Linn, Jason  

Jason is hands down the coolest teacher ever. He's extremely quirky, eccentric, and very very enthusiastic about what he teaches, and makes every class fun. He tries to make his lectures as interesting as possible and it's pretty hard not to pay attention to him. In terms of grading, he occasionally gives question banks, which are all about asking questions to a primary source (and you don't necessarily have to know the answer, you just have to know why the question is important). The midterm is an essay, a multiple choice section, and 2 question banks. The final is an essay and a multiple choice section. The essay prompts are given at the beginning of the quarter, and the MC parts are death but they're a really small portion of the grade. Take this teacher if you ever have the opportunity!!

Linn is a homie. There's no textbook for this class, even though he claims that the online readings account for a textbook, you only need them for the essays in his class and not the actual midterm and final. On writing assignments in class he will offer feedback for your assignments and give you reasons why he didn't give you an "A" "B" or a "C" and also offers you ways in order to improve your score for next time. His lectures are very entertaining and he gives you his lecture notes so you don't even have to take notes during lectures. His tests are directly from the lecture notes so make sure you pay attention during class and you'll get an A. In conclusion GET LINN IF YOU CAN!!!

Jason is the homie! He is a teacher you can tell really enjoys what he teaches and puts in a lot of effort into trying teach what he loves effectively. He prints out notes for you every class and there is no take home homework. Written projects he leaves open for creativity. He isn't a stickler/nit picky/ harsh annoying grader, he usually graded on ability to come to up with a compelling analysis. He is big on asking HOW and WHY these things happened and has class is thinking on a more profound level which I think is something very important in a history class. He was hilarious yet his teachings were exactly what I was hoping to experience from a college class. MOST IMPORTANT: he didn't just teach us the course, he tried to explain how and why it was important and how we can benefit from it.

Honestly he's a cool guy, but he's a very difficult grader and admits to grading subjectively. He even says that he grades occasionally whether he likes you or not. His assignments are ridiculous and he focuses on the stupidest material. I thought this would be a cool class but I was wrong. This professor was not my favorite at all.

I love this man. Jedi Master Jason (as he refers to himself) is probably one of my favorite, if not my favorite, professors I've had at Poly. He made an early lecture time worth waking up for with his crazy antics. He spoke in voices, made pop culture references in his lectures, and ran out of the room and back in very often. If you don't like over the top personalities, would not recommend Linn. The class is pretty straight forward. In class notes are handed out every day so that you can focus on absorbing the information rather than frantically writing, which I thought was nice. You watch 5 historical movies and complete worksheets on them, and this counts for 10% of the grade I think. The midterm and final are mostly handwritten take-home essays plus about 20 multiple choice questions. There's also a research paper that takes up a good chunk of your grade, he gives you two chances to turn it in, so I'd recommend doing it the early day to get a free grade boost. Overall, this was a fun and interesting course and I highly recommend him!

I enjoyed his class and teaching style so much that I'm writing my first poly rating ever. He focuses on critical thinking instead of the memorization of facts. I've always disliked history and I was fascinated by his lectures. Take him.

I took this class because of all the good poly reviews but I HATED IT! unless you love writing extremely hard papers the entire quarter and taking nonstop analysis question quizzes than do not take this class. Goes way to fast and I fell like I didn't learn a thing.

Jedi Master Jason is straight up awesome. I was skeptical about this class at first because it moves pretty quickly, and who likes two-hour history lectures anyways? Well, I started to with this class. He's dressed up in costume relevant to the period we're learning about AT LEAST six times, if not more. He knows this material so, so well and likes to act out (yes, with voices) what we're learning and elaborate with pop culture references. He has a great sense of humor. Attendance is pretty important as there are two quizzes per period (but don't worry--they're easy), and there's a midterm and a final test. There are 3 essays. Aside from all these things, he really emphasizes deep analysis of the material and how to think critically. On all the papers, he's very clear with his grading and marks about why you got the grade you did, and how you can improve next time. He deeply cares about history, the humanities, and that we succeed. TAKE THIS CLASS!!!! Definitely one of the most interesting, unique professors I'll ever have.

I never thought I would be submitting a review on poly ratings but I had to for Jedi Master Jason. I'm not sure I will ever find a professor as amazing as he is. He not only is extremely passionate about what he teaches, but he also makes his lectures interesting. I actually looked forward to going to his 8 am class. Definitely visit office hours because he is super helpful! Other than that this class will hands down change your life. I wish I could take it again! TAKE THIS CLASS OR ANY CLASS WITH HIM

I would marry this man to be honest

Jedi Master Jason is by far my favorite professor I have had at Cal Poly. He constantly makes jokes throughout lecture, presents material very clearly, and as long as you attend lecture--he even prints the notes for you--and write down what he says you'll do fine on the tests. His class is one that you'll walk away from learning more than just history, he teaches you how to properly think about the world around you and think critically for yourself rather than to be "fed information." 11/10 would marry. You will not regret taking him

If you ever get the chance to take a class with Professor Linn, I highly recommend it. He is everything anyone could want in a professor and more. I take every class I can with him because I learn the most and have the most fun in class

Very fun professor! I enjoyed going to his classes! There isn't too much work and it is certainly easier than some AP history classes I took in high school! He makes the class enjoyable and fun. He also gives you the notes and his essays aren't too hard. Great class. 10/10 would recommend

