Historical instructor

LAIRD BOSWELL

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.31/5 from 48 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

HIST359 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
An amazing lecturer. Definitely history heavy, so if you don't really enjoying learning about history, I would skip out on this course. But as a history major, Professor Boswell was a really fantastic instructor. Readings can get dense throughout the semester, but other than that, the workload is quite light for this course. Highly recommend!
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HIS120 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Prof. Bowsell is amazing lecturer and he makes history extremely engaging. He also is very funny and often would tell us personal accounts of the historical topics we are going over in class which is super cool. This class has 2 major papers but other than that it isnt a burden and I often just had to read interesting books.
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HIS120 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Great lecturer. Manages to keep things engaging and can be kind of funny, but you definitely have to somewhat like history to enjoy the class. LOTS of reading (like a book a week, but you can sparknotes a bunch of them) and frequent papers. TA is much more responsible for your grade than Boswell is
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HIS359 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
I can't speak to his assignments or grading since I was just auditing the course, but he is a terrific lecturer! I thoroughly enjoyed this course.
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HIS120 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
One of the best lecturers I've ever seen - he makes the content very interesting to listen to. However, would not recommend taking this class as a graduation requirement for STEM majors since the workload can be pretty significant - very reading and essay intensive
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HIS120 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Professor Boswell is one of the best professors I have had here at Madison. He is very passionate about the material he teaches and makes lectures engaging for students. However, the course is extremely heavy with reading material, as you are expected to read a full book every week. Would recommend for those into history/reading
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with LAIRD BOSWELL

HISTORY 349

Contemporary France, 1914 to the Present

Credits unavailable

HISTORY 349 covers the social, political, and cultural history of twentieth century France.

No offering record · Spring 2025

with this instructor · course overall, matching historical terms

Laird Boswell

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2021–Spring 2025 · limited sample
HISTORY 600

Advanced Seminar in History

3 credits

An advanced seminar focusing on the development of research skills and intensive writing through the analysis of primary and secondary sources.

No offering record · Spring 2025

with this instructor · course overall, matching historical terms

Stephen KantrowitzEmily Callaci+7 more

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2020–Spring 2025
HISTORY 999

Independent Work

1–6 credits

HISTORY 999 is an independent work course involving directed study under faculty supervision.

No offering record · Spring 2025

Patrick IberMichael M. Cullinane+20 more

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2020–Spring 2022 · limited sample

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2025HISTORY 349Contemporary France, 1914 to the Present
Spring 2025HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Spring 2025HISTORY 999Independent Work
Fall 2024HISTORY 359History of Europe Since 1945
Fall 2024HISTORY 710Professional Development Seminar
Spring 2024HISTORY 120Europe and the Modern World 1815 to the Present
Spring 2024HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Spring 2024HISTORY 682Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2023HISTORY 359History of Europe Since 1945
Fall 2023HISTORY 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2023HISTORY 800Research Seminar in History
Spring 2023HISTORY 349Contemporary France, 1914 to the Present
Spring 2023HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Spring 2023HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2022HISTORY 120Europe and the Modern World 1815 to the Present
Fall 2022HISTORY 891Proseminar in Modern European History
Fall 2022HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2022HISTORY 359History of Europe Since 1945
Spring 2022HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Spring 2022HISTORY 682Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2022HISTORY 999Independent Work
Fall 2021HISTORY 349Contemporary France, 1914 to the Present
Fall 2021HISTORY 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2021HISTORY 800Research Seminar in History
Fall 2021HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2021HISTORY 999Independent Work
Fall 2020HISTORY 120Europe and the Modern World 1815 to the Present
Fall 2020HISTORY 200Historical Studies
Fall 2020HISTORY 868Seminar in Modern French History
Fall 2020HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2020HISTORY 999Independent Work
Spring 2020HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2020HISTORY 999Independent Work
Spring 2019HISTORY 200Historical Studies
Spring 2019HISTORY 891Proseminar in Modern European History
Spring 2019HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2019HISTORY 999Independent Work
Fall 2018HISTORY 120Europe and the Modern World 1815 to the Present
Fall 2018HISTORY 999Independent Work
Spring 2018HISTORY 200Historical Studies
Spring 2018HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Spring 2018HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2018HISTORY 999Independent Work
Fall 2017HISTORY 120Europe and the Modern World 1815 to the Present
Fall 2017HISTORY 200Historical Studies
Fall 2017HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2017HISTORY 999Independent Work
Spring 2017HISTORY 682Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2017HISTORY 891Proseminar in Modern European History
Fall 2016HISTORY 359History of Europe Since 1945
Fall 2016HISTORY 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2016HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2016HISTORY 349Contemporary France, 1914 to the Present
Spring 2016HISTORY 999Independent Work
Fall 2015HISTORY 120Europe and the Modern World 1815 to the Present
Fall 2015HISTORY 680Honors Thesis Colloquium
Fall 2015HISTORY 690Thesis Colloquium
Spring 2015HISTORY 359History of Europe Since 1945
Spring 2015HISTORY 868Seminar in Modern French History
Spring 2015HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2014HISTORY 348France From Napoleon to the Great War, 1799-1914
Fall 2014HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Spring 2014HISTORY 349Contemporary France, 1914 to the Present
Spring 2014HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Spring 2014HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2014HISTORY 999Independent Work
Fall 2013HISTORY 120Europe and the Modern World 1815 to the Present
Fall 2013HISTORY 891Proseminar in Modern European History
Fall 2013HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2013HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2012HISTORY 682Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2012HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2012HISTORY 999Independent Work
Spring 2012HISTORY 681Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2012HISTORY 868Seminar in Modern French History
Spring 2012HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2012HISTORY 999Independent Work
Fall 2011HISTORY 120Europe and the Modern World 1815 to the Present
Fall 2011HISTORY 701History in a Global Perspective
Fall 2011HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2011HISTORY 999Independent Work
Spring 2011HISTORY 682Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2011HISTORY 891Proseminar in Modern European History
Spring 2011HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2011HISTORY 999Independent Work
Fall 2010HISTORY 359History of Europe Since 1945
Fall 2010HISTORY 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2010HISTORY 699Directed Study
Fall 2010HISTORY 701History in a Global Perspective
Fall 2010HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2010HISTORY 120Europe and the Modern World 1815 to the Present
Spring 2010HISTORY 699Directed Study
Spring 2010HISTORY 891Proseminar in Modern European History
Spring 2010HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2009HISTORY 349Contemporary France, 1914 to the Present
Fall 2009HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Fall 2009HISTORY 682Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2009HISTORY 699Directed Study
Fall 2009HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2009HISTORY 999Independent Work

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

Instructor identity & provenance 
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