Current instructor

James Sweet

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.26/5 from 31 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.

What students say

Original student reviews · all captured dates

HIST277 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
Really good professor and can answer questions. Class is all writing based but you need to take really good notes becasue the slides aren't given. Talks really fast but overall enjoyed.
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HIST277 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 2/5
90% of your grade comes from 3 assignments. The lectures were not posted online, so I went to class, took pics of the slides, and only wrote notes if the slides didn't have text. The only reason to look back at the slides is to know what to include in your essays, so if you're used to other humanities classes(I'm a history major), this is a breeze.
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HIST277 · course not matched
Quality 3/5Difficulty 4/5
His lectures were interesting but it did not always seem like the content was related to the papers and the readings for the week. If you take this course, make sure you do not get Doris Mbaka as a TA. Her grading was harsh and her discussions were unplanned and unstructured. It's an interesting class, but not an easy A.
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HIS600 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
James Sweet is the real deal. Kind, cares about his students, wants you to succeed. The feedback he gave was always firm but constructive and guiding, and he will make time for you. Lectures are interesting, content is cool, and he's incredibly smart. I would really recommend getting to know him, even if you don't take a course with him.
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278 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
I had Professor Sweet in fall semester 2021. Not necessarily an easy class but Professor Sweet's lectures are engaging and interesting. He is very passionate about history and it shows in his lectures. If you take this class be prepared for a lot of reading.
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HIST278 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Sweet is a legend. The lectures were very engaging and interesting. I enjoyed every single one of the readings, although they were a bit heavy at some points in the semester. Two exams and two essays, no cumulative final. Grading was very fair and easy. I highly recommend to take one of his classes if you can.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with James Sweet

HISTORY 130

An Introduction to World History

3–4 credits

An introduction to major themes in world history, including empire, environment, trade, war, migration, gender, race, religion, nationalism, and class.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.63 GPA, 86.6% A/AB (n=67 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.62 GPA, 82.1% A/AB (n=56 letter grades).

James Sweet

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026
HISTORY 691

Senior Thesis

1–3 credits

The Senior Thesis course involves mentored independent research and writing on an original topic, requiring concurrent enrollment in HISTORY 690.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Stephen KantrowitzCindy Cheng+22 more

No recorded grade history

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2027HISTORY 130An Introduction to World History
Spring 2027HISTORY 681Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2027HISTORY 682Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2027HISTORY 691Senior Thesis
Spring 2027HISTORY 692Senior Thesis
Spring 2027HISTORY 699Directed Study
Spring 2027HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2027HISTORY 999Independent Work
Fall 2026AFRICAN/AFROAMER/ANTHRO/GEOG/HISTORY/POLISCI/SOC 277Africa: an Introductory Survey
Fall 2026HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Fall 2026HISTORY 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2026HISTORY 682Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2026HISTORY 691Senior Thesis
Fall 2026HISTORY 692Senior Thesis
Fall 2026HISTORY 698Directed Study
Fall 2026HISTORY 699Directed Study
Fall 2026HISTORY 861Seminar-the History of Africa
Fall 2026HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2026HISTORY 999Independent Work

Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.

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