Jedi Master Jason treats every young padawan with the utmost respect and love by dressing up weekly, running around the room, throwing his belongings whenever possible, memorizing everyone's names on the second day of class, and by bragging about his flip phone. The only reason not to take his class would be to avoid the jason-withdrawals once the quarter is over. He is always forgiving with grades, loves creativity, and will let you write about literally anything. Expect one homework assignment every night, tons of extra credit opportunities, A1 music before every class, one midterm essay+30MC, one research paper, one Final essay+30MC. He has mastered the element of surprise, which he proved by randomly singing the entire "Something Just Like You" song by Coldplay while talking about Achilles. And I don't just mean one or two lines, but the entire freakin song. If we were on a boat together, I would ask the captain to marry us. Must take 12/10

on the first day of the quarter, i was honestly uncomfortable and didn't think i would like prof linn at all, i was considering dropping. but this class turned out to be my absolute favorite class. i can't even tell you how much i enjoyed his lectures, i really am not a history person, but this class was 100% fun and worth it because he made his lectures are super entertaining and informative, and his exams are very fair and come straight from the lecture. he prints out the notes for us so it's really helpful and we can follow along easily. also he gives a lot of extra credit if you do the work 1 month early, so i was able to get 110% on my essays and not study as hard. also the final isn't worth that much its like 7% so i didn't have to study for that. if you get to know prof linn in office hours or after class, you'll realize how chill he is and how he really does care for history and his students. honestly the best professor i will probably ever get, just work hard and pay attention :)

TL;DR Jason Linn is lazy, unprofessional, bais and expects full devotion to his uninteresting class. Unless you are his favorite, you will have a bad time. Extra credit makes a nonexistent impact and is laughably difficult. He will spit on you while yelling. He openly admits to bias grading. Stay far far far far far away. Actual Review: Never in my entire experience in school have I met a teacher as lazy, unprofessional, stubborn, untrustworthy, and boring as Jason Linn. Each and every class was him playing the favorite game. He chooses his favorites early and continues to search for reasons why they are great students while ensuring that the students he doesn’t like never have a chance to show their ability and are nothing more than bad students with zero redeeming qualities. If you are a favorite, you’ll love his class and him. But if not, you are in for a rough ride and EXTREMELY bias grading. He does not show respect for students and their hard work. One situation in particular stands out to me; after the class turned in an assignments that easily took a couple hours of work, Jason Linn turned and threw the papers against the wall in order to simply make a point in his lecture. He does not care about his students as a whole, only his favorites. Homework came in the form of “Question Quizzes”. Essentially, you ask a question about a passage and then answer your own question while also providing insight. Sounds easy enough on paper. But what Jason fails to mention in his syllabus is that if he stubbed his toe earlier on in the day - or he had to miss the Star Wars movie marathon because of a meeting with the school or something, your grade will be what he takes his anger out on. I have never seen such inconsistent grading in my time as a student. I’m an atheist, but each time I submitted my homework I prayed that Jason would be able to catch all of Star Wars Episode III later that night so that I would get a decent grade on my homework. He openly admits to his bias grading - which might gain points for honesty - but does not excuse the horrible practice. But at least it is interesting right? Of course not. For me at least, this is the most boring time period of history. To be fair, Jason makes attempts to make class interesting, but could never capture my attention. This is the only class that I routinely have trouble staying awake in. Despite this, he will expect you to care deeply about the course material. In other classes, your professor won’t care if you care - just as long as you able to complete homework, tests etc. But in History 110, that’s not good enough for Jason Linn. Classes turn into information dumps where useless information that is never mentioned again and has no overarching value to the class make up a majority of what is lectured on. For the midterm, he does allow a single page cheat sheet, but this will not help you. How do I know? I literally came to class with the entirety of notes straight from Jason Linn himself for the entire half of the quarter, handwritten. But this didn’t help much - as he picks out random information that he deems important, regardless of its actual importance. But at least he offers extra credit! He generously gave his class filled with all first year students without cars the opportunity to teleport down to Santa Barbara to listen to a religious lecture for a single point of extra credit. I may have been tough on Linn so far, but thankfully, his three points of total extra credit offered throughout the quarter is achievable, and will make an significant impact on your grade. In the end, I can say this is one of the worst - if not the worst - professors/teachers I have ever had. I would not recommend Jason Linn to my friends. I would not recommend Jason Linn to my enemies. I would not recommend Jason Linn to anyone. If you take his class, bring an umbrella if you sit in any of the first three rows. You will get spit on you as he screams about some Pope that you do not care about while slamming papers on the desks in front of him. If by some horrific luck you get him, ask questions early and often. You’ll become his favorite and have an easy time in this joke of a class. For everything I hate about this class, I can appreciate his attempts to make the class interesting a lack of a textbook. I learned much better from the videos than a traditional text book.

Absolutely one of the best professors ever. I 100% HATE history but he seriously changed it for me and literally everyone would be laughing and actually understanding the content because he was so entertaining. I have never seen a teacher more passionate about what he teaches ever, and he made every single day surprisingly entertaining. Even though there is homework due every class, it is so small compared to a lot of other classes. He also lets us use as big of a cheat sheet as we want on the midterm/final, so you actually have the ability to pass. And the research paper is seriously not bad at all. I literally recommend him to every single person that is required to take that class because I want them to all see just how nice & funny he seriously is. He is literally what you want in a professor! 100% recommend and I seriously am so glad I had him. Couldn’t imagine having any other teacher.

