but TAs are super helpful in explaining during discussion. You need to turn in notes based on the lectures, but these are pretty easy to take since the topic is so interesting and complex. Amazing combo of lecturing and listening to music.

Shashko is extremely passionate about his lecture material, making the class incredibly engaging and genuinely interesting. Took to fulfill an ethnic studies req and I'm so glad I did. Only a few papers and weekly discussion posts which were graded fair. He plays the music for us in class which can be a nice break from content.

He's the goat. That's it. Literally couldn't say one bad thing about him. You HAVE to take him.

The lecture was a little boring, but the professor did a good job. But some of the grades are being graded by TA, and that's critical. My TA did not write feedback or reply to the email, so the score did not meet my expectations.

Shashko is one of the most intelligent people I've ever met. He is passionate, aware, and clear. The 3 papers you write are short, like 1500 words. Discussion was fun and engaging. He is also very inspirational and so knowledgeable in his work. Highly recommend.

Take this class—you won't regret it! Professor Shashko is simply outstanding. Lecture attendance isn't mandatory, but you must submit notes for 20 lectures by semester's end. Attend weekly discussions, complete the discussion posts, and write three papers. The workload is manageable and rewarding for anyone who takes it. You will do great!

Shashko is awesome. College professors never try to make college actually fun for the kids like teachers used to do in high school, but this guy does. He brought us all candy on halloween, and that was the only time I've seen a professor go out of their way to do something special all semester. Made my day!

Goat lecturer, super nice guy as well. Papers are annoying but very manageable. Do the papers at a good level and show up, and you will most likely get an A.

the campus is lucky to have him. he's a great storyteller- get in one of his classes if you can.

if you have the opportunity to take a class with this man DO IT. genuinely the kindest professor, with organized note outlines that you fill in during lecture, so u actually listen and appreciate the content you're learning. extremely well spoken and knowledgeable, and i feel like i actually took something away from this class. thank you shashko!!

This man recieved a STANDING OVATION in the final lecture of the semester. What other professors do you know of that have received the same? Incredible storyteller, very knowledgeable. I would always arrive to lecture early where we'd talk one-on-one about life and he'd share his wisdom. Extraordinary teacher, and human being.

Professor Shashko makes the course material engaging. The readings are manageable, and with diligence, an A is achievable. Unstuck ai was a lifesaver for study prep.

Shashko was a dream. I found myself excited to attend lecture and learn from such a passionate and well-spoken lecturer. There are a few papers, one of which is on a relatively short, easy-to-read book. If you block out time to get the writing completed, the class is easy and quite enjoyable with Shashko.

My favorite professor at UW Madison. He teaches unique and interesting courses, has many applicable stories to tell, and has a fantastic taste in music.

I think it was an interesting course. I learned about a ton of great music that I wouldn't have known about otherwise. If you engage in discussions and try on the essays, getting an A isn't too hard. I honestly think this class is a bit overrated. There were some pretty dull weeks and discussions were usually no fun, but I do not regret taking it.

Great professor

Incredible lecturer. Discussion sections: just show up and talk a couple times per session to get points. No exams, just essays and discussion questions. Essays are more about planning and organizing than writing. Very clear about what needs to be included to do well on essays. Grades do take a while however. Lectures are not recorded. High A rate.

Shasko is one of the most inspiring and entertaining professors I have ever had. The way he teaches history is like a story, and a good one at that. He genuinely is passionate in what he is talking about and is overall just one of the best teachers I've ever had. We talk about music, listen to music, and he teaches you about it afterwards.

Shashko is perhaps the most entertaining, most inspirational, and overall best lecturers of all time.

Very passionate about the subject, we essentially just listened to music and he talked about why it is important. If you get the chance, take this course.

He is an amazing lecturer and he is effective at making us care about the content too. The TA's are all great as well. Best ethnic studies class

Definitely the best and easiest class for ethnic study requirement.

Dr. Shashko was amazing last semester! I LOVED his lectures. Great class for an ethnic studies/U.S. history credit. Only really graded by 3 papers, but just generally keep up with the class content/books (skimming is fine) and you'll be just okay! He even gave me a point back on a paper. Super approachable, passionate, funny, and inspirational.

Alexander is one of the best profs I have ever had at this school. Never found myself being bored in lecture. He is an incredible speaker and can make things relevant as well as add fun stories.

Genuinely interesting material and teaches with passion. Good communicator, great way to get your ethnic studies credit with little hassle. Readings not to bad, just give yourself time to work on essays and you'll get an A in the class, hard to sell that bad.

One of the best professors I've had at Madison. He's extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the topics in class. He's also an overall great guy. The class was easy and the lectures were engaging. 75% of your grade is made up of 3 papers, but they're pretty interesting and I got 100% on all three.

