The best lecturer I've experienced. He's extremely knowledgable and passionate about his work, and he's approachable for questions/feedback about assignments. His grading policies are firm but fair - overall a fantastic professor!Rate My Professors ↗
Historical instructor
DAVID MCDONALD
What students say
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
This class is an insane amount of work, but professor McDonald goes out of his way to make himself accessible to you and will go above and beyond to help you succeed if you take the initiative. I learned and grew so much from this class. He shows genuine interest in your life and really cares about his students. One of the best profs I've had.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 3/5Difficulty 3/5
He doesn't really use the board or powerpoints in lecture. He just speaks which can sometimes be difficult to follow. Would recommend following along with the required readings from the textbook, and the additional readings he posted are helpful for the papers. Was graded on 2 papers, 1 midterm paper, an in class final and a final paper.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Took this class sometime. Professor McDonald is, hands down, the best lecturer on campus. Easy to approach, eager to help if you demonstrate initiative. His lecture on Rasputin remains the best I heard during my four years in Madison. Highly recommended.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
He's an old-styled lecturer, so you'll have to listen to what he says to take notes in lectures. He is without a doubt an expert in Russian history and an amazing orator. Papers were fair as long as you read and went to lecture. For the final he gives out a very helpful study guide. If you're interested in taking Russian history, take his classes!Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Professor McDonald is super interesting. He knows his material really well and presents it with the competency of someone who's been doing it for along time. He's extremely helpful, but don't be fool because he grades papers hard. So put a lot of time and effort into writing them.Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
Classes with DAVID MCDONALD
No teaching recorded in Fall 2026.
View last recorded teaching term →No courses match this selection. Try the full catalog or another term.
Recorded teaching history
Distinct courses recorded per term
Explore courses taught by this instructor →Browse recorded courses
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Fall 2025 | HISTORY 600 | Advanced Seminar in History |
| Spring 2025 | HISTORY 600 | Advanced Seminar in History |
| Fall 2024 | HISTORY 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Spring 2024 | HISTORY 201 | The Historian's Craft |
| Spring 2024 | HISTORY 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Fall 2023 | HISTORY 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Spring 2023 | HISTORY 600 | Advanced Seminar in History |
| Spring 2023 | HISTORY 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Spring 2023 | HISTORY 999 | Independent Work |
| Fall 2022 | HISTORY 201 | The Historian's Craft |
| Fall 2022 | HISTORY 600 | Advanced Seminar in History |
| Fall 2022 | HISTORY 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Fall 2022 | HISTORY 999 | Independent Work |
| Spring 2022 | HISTORY 420 | Russian Social and Intellectual History |
| Spring 2022 | HISTORY 600 | Advanced Seminar in History |
| Spring 2022 | HISTORY 682 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Spring 2022 | HISTORY 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Spring 2022 | HISTORY 999 | Independent Work |
| Fall 2021 | HISTORY 418 | History of Russia |
| Fall 2021 | HISTORY 600 | Advanced Seminar in History |
| Fall 2021 | HISTORY 681 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2021 | HISTORY 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Fall 2021 | HISTORY 999 | Independent Work |
| Fall 2020 | HISTORY 201 | The Historian's Craft |
| Fall 2020 | HISTORY 600 | Advanced Seminar in History |
| Fall 2020 | HISTORY 681 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2020 | HISTORY 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Fall 2020 | HISTORY 999 | Independent Work |
| Spring 2020 | HISTORY 201 | The Historian's Craft |
| Spring 2020 | HISTORY 600 | Advanced Seminar in History |
| Spring 2020 | HISTORY 699 | Directed Study |
| Spring 2020 | HISTORY 999 | Independent Work |
| Fall 2019 | HISTORY 418 | History of Russia |
| Fall 2019 | HISTORY 600 | Advanced Seminar in History |
| Fall 2019 | HISTORY 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Spring 2019 | HISTORY 600 | Advanced Seminar in History |
| Spring 2019 | HISTORY 682 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Spring 2019 | HISTORY 753 | Seminar-comparative World History |
| Spring 2019 | HISTORY 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Fall 2018 | HISTORY 417 | History of Russia |
| Fall 2018 | HISTORY 600 | Advanced Seminar in History |
| Fall 2018 | HISTORY 681 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2018 | HISTORY 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Spring 2018 | HISTORY 418 | History of Russia |
| Spring 2018 | HISTORY 600 | Advanced Seminar in History |
| Spring 2018 | HISTORY 682 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Spring 2018 | HISTORY 699 | Directed Study |
| Spring 2018 | HISTORY 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Spring 2018 | HISTORY 999 | Independent Work |
| Fall 2017 | HISTORY 201 | The Historian's Craft |
| Fall 2017 | HISTORY 600 | Advanced Seminar in History |
| Fall 2017 | HISTORY 681 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2017 | HISTORY 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Fall 2017 | HISTORY 999 | Independent Work |
| Spring 2017 | HISTORY 200 | Historical Studies |
| Spring 2017 | HISTORY 417 | History of Russia |
| Spring 2017 | HISTORY 600 | Advanced Seminar in History |
| Spring 2017 | HISTORY 699 | Directed Study |
| Spring 2017 | HISTORY 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Spring 2017 | HISTORY 999 | Independent Work |
| Fall 2016 | HISTORY 200 | Historical Studies |
| Fall 2016 | HISTORY 201 | The Historian's Craft |
| Fall 2016 | HISTORY 418 | History of Russia |
| Fall 2016 | HISTORY 600 | Advanced Seminar in History |
| Fall 2016 | HISTORY 699 | Directed Study |
| Fall 2016 | HISTORY 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Spring 2016 | HISTORY 283 | Intermediate Honors Seminar-studies in History |
| Spring 2016 | HISTORY 417 | History of Russia |
| Spring 2016 | HISTORY 600 | Advanced Seminar in History |
| Spring 2016 | HISTORY 699 | Directed Study |
| Spring 2016 | HISTORY 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Spring 2016 | HISTORY 999 | Independent Work |
| Fall 2015 | HISTORY 600 | Advanced Seminar in History |
| Fall 2015 | HISTORY 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Spring 2015 | HISTORY 283 | Intermediate Honors Seminar-studies in History |
| Spring 2015 | HISTORY 418 | History of Russia |
| Spring 2015 | HISTORY 699 | Directed Study |
| Spring 2015 | HISTORY 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Fall 2014 | HISTORY 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Fall 2014 | HISTORY 999 | Independent Work |
| Spring 2014 | HISTORY 682 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Spring 2014 | HISTORY 999 | Independent Work |
| Fall 2013 | HISTORY 417 | History of Russia |
| Fall 2013 | HISTORY 600 | Advanced Seminar in History |
| Fall 2013 | HISTORY 681 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2013 | HISTORY 682 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2013 | HISTORY 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Spring 2013 | HISTORY 420 | Russian Social and Intellectual History |
| Spring 2013 | HISTORY 681 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Spring 2013 | HISTORY 682 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Spring 2013 | HISTORY 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Spring 2013 | HISTORY 999 | Independent Work |
| Fall 2012 | HISTORY 418 | History of Russia |
| Fall 2012 | HISTORY 600 | Advanced Seminar in History |
| Fall 2012 | HISTORY 681 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2012 | HISTORY 699 | Directed Study |
| Fall 2012 | HISTORY 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Fall 2012 | HISTORY 999 | Independent Work |
| Spring 2012 | HISTORY 417 | History of Russia |
| Spring 2012 | HISTORY 600 | Advanced Seminar in History |
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
Instructor identity & provenance
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