Hands down one of the best instructors I've ever had. He is tasked with presenting centuries of material in only 10 weeks and does it in a super engaging way that always keeps me laughing and interested. If you're on here to choose next quarter's schedule and a spot is open for 110, 10000000000000% get Linn.

I loved Linn's class he is so funny and knowledgeable and genuinely wants students to enjoy history. The way he presents information keeps the class interesting and helps students retain what they learn. He expects his students to think critically but provides support if needed. Participation and attending class are essential to do well. He lets you choose between some asignments so I got to do essays instead of taking tests because I prefer that. Take this class if you want an interesting class where you can learn a lot. Jedi master Jason is the BEST 10/10 WOULD TAKE AGAIN.

perfection x 1000 = Jason Linn

I LOVE THIS MAN!!! the best class i've ever taken; i wish i could go back! his lectures were fun and informative, and he really got his students engaged with the topics in a fun and encouraging ways! i had this class at 9am tuesday thursday but i would have sat through a four hour lecture at 7am because this class was so fun. he definitely favors the history majors in the class (its also required for coms), but he allows for incredible freedom for writing essays and assignments. there was no midterm and we got to decide individually how 40% of our grade in the class would be accounted for (essays, presentations, book clubs etc). i never got less than 100% on a single assignments, i loved working on them and i (for once) would work on them well in advance of the due date. he offered to recommend my final essay for publication in the university journal of history, and i've been corresponding to him since because i want to take more of his classes!

To be fair I had Jason Linn as a instructor at UCSB. Thinking Back four years after I graduated, Jason was one of the most impactful teachers that I had. His enthusiasm for the discipline of history is contagious. Beyond that his courage to be himself and to express his own idiosyncrasies was inspiring and a lesson I have carried forward in life. You in the Cal Poly community are truly blessed to have Jason Linn. -Nate

I hate History as it bores me but two of my roommates and I decided to take Linn's class together. It was an 8 am class (ouch) but it was one of the most enjoyable classes I have ever taken. Jedi Master Linn is so fun to be in class with. Though he has a quiet and adorkable personality outside of class, he is a firecracker in class! He throws things, dresses up, and enjoys making his class squirm with...interesting facts. It's nice that there is no textbook for the class. Instead, there are lots of videos to watch and answer questions for. This is more interesting though it does take a very set amount of time to do as a result. (Pro tip: you can set youtube videos to play at 1.5x speed and put on closed captions to more easily answer questions.) He gives you the notes at the beginning of class. Pay particular attention to any How to Think tips and facts, along with any fact he really focuses on. These will be on the tests. He's a fair grader and a really awesome human being. Lots of opportunities for extra credit. Take Linn!

So interesting and very reasonable about giving you opportunities to raise your grade. TAKE HIS CLASS!!

If you need to fulfill your D3 GE, Jedi Master Linn is the way to go. I took his HIST 210 lecture, which was MW for 12-2pm. The class itself was very easy, but lecture notes are critical because he creates all his tests from what material he gets to in his lecture. If you miss class though, he's incredibly flexible about helping you get a good grade by providing lecture notes, clearing things up, and telling you what and how to study. He gives a ton of reading, but talking to him in office hours, I think he's might decrease that. Tests: The tests were friggin cake. First off, we were allowed to bring a supplement (both sides of the page) which he expanded from one page to two since it was a lot of material to cover. The questions for the reading were not hard if you read as they really just want to test if you read at all. Assignments: Fact Sheets (one page bullet point fact sheets of an interesting topic) were cake. Then there were "pop quiz" question banks, which you read a primary source and have to write compelling questions and justification for why those questions are interesting. He was VERY forgiving about these, and they were just interesting assignments that allowed you to be creative in a history class, who knew? He's also a goof in class. EC: If that's not enough, he gives the option of extra credit. A lot of people took advantage of this, but he wants to reward people who work hard, a good grade. All in all: Linn is a homie. Taking his class was a pleasure and a privilege. If you want a relatively easy class that's interesting, and tutelage under someone who is actually a pretty cool human being, take Linn.

Linn's amazing. Honestly one of the top professors at cal poly. He's extremely passionate, learns EVERYONE in the classes name by the 2nd day, and makes his lectures interesting. The dude's fucking amazing. The class was a midterm and a final with a take home essay we turned in with the final. There was a ton of extra credit opportunities also if you happened to do bad on the tests.

Amazing teacher, can't imagine how he made so much previously uninteresting history so interesting. I honestly liked coming to class, because he has a really cool way of presenting everything. I love the way he really just wanted to make sure we know HOW to think. You could so easily get an A in this class if you're just willing to put in the time to do the assignments and show up to class. It's not a difficulty issue, it's a how much time are you willing to put in it issue. I'll miss his mannerisms and enthusiasm. :(

Jason Linn is perhaps the single best teacher I have had at Cal Poly. If you ever get the chance to take his class you should absolutely do it without hesitation. His lectures will be some of the most entertaining you will ever see. He provides videos, pictures, pop culture references that are actually funny, and to match it all he his so enthusiastic about History. One of my favorite aspects is that he is more concerned with how you learn and your ability to question history. You get fact sheets throughout the quarter which are 1 page notes that you make on the topic of your choice and he gives question banks which you simply have to ask questions about sources. The downsides to his class are that his tests are tough because he provides so much information throughout the quarter. The plus side he literally gives you an unlimited amount of extra credit. If ou don't want to take any of the tests it is still possible to get an A in his class. Overall TAKE LINN! You will not regret it!