Professor Shashko is a great professor who actually cares about his students and what he is teaching. You can definitely get an A in this class. There are 3 papers, all based on books you read throughout the class. There are weekly discussion questions based on the readings assigned. Go to class and enjoy, it's a good getaway from other classes.

Professor Shashko's class was life changing. He is so passionate about what he teaches, which made this class something I looked forward to every day. Afro-Am 154 is an incredibly interesting class as well, and I would recommend it to every person at UW.

Professor Shashko was amazing. I took AfroAmer272 with him, and have never been so interested in a lecture-based course before. The way he delivers material is so engaging and he explains things clearly. He is so helpful if you have questions and is also super fun to discuss other material with. Great way to get ethnic studies breadth.

Prof. Shashko is a phenomenal lecturer. His passion for this class and for hip hop as a whole is so apparent and very inspirational. This class does have quite a few writing assignments (3 papers, 10 disc. posts) but overall, I would take this class over and over again - if you have the chance (even if you aren't a huge fan of hip hop), take it!!

Shashko is a really cool and nice guy! He is so passionate about what he's teaching and wants you to be too! 3 pretty large essays, but you can do them on your own time and they're not too bad if you go to class and pay attention. Good grader too. Attendance is def mandatory.

I was an auditor, so I can't speak to anything regarding his assignments or grading, but this is the best class I've ever taken at this university. If you can fit this into your schedule, you won't regret it. Fabulous class - very engaging material, and he is a great lecturer!!

Excellent lecturer and very knowledgable. I love how he integrated stuff from his class on Black musical history. Three essays and attendance count for your entire grade.

Alexander is easily the best lecturer I have ever had, he is so knowledgeable on the subject and makes this class very interesting. There are 3 big essays and weekly 300 word writing assignments which are all very doable. Take this class if you have the opportunity, you won't regret it.

Afro Amer 154 does not have a lot of room for error when it comes to the # of assignments, BUT he was so nice to make the quizzes only 5 points instead of 10 like originally planned. One of the BEST lecture classes i've taken and he TRULY CARES about us as students. Just take all the notes you can during lecture, make quizlets for quizzes!!

Professor Shashko sticks out amongst all the professors I've had at UW. He is an incredible lecturer and insanely respected. I enjoyed attending his lectures, as he is so knowledgable and obviously cares about what he does. I would recommend this class to anyone.

Goat

awesome class, seriously a must take. two exams worth low portion of the grade, 10 questions each. Go to lecture, listen, enjoy, and easy easy A

If I had to take a class a second time, this would be the class. I enjoyed this class and learned a significant amount of information. Professor Shashko was terrific, and his material had a great structure. There are two comprehension quizzes in discussion and three essays throughout the semester. My TA was also excellent.

He wants his students to do well and is very passionate about his studies. You can tell that he has been teaching for ten years. I struggled with the comprehensive quizzes, but there are only two and other people seemed to think they were fair. Just pay attention to who wrote and did what in the Chang book. He makes the class material interesting.

Wonderful lecturer. Shashko is very knowledgeable about African American History. Class has 3 essays but not a difficult grader.

Absolutely amazing teacher, incredible class. Everyone should take his class. Truly life changing lectures (not mandatory but you HAVE to go because they are so great and we listen to the best music in them). We had 3 essays in total, which were honestly fun to write bc you become so passionate about the music bc of Shashko. So. Valuable.

Literally my favorite class I've ever taken. You can tell he is passionate about what he teaches. Lecture consisted of learning about new artists, events, etc that impacted hip-hop in that era. Got to watch a few music videos every lecture. Discussion was also great, the TAs were super engaging. Workload isn't alot, they grade pretty easy.

By far my favorite class that I've taken at UW. Lectures are super interesting and engaging, you basically just watch music videos and learn about pop culture. Absolutely loved it, Shashko is really cool. Three essays, three novel type textbooks, two comprehension quizzes. Really not a bad workload.

Great professor, Great lectures

Because past students didn't show up this year there was two added quizzes worth 20% of your grade that were difficult even if you read the books and attended lecture because there was usually 4 questions that were smaller ideas/points other than that so interesting and lectures are great and engaging.

He is easily one of the best professors. He is an amazing speaker and creates lectures that are genuinely engaging EVERY class. He is beyond knowledgeable in his subject and is honestly interested in sharing his expertise with students. If given the chance, this class is definitely worth taking.

Really smart guy, you can tell he knows what he's talking about. Overall great class that I would take again.

Loved the class and Prof. Material and lectures were interesting, fun and engaging so I still went to lecture. Prof is super available outside of class and loves getting to know his students. Super caring and understandable that his students have lives outside of school and take other classes. Take this class w Shashko you won't regret it!

