Bridger, Sarah  

Andrea Dworkin's ideological twin.

She was super into history and it showed in her teaching. While there was alot of reading it wasnt too hard. You always knew what she expected which made doing the work easy and her midterm and final were straight forward and pretty easy. This may not have been the best class ever she made it the best it could be

Bridger is a great teacher! She is super approachable and is helpful if you ever ask. She really makes a GE history course seem interesting. However, there are a lot readings for homework every night and her grading system is very vague.

Bridger is nice and very knowledgeable. But she's incredibly boring, so you gotta make sure you take good notes. You can get a B with doing minimal readings. But sometimes on the exams she'll throw in an expert from the reading and ask you to identify who said it and its context. Not too bad.

Professor Bridger cares about her students. She grades very fairly and only tests on major ideas, not specific dates. There are a lot of short primary source readings, but they are extremely interesting. She does often ask you to identify the author or speaker of certain quotes from the readings, but they are pretty obvious if you actually read. Her lectures are so interesting and about topics and events that are constantly referenced in American politics. This course fulfilled a GE for me, but I would recommend it even more to just further your knowledge on American history. Professor Bridger is extremely approachable and responds to emails in a very timely manner. I would highly encourage everyone to take this class.

Bridger spent pretty much all the lecture time actually lecturing...don't expect her to waste class time on anything not history related, and be ready to take A LOT of notes. However, to me, she presented the material very well, and was able to keep me interested in the material almost all the time. She would occasionally show a movie or two in class, but that was it. She did assign primary source readings, but she goes over them in class, so I was fine without reading them.

First off, I like Professor Bridger, she's a very nice person and amenable during office hours. If you are interested in the Cold War, ask her about her research during OH. As for the class, it's a little dry because it's almost solid lecture, but if you pay a modicum of attention you'll do fine on the essays and test (same for the readings: they are daily but helpful, and necessary if you want to do really well. Don't fret about the quizzes either, they're worth almost nothing). Take advantage of her offer to revise your term paper and write it before the rest of the class does so you don't have to fight them for office hour time.

Presents material with clarity and responds to questions and thoughts with good explanations and answers. Very liberal political views which shines through in the material taught and especially on the exams.

I really enjoyed Professor Bridger's class. It was all lecture; you get into class, she starts talking and you begin writing. I would recommend using your laptop because there is so much information to take in. There were some mini quizzes every week or so that had to do with the readings. They weren't too hard. For the midterm and final she is good about telling you what to study. Just make sure you pay attention in class and don't skip a day or else you'll fall behind. I didn't go to office hours, but I'm sure they would have been super helpful because there were a few times I would talk to her after class and ask questions, and she would do a wonderful job explaining the answers. One thing that was kind of a bummer was that you don't know your grade the entire quarter. She doesn't like imputing grades, so you won't know until you get your final letter.

Sarah Bridger was one of the worst teachers I have ever had at Cal Poly, hands down. She sped through her lectures at an unreasonable speed so that none of the students were able to comprehend what she was saying. She would jump from one topic to the next without any coherency. She was incredibly unhelpful in office hours. Additionally, she asked far too much of her students for a GE course. For example, on a 50 minute exam, we would have to answer multiple choice questions, matching questions, short answer questions, mini-essay questions, AND 2 or more extended essay questions! No one was able to successfully complete exams. She set us up for failure. I worked very hard in this class and was able to get a B. Never take Bridger!!!!

Bridger is an awesome professor! She is the type of teacher that can make history more interesting and easier to understand for the non-history major. This class is required for my major and was such a great addition to my schedule. Bridger is interesting and you can tell she knows her information really well. My class overall seemed very uninterested in history which was unfortunate but she tried her hardest to make sure everyone was engaged and tried to increase participation. She is so nice as well, and willing to help any student that is in need of help. If you read all the readings and put a decent amount of work into this class it could be very easy to get an A. With minimal effort and almost no studying, I got a B in her class. I also retained tons of the information just from her excellently prepared lectures. If you attend class every day, you will get SO much out of her class and will have a great experience. You should take Bridger!!!