Linn is hilarious. He makes what is usually super boring into entertainment and fun. He does his best to get to know the students, even though there are about 100 students in the class. His class is definitely fairly easy. TAKE JASON LINN FOR HIST 210!! you wont regret it

Wow. You will never find another professor like Jason. I could write an essay on why he is so awesome, but just take my word for it that you learn a lot of interesting things, it's fun, and that it is an pretty easy A.

BEST PROFESSOR EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do I really need to explain why Jason Linn is a god? Take the class, you won't regret it. He's amazing and seriously cares about the subject.

Jedi Master Jason is the perfect professor. His lectures are incredibly entertaining and he presents the material effectively. His class emphasizes on why history is important rather than what it is. His assignments may be tricky at first, but he always provides detailed feedback on every assignment as to why you received that grade. This class is by no means an 'easy A,' but it is definitely reasonable to get an A in his class if you pay attention in each of his lectures, which isn't very hard to do. All in all, take this class if you can. You will not regret taking this class. Best of luck, Young Jedi.

If you get a chance, take this professor! He is, without a doubt, the best teacher at Cal Poly I've had so far. He makes his classes entertaining, dresses up in full costume during some classes, is funny, and assigns some good movies to watch as homework.

This professor is so energetic and does his best to make such a copius amount of information differentiate from one another. A major plus it that this professor is extremely cute. Even though the professor is very charming, try to pay attention in class!

Jason Linn kicks ass. He does an awesome job in this class for having so much material to teach. His weird and insane personality makes you actually want to pay attention in class (go figure). Don't get me wrong, it is a hell of a lot of information, but you can get through it if you keep up. His midterm is difficult, but still passable. And he also has a other graded assignments throughout the quarter which could increase your grade if you do them right. And he gives a pretty good amount of extra credit at the end of the year. The final is NOT cumulative and he assigns an essay as part of the final which you do at home! SO all in all, you'd really have to not try to get anything lower than a C in his class.

Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity, to learn everything you ever wanted. In one class. Would you capture it, or just let it slip?

Jason is certainly an entertaining guy, but as far as the class itself goes, there is A LOT OF INFORMATION covered! I mean, way more than you can imagine. The good news is, Jason prints out his notes for you and so you don't have to scribble down everything during lecture. He also lets you use a cheat sheet (handwritten) on the exams. He told our class that he didn't expect the average of the first test to be higher than a D+. People do not do well on the exams because they are short and because there is so much information covered, you never know what he'll ask about. Our final was only 25 multiple choice questions and worth 35% of our grade!!! Do all the factsheets, go to all the movie nights, do the extra credit when he offers it, and go to class because he will do three pop quizzes (pop quizzes alone end up being 15% of your final grade). So don't miss any of the smaller things because they will help when you bomb the exams. This class was very time consuming and covers a ton of information, but Jason made it bearable.

I was never very interested in history to begin with so I'm glad I took Hist 210 with Jason. He's a quirky guy but has the perfect personality to keel a two hour lecture class engaging. He would sometimes come into class dressed up as a crusader or as viking on another day. Of all the classes I took at Cal Poly, this one would rank top three as the most enjoyable-- balancing workload and class enjoyment. 10/10

Jedi Master Jason was one of my favorite history teachers of all time. I have never liked history as a subject, but I actually looked forward to his class. He covers a TON of information, but he makes it interesting and really cares about his students. He really values understanding and using information over memorization, so you end up learning a lot more than just history. Definitely take one of his classes if you have the chance.

Jedi Master Jason was by far the best professor I had my fall quarter. I never liked history as a subject and wasn't excited to take the class, but Jedi Master mad the class very fun. He is a bit quirky, but thats what made the class interesting. You don't have a textbook, instead you will watch videos and answer questions about them for homework. Never miss a movie night, those are super important and its just like the homework videos anyways. He prints out his lecture notes so you don't have to worry about writing down every single words he says. He lets you use cheat sheets on the midterm and final so don't even worry. He made us write two essays in the quarter and he is very reasonable when it comes to grading. You are also going to have three pop quizzes throughout the quarter so make sure you don't miss a class. Overall, I recommend you take this class to satisfy your GE.

First off, this guy makes you call him Jedi Master and he will refer to you as Young Padawan. That's already pretty cool. History is not my favorite subject, I'm more of a math and science type of person. However, Jason Linn made me interested in history and laugh every time in lecture. He may seem completely insane because he uses terminology like "poopy-doo", talks about perverts, and occasionally dresses up in costume, but I promise, you will not get bored. His grading is pretty fair. I failed the first "question quiz", but we had a laugh about it later because he's cool like that. To get a good grade, you basically need to critically think - which he teaches you how to do - and talk like how he talks. After realizing that, I ended up getting the highest grade on the midterm and finishing the quarter with an A (which I am super proud of because I'm not a straight A student what-so-ever). He assigns a lot of videos for homework, and it may get annoying, but I personally like listening to videos rather than doing a ton of reading. You also get cheat sheets for both the midterm & final which comes in handy with the load of information you'll learn..... TAKE MY ADVICE and start your cheat sheet early. He hands out his lectures in print, so highlight the important points during lecture & you won't have to go through them later. TAKE THIS PROFESSOR OR THIS CLASS IF YOU CAN - You won't regret it!! Peace out.