Alexander Shashko is one of the best professors at UW hands down. His lectures were never really required to attend but I kept going because he kept the material so engaging. It's clear he loves what he does and he really cares about his class and students. Most of the homework is writing papers. If you get the chance, take his class.

AfroAmer154 has been one of my favorite classes at UW-Madison. Professor Shashko is an engaging lecturer and class is very easy to follow. Lecture attendance not mandatory, but discussion was. Even though they weren't mandatory, I was always excited to come to class and was genuinely interested in lecture material and class readings.

Shahsko is with zero question the best prof at UW. This class quite literally changed the way I think about the world, yet managed to do it in a way that is incredibly entertaining. Three papers and attendance make your grade - putting effort into the papers is required, but it'll come easy since his lectures as so good. Please take him, seriously.

He is amazing, and clearly loves his subject.

Literally the best professor here at UW Madison!!! I wish he taught more upper level courses just so I could have him be my professor again. Lectures were HIGHLY engaging and I normally walked out of class learning something new. It was a power lecture but never felt like one. Do yourself a favor and take a class taught by him and cherish it!!!!

Shashko is my favorite professor so far at UW Madison. His lectures are incredibly captivating and I genuinely look forward to class. His lectures feel like ted talks and are always so moving. Shashko is very understanding, aware, approachable, and overall an amazing professor. I would 100% recommend his classes!

One of the most well spoken individuals I have met throughout my life. His lectures are captivating, and he always leaves you excited for the next lecture. Highly recommend any class that he teaches.

The absolute goat. Amazing lectures and always excited to come to class. On top of that the class is very easy on grading and if you put a little bit of time into it you should receive an A. Would definitely take him as a professor again.

Great Professor, the only class I have truly loved and looked forward to attending.

As all the other reviews say his lectures are some of the best. I didn't want to skip his lectures because they were so interesting. Papers are difficult if you don't go to class and that is what most of your grade is based on. 10/10 would recommend!

Prof Shashko is super passionate about the material. He makes it engaging and relevant to today's world. Assignments (6 papers) parallel the lecture material. Textbooks are a nice supplement but are not entirely necessary.

Shashko is as amazing as the other reviews say he is. He is easily one of the best lecturers at UW. He knows what he is talking about, his lectures are engaging, and he can answer quite literally any question thrown at him. Attendance was graded and there were a few papers, but he is one of the most understanding professors I think I will ever have

I took this class because I heard it was an easy A, so I didn't expected to be this engaged by the content. Amazing lecturer, really interesting course, highly recommend.

Amazing lecturer who is interesting to listen to and clearly cares about subject. Lectures spent listening to and talking about music. 3 books are "required" for class but you only really need to read one of them. Only 3 longer papers and 3 very short papers for whole semester, graded VERY easily (90-95% class average). Fun class, easy A!

Literally the best lecturer I have ever had! You will sit there for 50 minutes and be so engaged that you will wonder how the time flew by so quickly. Lecture attendance is optional, but I highly encourage that you go. Your grade is based off of 3 essays, but those rely most on the reading. He is such an amazing professor definitely take his class!

Great professor. If you into music you will love this class. Im not the biggest music listen so the beginning of the class was a little dry. 3 big papers and 3 small papers graded very fairly. Definitely take this class with him for for ethnic studies. Also ta is great.

This is the class I recommend for everyone. Interesting, not too hard, you write 3 papers throughout the semster. You can tell he really likes what he teaches (same with the TA's). They are very understanding and I wish I could take this class again.

He is cool.

Best lectures at UW-Madison. Shashko is, hands down, the best professor I have ever had. Please take this class if you have a chance. It is an easy A and will feel easier since the material is so interesting. You will not regret it.

Very passionate about his subject matter and it shows! Lectures are engaging and interesting, but were prerecorded from 2017/2018. Live Q&A sessions allowed us to interact w/ him as well as to get credit for submitting questions. Grade composed of Q&A participation and only 3 papers, but the papers were all graded reasonably.

Great professor, good class to take you really won't regret it. If you know anything about Hip-Hop you'll find this class fairly easy.

Professor Shashko had amazing lectures and was very understanding of students during the pandemic. The lectures were typically around an hour, twice a week, but they were asynchronous. The readings/lectures were mandatory for the 3 papers that make up your grade, but as long as you reference them at least once, you will get a good grade!

Super wonderful class and very informative. Lectures were asynchronous online, very easy to watch and understand. Outside of the lectures, there was a decent amount of reading but nothing too terrible. There were only three essays throughout the semester, and they were very easy to write well based on Shashko's guidelines. Best class I've taken!

Prof was very sweet and willing to help. The class is graded by three 1500 word essays and discussion participation. Even though the grade distribution you could see most people get an A. Amazing class and learned about the origins of hip-hop. Definitely recommend it for credit and not too time-consuming. Work well on the essays!!