I'm an engineer, and while I'm very interested in history, I was really nervous to take this class since its so different from many of the classes I take, however Bridger was an amazing teacher. It's only her first year as a professor so she's still learning but I think she's doing an amazing job. The class consists of 4 quizzes (two quizzes and two short essays) a midterm, a final, and a final essay. The quizzes and essays are pretty straight forward, she tells you what you need to know the day before and the midterm wasn't bad either. Theres 15 multiple choice/matching, and two short essays (I have no idea what test the guy below me took....) The essay is literally on whatever you want to write on and she's super available to ask for help. Shes not too picky as a grader and shes an AMAZING lecturer! I was never bored or falling asleep in class even though its at 9 am! I would recommend her and want to take her again for anything in the future!

Professor Bridger is hands down the best GE professor I've had at my career here. I honestly don't think I can say this for very many professors who teach GEs. Class isn't too demanding, there are readings but they are very short. She does lecture at a fast pace but that is not an issue because she actively responds to emails and is also helpful at office hours or if you catch her after class. There are 5 quizzes in the class and very straight forward. She even gives you questions to think about in review and she lets you know what readings it will cover. So pretty much, if you try, I don't see a reason why you can't get an A. Overall a great class that fulfills D1 & USCP.

Dr. Bridger is a great lecturer. Class is 4 quizzes, midterm final and final paper. She is entertaining and you can tell she loves teaching which makes it better for us. Take it if you can. MUCH BETTER THAN BARNES.

Take her for your 207 course! Great lecturer and person. Class is quick, informative and digestible, especially if you took AP history in high school.Keep up with the reading (Which is manageable) if you want to excel.

Bridger is a great teacher, she explains everything clearly and well. The only problem is, she can lecture for a whole 50 minutes without stopping, so if you stop listening for a minute, you will get lost. For a GE, it is kind of a lot of work, and a lot of thinking above.

Agree with the evaluation below me. If you get her, take her. She's a good person, BUT talks so much, your like, "sooo what the fuck is on the test? i just wrote pages and pages of the cold war down..." PERSONALLY: I never did the reading except when she said there was a quiz. other than that, just really try to grasp what "freedom" meant to every person or group. that's how i (barely) got the A.

Both reviews below me are correct. Her lectures tend to be very long and sometimes even go over the 50 minute class period. However, you have to remember that this is a survey class so she has a lot of material to cover over the 10 weeks she has. There is a lot of reading in this class which I kept up with until the midterm, once I passed the midterm and I realized that I could pass this class without reading much, I completely stopped reading except for the quizzes that happen later on in the quarter. The paper is relatively easy, as you can choose whatever you want to write on. She is a very laid back teacher and if you know enough about how people felt about freedom and equality in different eras then this class is easy.

Professor Bridger is a very nice person who really knows her stuff. She was educated at Brown and Columbia and is one of the leading experts on Cold War ethics. She lectures from power point slides every day, and while it is easy to see how passionate she is, it can get a bit monotonous. Take good notes and pay attention. I only read the homework a few times and got an A- in the class. Paper at the end is pretty easy and she will edit drafts. Bridger responds to emails quickly and is a very reasonable person. Take her class!

Bridger makes history interesting. She gives you a book filled with primary sources and has you read them to understand what is happening in history along with the lecture she gives in class. She is super helpful and always willing to answer a students question and will know the answer to literally every question about history. Her final paper is extremely easy and she tells you exactly what to expect on every quiz and in class writing assignment. Best advice is to go to every class and pay attention. I definitely recommend taking her!!

She's very approachable, and she is happy to clarify almost any question you may have. She will also look up/research your question and give you an answer later if she doesn't know on the spot. She also makes history fun, I felt I learned a lot and I actually enjoyed the subject. I strongly suggest taking her. Her tests and quizzes/in class writing exercises are easy and require almost no preparation.

Bridger is such a wonderful person! She tells the class content like it's a story. If anything the exams were too simple. I took really detailed notes, and the test was just on simple ideas and timeline events. You do have to go to class though for discussions/participation points. I know she no longer offers this course, but she was a great teacher and extremely witty and friendly, I would love to take another course from her except I'm not in the major.

She's a new professor at Cal Poly, but for being new, she's done an amazing job. Her teaching style is innovative but demanding. Instead of using a textbook, we read 4 novels that were written about certain periods in American history. On top of this, we were also assigned short documents to read before most classes. Each article has to do with a viewpoint during the period you study or an analysis paper of that period. You develop your own ideas and philosophy throughout the class. We also watched film clips during class, which is always a bonus. Some lectures were more interesting than others, but it really just has to do with you and your interest level in the subject matter. Attendance to class is a must since that's were you get all the information from (no textbook). Everything you read pertains to something and I recommend highlighting or making notes about each article because it will be useful when the midterms/final comes around.