Best teacher ever!! Really funny and makes lectures interesting

TAKE HIM. i usually don't like history. He made this class interesting, there are videos for homework, and he's very clear on assignments, due dates. Midterm and final cheat-sheet is allowed, and the test questios are simple and clear, no dates! His class is how all history classes should be, maybe people would't hate history so much. He's a little weird at first but super nice and cool!!

WARNING: Don't take this class if you are easily affected by violence in any shape or form. Because world history is such a broad topic, Linn decided to center the class around the theme of violence. There are descriptive mentions of torture murder and the like. Otherwise, this class was very well taught by Linn, although the lectures did eventually start to feel a bit long.

Jason Linn is super funny and a great guy. I had a lot of fun in his class because it's almost like he is an actor performing on stage when he lectures. It sucks because all you do in class is lecture from start to finish, so it can be boring at times, but it isn't too hard to pay attention because he is always yelling or doing something crazy to keep you engaged. There is soooo much material that you learn and it is super hard to keep up with at times. There are "question quizzes" after each lecture and those aren't too bad.. the first one is always confusing and hard, but if you go into his office hours and ask for help, he will clear everything up for you and they make sense. For homework-you watch videos and fill out note sheets. Not too bad, but some of the videos are like 3 hours long. For midterm- the midterm was all multiple choice and you get to use a cheat sheet which is super nice. Make sure to know all of the "how to think" tips because a lot of the questions are on those and he puts them in his lecture notes, so make sure to put those on the cheat sheet. There is a paper due around the time of the midterm and it's basically like a research paper, but you get to choose your topic and can do whatever you want. He likes papers that are different and unique, so think out of the box and treat it like a question quiz. For the final- you have to write a paper (not too bad but make sure to follow the directions and answer the question) and there's a multiple choice section. Again, you get a cheat sheet and make sure you know the "how to think" information!

Linn was a great professor. At times his lectures got a little boring, but he did his best to keep all students interested. I learned a ton in this class and I hope to be in a class taught by him in the future.

I’m currently in Jason Linn’s class for winter quarter, but I know a lot of people are registering for spring quarter so I’m writing this Poly rating before people chose to take this class. Yes, Jason Linn is a great teacher and his lectures are interesting, but what I didn’t know before taking this class is it’s actually A LOT of work. Attendance is worth 50% of your grade and the only possible way to do decently on midterms and finals is actually going to class and paying attention. All midterm questions are based on things he SAYS in class, not based on the notes. On top of this there is at least an hour and a half of homework videos with specific questions to fill out for each class period. Yes I learned a lot so far, but don’t be fooled, this class is definetly not a walk in the park or an easy A.

Just an absolute joy of a class to take. I'm a senior engineering student and Prof. Linn is one of the best professors I've had during my time here at CP. The homework consists of videos and a worksheet along with a question quiz, where you write a question about a passage or image. The videos can be long but are often interesting and engaging and are all relevant somehow. If you can take this professor- DO IT. Please. For my sake since I don't have time to take another one of his.

Jason Linn is incredibly passionate about what he teaches. His enthusiasm for history and the amount of energy he comes to class with every morning is astounding. His excitement is contagious! His lectures don't feel like lectures, but more like a performance of one actor up on a stage. He even wears costumes to class sometimes! But don't be fooled, these one-man performances include a decent amount of audience participation. Linn makes an effort to keep the class engaged. Every day he requires you submit a question you have on a document that was read in class. He then goes over a few of the answers students have. He not only encourages, but requires students to ask questions. This way, he does an effective job of teaching us how to ask questions well. The visual aids to his lectures consist of video snippets, sound effects, songs, interesting photographs, pop culture references, and even memes. He also prints out the notes ahead of time for us so we can concentrate on what he is saying instead of being distracted by trying to frantically take notes. For homework, he assigns videos to watch and worksheets on them to fill out. Jason Linn cares about his students so much that he learns everyone's names. This man taught me how to think. Added bonus: he’s quite a cutie!

History sucks and it is so boring, I'll start off by saying that. This professor though, he is one of the oddest/weirdest but nicest professors I have had at Poly. You can tell this guy is wicked smart and knowledgeable about the material. He was so prepared every single lecture (it was actually kind of impressive). For my class, he determined 50% of the grade which was based on questions being answered during lecture, worksheets given at the end of the lecture to be completed by the beginning of the next class, and weekly videos with questions that needed to be completed before each lecture. He told me that each of these items was about a point, so this is about 50 points. The other 50% of your grade is determined by you. You have the option of taking the midterm (1 cheat sheet allowed), the final (1 cheat sheet allowed, NOT cumulative,) writing a research paper (these which can be weighted anywhere from 0-30%,) book club (each 7%), and peer evaluations (up to 4 of them so 4%). If you play your cards (and strengths!) right, getting an A in his class is very attainable. It will require some time though and you have to show up to every single one of his lectures because it is quite a lot of material. Having said that, he prints out the notes (for all 120+ of his students) each lecture. He does this, (and having taken both the midterm and final,) because he wants to "think outside the box". This means that he is not the type to ask about facts, dates, etc on the exams. Rather, implement his "How to Think" tips. That is basically the gist of the class as a whole. He does offer extra credit opportunities which vary from attending some random history related events, or answering questions that are asked during lecture that he does not have the answer to (you get a point for doing these) ((easy points at that)) As I said in the beginning of this he is an odd guy, but only during lecture. I went to his office hours and he was the nicest fucking guy ever. He really cares about his students and their well being and I noticed that he doesn't judge you (which is always nice lol) Get on his good side and you'll be fine. I guess because of his age (I'm assuming he's in his late 20s) he tries to make analogies between the past and modern day to keep us engaged or what not. That;s essentially it on Jason. I hate myself for ending this evaluation on this comment but hes actually really good looking too lmao

