Professor Shoemaker is one of my all-time favorite professors. He facilitates great discussions in lecture that encourage critical thinking about the class material. His lecture style is unique as there are no slides and the material order was very disorganized, but he more than makes up for it with his passion and eloquent way of teaching.

Professor Shoemaker is a superb lecturer and decorated academic. He does a nice job of explaining concepts in class and has a knack for storytelling, but often gets off subject with things that interest him. His assignments are easy, straightforward and usually take around 5-10 minutes to complete. The readings: relevant but lengthy and dense.

A great professor. As long as you attend lectures and do the outside readings he provides, you're sure to succeed. He has a wonderfully dry sense of humor that makes lectures fun. He's knowledgable on the subject of medieval law. Even though he wrote a textbook on sanctuary, it's not needed for the class, which is pretty nice of him.

Interesting class, my only complaint is that the TA grades everything and he has no interaction with you. It was.... okay. It's a decent elective.

Shoemaker was a hilarious and wonderful professor. I have to say I thought I would hate his lecture styled (he has no power point he just speaks for the two hour period), but I actually found it easier to retain material this way. He does a good job of making clear what information is important for tests. Overall a great class.

If I could give him a 6.0 rating I would. Hell, a 10.0 rating wouldn't even cover it. Easily the best professor I've ever had. Lectures always interesting, readings always relevant, and exam content always what was expected. A great guy, and an even better professor. If you ever have the chance to take a class from him, do it with no hesitation!

He is class is tough and this grading is pretty strict. There are two quizzes every week. You miss one homework you will lose 3% percent of the TOTAL grades. There are 3 questions of each quiz, each of them means 1% or total grades. Two papers, topic seems easy but the grading is very strict. This classes is very easy to fall.

Typical online format course. Lots of reading followed by written responses. Two tests in the form of essays. Very nitpicky about assignments but that makes sense given that it's the only thing you are graded on. No stupid group work. If you are interested in Vikings, take the course. If not, there are easier online classes out there.

I found him to be funny in his manner of coarse sarcasm, but he chucked often. He was very receptive and accommodating when I came to him with an issue, and I found my visit to his office hours to be very informative yet casual. I haven't been able to have any other courses with him, but I feel confident being able to reach out to him in the future

I attended his lectures religiously, and thought I was doing well in the course, only to receive a C. This is for History 223, discussions did NOTHING to prepare you for exams, study guide's weren't given out until like 2 days before the test. When asked about a reading, instead of clarifying he said read it again. Thanks

Professor Shoemaker is the best professor/teacher I've ever had. He's extremely knowledgeable on all things medieval history. His lectures are absolutely hilarious, and as long as you go to them, the readings aren't mandatory. Would definitely look into taking more classes by him in the future.

Karl is one of those profs that can engage a class without a large discussion. Incredibly knowledgeable, well-read, and articulate (perfect grammar), Karl takes multiple concepts and combines them into clear and interesting lectures. Disc is straightforward, and with only two exams with open questions, expect to earn at least a B. Great professor!

Overall good and knowledgeable professor, though not the most engaging model for a lecture. Take the class if you're really interested in medieval history and ready for some dry and sarcastic jokes. Otherwise, you'll hate it and complain.

Entertaining but you don't learn a lot. He basically lectures on what he thinks and does not help you think for yourself. You are expected to regurgitate his opinions. He never stays to answer questions and talks more about himself than the subject.

He's a pretty good professor. EXTREMELY well educated in all things legal and medieval history related, but sometimes the lectures can get dry and hard to follow. Adorably technologically challenged. The point isn't to memorize terms & dates, but to synthesize information and understand how one event flows into another.

Great Amazing professor! really makes class interesting by having great stories to re-engage the students. Yes, there is no technology used in the lectures but it really helps you focus on what he is saying.

Professor Shoemaker is one of the most knowledgeable instructors on campus. He really knows history and the law. Don't be afraid to approach him and ask questions. You may think he's intimidating, but he is really helpful and wants to help you learn. Plus, he's got a great sense of humor. You'll definitely enjoy the class!

I really liked Professor Shoemaker. He's not the most exciting professor you will ever have, but he really knows his legal history and he cares about his students. I would take another class with him, but I am graduating. Classwork is two take home exams that are pretty straightforward if you went to class and did the readings.