She is very charismatic and passionate about history- which makes it more interesting. She offers 20% of participation grade.' Not a super hard grader. She's super available for help and questions. I enjoyed her and the class. The grade is made up of 4 reading responses, a mid term and a final paper and a final. I <3 her

Bridger is a very, very nice person and an even more fair grader. She recognizes everyone's ability and acknowledges when students have done their best. She does not make you memorize every pointless detail of history but rather notices that you understand the big picture, the main idea. Her teaching method is very good- she mixes it up so you don't get bored (a movie one day, a lecture the next, and a few group discussions). Also, she gives quite a few short assignments so you don't feel like it's the end of the world if you don't do so well on one- you just try harder the next time and it keeps you motivated. I wish Bridger taught every History class because her teaching focus isn't just about having you in the class so you can pass, but rather, she actually wants you to learn and be interested in the subject at hand. She's encouraging and effective.

To preface, I thought this class was amazeballs:) This class had three reading responses around 2-3 pages long each, a midterm, a final, participation, and a final paper. She assigns readings for each time the class meets up, and will ask the class as a whole about them. So the class is definitely more enjoyable and interactive if you do the reading. The readings were overall really interesting, and most were shortish (around 5-10 pages). Bridger is, in my opinion, a fantastic professor. She is a lovely person, and wants to hear feedback from her students about their opinions and thoughts. She is totally open minded, understanding, and flexible. Would for sure take a class from her again.

Dr. Bridger is quite possibly one of the sweetest professors at Cal Poly. She sympathizes with student stress, tries to adjust her curriculum accordingly, and is an expert on what she teaches. I took this class because I felt that it would make me a better person, ie: have a better understanding of the foreign relations the US has had in the past so that I am more educated on current worldly activities. I do feel like I have learned a lot and that I achieved my goal of being a better person. That being said, this class comes with a lot of work. It is an upper division class for history majors. Expect several readings per class lecture and to spend a decent amount of time reading them. My class grade was broken down by participation, three take home essays, a midterm (two in class essays, but we got a list of potential prompts before the exam), and a final (again, in class essays). She is a fair grader, so I don't think many people have much to worry about as long as you rely heavily on the class readings and material. Moral of the story: this class isn't a cake walk easy A, but it's not hard to do well if you put effort into studying for the midterm and doing well on the take home essays. Dr. Bridger's HIST 326 class is worth taking. The book is online for $20, so don't buy it at the bookstore.

Professor Bridger is an excellent professor! She is so sweet and helps anyone who wants to learn and dig deeper into the material. Would highly recommend this new HIST class to anyone looking to learn more about the dynamics of the United States's foreign policy over the past century. She is great!

If you have a decent amount of free time would highly recommend this course and professor. The course incredibly effectively gave greater nuance to my global world view in addition to my views of the human condition. The one downside is that it requires A LOT of reading for a GE, hence my recommendation to take it during a relatively light quarter

I have to say it is difficult for me to be objective since Sarah Bridger was the worst teacher I have ever had. She seems confused about how to properly teach and regulate a class that is not some unimportant GE 200 class. As far as progressing the minds, ideas and opinions of the students, Bridger failed on an unprecedented level. I understand older more tenured Professors perhaps acting more ignorant to student needs, but I simply cannot understand how a 'teacher' as new to the program as she is could be so thickheaded and unwieldy in the classroom. Aside from her very annoying and usually unrelated feminist rants that she enjoys going on, Bridger is like a spoiled child once she hears an opinion opposing her own. Beware anyone who is not a droid, if your liberal mentality is not as Berkeley as Bridger, then expect to be punished for it. Both in grading and in her attentiveness to you and your ideas in class. Taking her pointless class (it was a support class, I should have chosen more wisely), made me completely reevaluate whether or not I wanted to be in such a program that hires such awful and unsophisticated 'teachers'. If you do not understand that last sentence, it means she made me want to quit. That is how bad she is. Not to mention I very nearly submitted a formal complaint to the University regarding her sexist nature in class. If you are a woman you are far more likely to do better in her class, whether you deserve it or not, than if you are an opinionated male. Bridger needs to go back to her rock and figure out how to be a human before she decides that she can teach and be a member of a university. Her rookie actions and mistakes betray a gross inability to properly do the job she has been hired for.

Taking this instructor is like being in a Twilight Zone episode. You just can