Jason is a pretty cool teacher in person, but he wrote some very rude things when grading my papers. He would print out the lecture notes which made it more difficult for me to learn since I prefer to write the notes in class. Overall, he was a really weird dude and wrote very inappropriate things on graded papers, I got an A, but didn't really learn much.

Linn is an absolutely amazing professor. He's extremely erratic, quirky, funny, and his lectures are guaranteed to be NOTHING like you've ever seen before (how he acts in lecture is impossible to describe in words, but know that you will be thoroughly enjoying yourself). Half your grade comes from things like take home homework (which is extremely easy), in class "quizzes" (which are just you reading an article and writing down a question about it. Not even answering it, just asking a question), and essays at the midterm and final (which are relatively okay). YOU get to choose the other half of the grade. You can choose to go to book clubs, take a midterm, take the final, write a research paper, or do any combination of these. This means you don't have to read the textbook or take an exam if you don't want to. His midterm was half from the lecture and half from the textbook, however his textbook questions were EXTREMELY hard (I believe he said the HIGHEST grade on the midterm was a 70 and the average was in the low 50's but he didn't curve anything). BUT he said that from now on he's going to have the book part of the exams be short answer where you get to choose one of three topics to write about, so it'll be much more open ended. Would absolutely recommend you take Linn for fun, for an easy grade, and also to learn a lot.

Here's a little information about Linn's class: Jason Linn is a loud and energetic guy, which keeps his lectures alive, but I still found them inappropriate, long, boring, and overall very difficult to sit through. I did not enjoy Linn as a professor. He lets you choose 50% of your grade, while 50% is mandatory. The 50% that is mandatory is a midterm and final essay, take-home questions and in-class activities. The 50% you choose could be a midterm, a final, book clubs, peer reviews, and a research paper. I did the research paper for 15%, 6 book clubs for 30%, and 5 peer reviews for 5%. I would suggest taking a lighter load of only 2 things at a high percentage because I was very overwhelmed with all the work I had to do. Do only 1 or 2 peer reviews (because otherwise, it's very overwhelming because each one has to be 500 words), only a few book clubs and then maybe the research paper. I did not take either of the tests, but most of my classmates did not do well, for they were very difficult. I found that I did not like his grading on the essays either, for I felt like he was rude and subjective. He does have multiple extra credit opportunities, and I would suggest taking them! As many as you can because they will pay off.

Jedi Master Jason Linn was a good teacher. He likes to dress up in costumes that apply to whatever he is teaching that day. PRO TIP: he changes the layout of the class each quarter, so Fall quarter might not be the same as Winter quarter. He'll explain everything on the first day, but I will explain what happened in the quarter I took this class so you can get the gist of it. So, 50% of the class had what he called Mandatory Work. This included Top Hat questions, homework, the midterm essay, and the final essay. The other 50% of the class is what he called Choice Work. This consisted of Book Clubs (5% each), Research Paper (0%-50%), Evaluate Classmates' Papers (1% each, max. 5%), the Midterm (0%-50%), and the Final (0%-50%). You got to choose how much (percentage wise) of each assignment you wanted to do. So, I did 30% Book Clubs and 20% Research Paper. The Choice Work is nice because you get to choose what half of your grade consists of. Another PRO TIP: if he does do book clubs with your class, he'll send you an email telling you there are book clubs before he even explains what the class is and how it works. I didn't do these early book clubs, but I recommend that YOU do, do them. It'll help you in the long run. Overall, it's a pretty fun class. The lectures are only boring when he doesn't have a costume on.

Jedi Master Jason is a remarkable professor. He cares so much and is so passionate about his work that it rubs off onto his students. I absolutely loved this class because he made history come to life and was very accommodating. I read 7 books for this class and went to book clubs which equated to 35% of my grade. The rest of my grade was a midterm and 2 papers. I felt like I actually learned a lot in this class and I'm SO glad I took it with Linn. Highly recommend.

Weird but chill dude. He will always keep your on your toes and surprises you with his actions. At first, I was worried about how he graded and everything, because you chose what each section was worth, but as long as you do the nightly homework and follow his directions for essays, you'll do fine. He makes it a point to know everyone's name, even though he messes up names every single time, but one of the nicest people. He knows he's weird and embraces it so that the history he teaches will be more interesting. 10/10 dude and professor!

Professor Jason Linn AKA Jedi Master Linn was an excellent professor and one of the best instructors I've had in my education. He was very knowledgeable, entertaining, and really made students think about history. In order to get an A in this class, however, one can't slack off as it is a class with a lot of materials to learn, but staying on top of the game by not doing work til last minute will help get a good grade in the class. 10/10 would recommend this professor.

Linn is a really nice professor and the class was rarely super boring! He is a harsh grader and the final was ridiculously hard because how his "how to think" questions, but you pick what your grade is made up of so I still managed to get an A. I would reccommend.