Skip the big lecture class and take a seminar with him. This man is a walking encyclopedia and so interesting to listen to. The guy speaks latin! He's definitely not an easy prof and your entire grade depends on the final paper, but he's willing to help you if you put yourself out there.

I've taken both Soc 131 and Legal 459 with Professor Shoemaker. He is one of my favorite professors at the UW! His humor is dry and sarcastic. You'll probably find his class boring though if you do not like that kind of humor and have no interest in Medieval History. Most people found the class boring, but I loved it!

No, you don't need to go to class to get the information you'll be tested on. You could feasibly get an A and never attend a lecture. But this prof takes the Socratic method to a whole new level, seriously taking responses to difficult issues into account, and challenging them.

I would not recommend this class. Lectures were disorganized, incoherent, incredibly boring, none were test-relevant. Grading system was 2 tests, the second being a 750 word cap on a choice of topics I could have written if I never attended a single lecture. Easy, yes, but did I learn antyhing? Not a bit. Overall, an easy A but a waste of tuition.

Lectures are unfocused... he tends to ramble about irrelevant information. No powerpoint or outline to help follow. Tests are easy in that there are only 3, 3 page papers but hard because lectures are so unfocused that you haven't actually learned anything

Talked way too much, impossible to deteremine what is what is relevant during lectures. It was very hard to pay attention to him. Tests really angered me.

Interesting, complex, a bit arrogant, but a good soul

Great professor. Extremely knowledgebale on subject. Interesting material. If you take good notes in lectures, the readings aren't necessary, (but there is a lot). Grading system sucked- just 2 exams, and they were almost all True/False questions. It was so easy that he had to curve it down. Overall very good class.

Great professor. Extremely knowledgebale on subject. Interesting material. If you take good notes in lectures, the readings aren't necessary, (but there is a lot). Grading system sucked- just 2 exams, and they were almost all True/False questions. It was so easy that he had to curve it down. Overall very good class.

Prof. Shoemaker is great. His readings are all relevant and he does a great job of mixing both historical works and contemporary trials. Lectures can be a bit long but he goes over the material well. Very helpful and interesting. Take his classes.

Can always make the class laugh with his mostly lame jokes. He grows on you as the semester progresses. Interesting material, but its hard to get through power lectures. Exams were mostly true/false, but the final was cumulative and worth 50% of the total grade!

The funniest professor EVER- so witty and dry. And I loved this class and if there's confusion on the readings, he's very helpful in his clarifications.

Don't not take the legal studies class. Lectures are incredibly boring and the readings are even worse. If you don't listen to me and decide to take the class, you'll see what I mean the first week or so...drop the class. I'm also very sick of him complaining every class about us "not paying attention" and such.

Dont go to class. Study 2 hours the night before. Enjoy your A.

The readings for this class can be long and slow-going but lectures and the information are interesting and relate well to everyday life, which I liked. He just switched the midterm and final from short answer/essay to multiple choice and true/false. The midterm was extremely EASY and was only 40 questions....haven't had the final yet.

Really great, intriguing professor. Though he was wasted on the huge freshman lecture, I really appreciated what he tried to teach us, even though we resisted we still learned.

Awesome class. He was really able to engage a lecture of 300 kids. The material was really interesting. He also makes himself really available out of class. A very funny guy (even when his jokes dont go over well it seems like he can always get a laugh out of the class). It really helps to go to lecture to understand broad themes and doing the read

This guy is not one of the best professors I've had. He's not terrible, but not anything great. Lectures are presented through voice only, no powerpoint, no visuals whatsoever. Many of his lectures lack substance and just ramble on about theory and nothing concrete. If you want to take LS/Soc 131, take it with a different prof! Exams are ESSAY!

Professor Shoemaker is one of the most amazing professors I've ever had-- he always keeps lectures interesting, and is willing to help you through the tough material. I would definitely take any of his classes again!

Interesting, enthusiastic teacher. Terrible grading system.

Lectures were somewhat unorganized. Readings were hard, but lecture and esp. discussion cleared them up. His sample exam for the midterm covered VERY similar topics to the actual one. He said the final would be cumulative but it turned out not to be. Exams covered specific topics but weren't too hard. The grading scale was rediculous

Super funny, interesting class, almost all the grade is based on 2 tests that are looking for some pretty specific things. Should be easy to get a C though.

Karl is hilarious/sarcastic and runs a very fun, dry, witty class. He's very easy to approach outside of class and enjoys teaching students.