This class is graded by 3 large essays and 3 smaller ones. Discussion grades participation too. Both the TA and Dr. Shashko are very nice, and willing to get in touch about any questions. Lectures are prerecorded, and Dr. Shashko is clearly knowledgeable about the subject. Textbooks are available online. Easy A, good class for ethnic studies!

Honestly, he is one of the most concise, well-versed lecturers at UW. His voice is so impactful, and you can tell how knowledgeable he is. He also seems like a great person. Unfortunately, the class is only based off of 3 papers and discussion 1 page papers, which aren't difficult but do require some time. All the lectures were pre-recorded.

Seeing all the positive reviews, I decided to take AA154 online this semester. Unfortunately, all the videos are pre-recorded from the previous semester, and Shashko is hardly involved beyond three "check up" Q&A's. Your entire grade hinges on 3 papers, and that's all done by your TA (a real toss-up). Would avoid until in-person lectures resume.

This class was amazing. There is not a better teacher at this school. Professor Shashko's lectures are engaging and there is no one in the world who knows more about this topic than him. The class is graded based on only like 3 essays that you write throughout the semester. If you can get in, TAKE THIS CLASS.

I picked this class with professor ratings for a course that filled the humanities requirement. I was excited, originally. But with the transition to online for Fall 2020, I was disappointed with how this course was run. Asynchronous, with the recorded lectures from last year. But Prof. Shashko is very willing to help if you can ever reach him.

Professor Shashko is great! He is really passionate about the class and Hip Hop in general and it shows. My only gripe is the lack of feedback given. This semester, due to transitioning to online, we only had 2 assignments, a midterm paper and a final paper. I still don't know what I got on those 2 papers, only that I got an A in the class.

Absolutely wonderful person. Kind, knowledgeable, interesting. Great in discussions outside of class. Lectures are gripping from start to finish. Everything I wanted in a class and a professor. Only thing is grades are entirely based on 3 exams but if you show up and take notes, you shouldn't have a problem. You'll love his classes. Take them.

This is absolutely the class to take if you need to fulfill humanities requirements. He gives fantastic insight into how the music industry works and the messages being spread. The class is fairly easy but you do have to cram/brain dump for the exams when the time comes. Lots of the questions are random bands/authors brought up in lectures.

Prof. Shashko is incredible. He is very knowledgable and passionate about the subject. The lectures are valuable and entertaining. Afroamer 154 was the most enjoyable class I have taken and that was mainly because of him. If you go to class you will get an A pretty easily. Exams are essays in class with the questions emailed out before the exam.

Shashko is an amazing lecturer! He is extremely knowledgeable and makes the course extremely fun with many videos during lecture. There are 4 books to read and 2 midterms and a final essay. Very interesting material and I'm glad I got off the waitlist for this course!

Easily the best lecturer I've ever had. He's clearly incredibly knowledgeable and utilizes this in every lecture. He addresses politically divisive subjects with a wealth of knowledge and prowess and explains each subject in a way that's interesting and easy to understand.

Best lecturer in terms of style that I've ever had. But, he is very misleading on some of his political lectures. Also, the Tricia Rose book he has you read is quite possibly one of the most horrible books ever written.

Shashko has without a doubt been the most interesting and well-spoken professor I've had at UW. Would definitely recommend this class for an ethnic studies requirement, or if you're just looking to fill some credits with interesting material. While the exams were somewhat tough, the things I learned about music definitely make up for it!

Prof. Shashko is very knowledgeable in the field of music history and it certainly shows through his lectures. His slides are a little brief but he makes lectures interesting enough that it is easy to follow along. The class is basically based on 4 things: 2 exams, 1 paper, and discussion attendance. It's a hit or miss class but it's pretty easy.

This was probably the most useful class I have taken at UW, and Shashko is a great professor.

I loved this class and Alexander. So far, he gives the best lectures at UW. Don't really need to read the book, just go to lectures. Engaging and interesting lectures, would strongly recommend.

The overall content of the class was interesting, however you are only graded on two midterms and a final paper. For those two midterms you are basically just required to recall any minute detail that he may have mentioned in the previous two months. He does not provide a study guide and is not available outside of class.

Professor Shashko is great. I felt every lecture he gave was entertaining and the way he intertwined history and music was excellent. The tests are not too hard, all you have to do is pay attention during lecture and care. For an ethnic studies class, this is a must take; especially if you want to know more about the history of Hip-Hop.

do not recommend if you want an easy grade

This was the best professor I have ever had! He gives the most inspirational and exciting lectures in class! He combines music and history in the best ways possible, and honestly is a music genius. He is the professor you would want to have a cup of coffee with and just talk about life for hours. He is the best: do yourself a favor and take AA156!!