Linn's class was very boring to me and I had a hard time paying attention. I got an A, but we had no midterms and the final was the hardest test I think I've ever taken and I literally knew nothing. I don't think I learned anything from this class but it was good to take as a GE. Linn is an interesting professor and I think he did a great job, I just don't really like history. I feel bad saying it was boring because I know a lot of people thought the class was exciting and engaging it just wasn't for me

Jason Linn was one of my first teachers at Cal Poly. He was the most enthusiastic, intelligent teacher that I have ever had. His love for his job was really contagious and he somehow made a history class entertaining and funny. Although his class was a fair amount of work, I highly recommend Linn. If I ever have the chance to take another one of his courses I will take him again in a heartbeat.

Absolutely brilliant professor! Loves his students, he learns everybody's name. He also loves history and makes it really fun and engaging. He dresses up and has great presentations. Additionally, the class is an easy A if you pay attention, take good notes, and do the extra credit opportunities. If he has the book club or essay option choose the book clubs, the books are interesting and if you attend the discussion and say like one or two things (depending on # of people) you'll get an A easy. Definitely take Jason and this course if you can!

Jason Linn is an amazing teacher who is extremely understanding, I don't think he ever gets mad and he's not too strict either. You could see the passion in his teaching. He's so willing to help and not just be a teacher, but also a friend. Also, he's adorable and I'm lowkey in love with him, and you might be in love with him too.

Very funny professor ,this class is really entertaining. But expect to do a lot of reading outside of class. The test aren't to bad because you get cheat sheets but the final had a lot of parts to it. Overall he was a good teacher and I'd definitely recommend taking him.

The two problems I have with this class is that it ends at some point and that he is too hot. His knowledge will seduce you like a dog giving in to a nice belly scratch. His humor will make you laugh and make you question if you're attracted to him. If given the chance, I would give him a deep foot massage, just to thank him for all he has given to my life.

Jedi Master Jason is my favorite teacher I have had at Cal Poly. He makes class incredibly entertaining and actually helps you think more critically!!!! He's got good jokes too

Jason is an odd human but he is so funny. He dresses up, runs around the room, and does weird stuff. The material he presents is super dense and I hate history, but he makes it bearable. His class barely has any homework, you just have to watch 4 movies which were long and boring but it's easy points. You have to read one book for the midterm and one for the final, and the work kind of creeps up on you since you barely have to do any other work. You also have to write a paper and an essay for the final. Just time manage and you'll be fine. Definitely an interesting experience taking his class, and not in a bad way.

He's a weird dude but a great teacher. Take him

Jason Linn rocks! He is well prepared, keeps the class entertaining, and encourages thought in all subjects. This class requires work; you will have to read two books, prepare for one midterm (straightforward), write an essay, and do a few movie assignments. Attend class, and you will do fine. Jason Linn is a genius teacher and cares about students learning. Take this class!

He is completely insane. His class might be entertaining for the first few days but after that you'll want to shoot yourself. He also grades pretty unfairly. He treats you like you're five, and if you can handle that then more power to you but I for one found it unbearable. If you can take a professor that's not batshit crazy you'll be better off for it.

I could write that he was super funny or entertaining or whatever, but the real reason Jedi Master Jason is great is because of his teaching. He comes to class with the intention of every student learning more than just history and he does an excellent job going about it. Honestly, take this professor.

Let me start of by saying what everyone wants to hear, this class is an easy A (B if you really slack off). That being said, there are about a million more reasons you should take this class. Jason is the kind of guy who focuses on teaching and making sure his students thoroughly enjoy history and the importance of thinking for yourself. He doesn't make you memorize a ton of information or do busy work. His lectures alone are two hours of him dropping knowledge and relating ancient history to modern/current events. Outside of class I would go to his office hours to just chat and he just a great human being who really cares how his students are doing and treats them as peers. Back to grading: His class consists of movie worksheets (do them and get 100%), Question quizzes (open notes and example in syllabus so use that), a midterm, research paper, and final. The midterm and final have you read a book and write something up. You get a page of notes (front and back) so you can pre write these going into the final. The multiple choice on both exams is hard, but easy if you go to class and pay attention. His questions don't test you on facts, but analyzing history and drawing conclusions. The research essay is long, but if you go into office hours with a draft he will tell you how to fix it to get an A. At the end of the course I got a 87%, but he gave me a solid A on the transcript. Just do yourself a favor and take this class. It is worth putting this GE off till later just for satisfaction of going to Jedi Master Jason Linn Lecture.

Jason Linn is the weirdest, goofiest, RADEST professor at Cal Poly. First day of class he tells you everything that you have to do all quarter so don't be surprised if it seems like a lot. I almost dropped it but I stuck with it and it has been one of the best classes I have taken in the past 3 years! Jason loves star wars, dressing up in costumes, and acting creepy. He is so awesome. He makes the material interesting and is totally reasonable in his grading as long as you do what he asks. You will have question quizzes (basically critical thinking pop quiz) 3 random times, 5-6 worksheets on videos outside of class, 1 midterm, 1 research paper on ANY topic, and 1 final. This class teaches you to critical think and analyze and it is INCREDIBLE. I didn't agree with everything he said in class but he expects that because he wants you to have a brain and think for yourself. Seriously, I learned so much from this class, it was entertaining, and I never once didn't want to go to class. Jason is also very organized and on top of his grading. If you are even considered it- TAKE THIS CLASS. Jedi Master Jason is truly the coolest and I kind of want to be his best friend. He's a weird dude, but you'll grow to love it by the second day of class.

So far, Professor Linn was the best teacher that I have had at Cal Poly. He genuinely cares, is super interesting, and changes the way you think about the world. Take him if you get the chance!

I signed up for Jason's class because all of the polyratings made him seem like an interesting more captivating professor. And all of the other polyratings are right. He is a little quirky but that makes learning history more interesting. He will run around the lecture hall and dress in different outfits depending on what you are learning about that day. If you pay attention in lecture, the multiple choice questions on the tests are pretty straight forward. Do not put off reading the separate book chapters for the free response questions. Believe me, they are long chapters and you won't get it all done. You get one cheat sheet to write anything on it and taking notes on the read chapters or writing up your feats of proof already for the chapter ahead of time is nice. He outlined clearly how to excel in the class but what made Jason stand out to me was his understanding in a difficult situation. He will say that History is the most important thing but at the end of the day he knows that life happens and is very compassionate. The week our papers were due and leading into dead week and finals week a friend of mine passed away and my ability to complete my coursework was hindered. I tried my best not to let my grades slip but they were all going downhill. When I eventually was able to finish the essay and turn it in late and I explained what was going on to Jason he showed so much compassion with dealing with what I was going through and graded my essay as if it was turned in on time. I was on track before to get an A in the course but a B was very generous for how I ended the quarter. That kindness and understanding during a very difficult time for me did not go unnoticed and I am very grateful I took Jedi Master Jason Linn for History 221. Not all of my professors were as kind him which added to the situation.

Amazing teacher, fun class, might even take another random history class to be able to have him again.

I took this class because I had Jedi Master Jason in the fall...and was again not disappointed. He is so unbelievably passionate about what he does and with each lecture you can tell how much work he puts into it. He genuinely wants to see his students succeed. He is hands down the best professor and you will not regret taking this, or any of his classes. I highly recommend going to his office hours because he's a really cool human being and you will love every second of having him.

I have taken Dr. Linn's class before for 110 so I knew what I was getting into when I took him for 221. He is quite a character and possesses an exceptional ability to keep the class engaged . Sometimes he speaks a little fast and so I sometimes had difficulty understanding him. He is super helpful if you take advantage of office hours and wants to see you succeed. A little bit of an odd ball, he makes you stay alert and keeps the class interesting. While I was in his class, he allowed students to allocate 50% of their grade toward specific assignments. As someone who is a bad test taker, I chose the majority of my grade to go towards the research paper. I think the research paper allowed me to further develop my research skills. As a history major, I know that research is a big part of my major and so, I think that being able to work on this while I am still at the GE level will help in 303. I would recommend taking Dr. Linn's class even if you are not interested in history, he will never cease to entertain you!

Jason linn is the GOAT. He is so incredibly smart. For teaching one of the most boring subjects, he does a great job of entertaining students. He is so interactive, will often come to class in costumes, and he throws things a lot haha (but never towards students). His midterm and final are hard, but they are worth so little that you can fail them nd still get an A. This class isn't hard, but if you dont do the assignments you will suffer the consequence. Quite frankly one of my favorite teachers of all time. Ive taken a class with him every quarter of my freshman year!

Jason Linn is funny, energetic, and extremely clear about his expectations. The work load isn't unbearable. Just stay caught up. He tells you right from the beginning every assignment and due date. His lectures are very well prepared and entertaining. Also, he really emphasizes critical thinking and analysis more than memorization, which is great. He also learns everyone's names (in a 40+ person class) which I think is pretty cool. Do recommend.

Hands down the best class I have taken at Cal Poly. I learned so much more than I could have possibly thought I could have in a GE. The course load is very fair and he offers so much extra credit as long as you go to class and do some extra credit an A is very possible to achieve. I however slacked off and did not do any extra credit which I now regret so definitely stay on top of it! Jason Linn is a fun and intriguing professor who thinks of his students first and always is open to questions and discussion. The powerpoint are interactive and include pictures, videos, and songs. I already signed up for another class with this next quarter for a free elective because I enjoyed it so much. If you like history at all I HIGHLY recommend taking this course. The tests are all on concepts and bigger picture ideas rather than dates and names which allows you to actually understand and learn from the material.

Jedi Master Jason is incredible. He really cares about history and he makes sure to show why it's important. I only took this class because it was a GE I needed at a good time, but this class has been one of the most impactful in my life. Jedi Master is also a great and funny guy, I highly recommend him for any class you can take with him.

idk what the hype is with this guy. yes, he can teach well and is enthusiastic about the material, but he is so weird that it just takes out all the enjoyment in class. This man is 40 years old but acts like he's a 12 year old in drama class. He makes almost every class go an extra 20-25 minutes with his little "skits" and meme videos. His grading doesn't make any sense with every single assignment he gives you, and the midterm was the most pointless piece of work i've ever done in my entire life. Don't even get me started about the "Fermi Questions." Those were ridiculously unnecessary. other than that, he does genuinely care about his students and wants everyone to succeed.

Professor Linn is a great guy who cares about all of his students and wants them to succeed. However, I am not a history major, and I had a very difficult time learning in this class. For me it wasn't a class that I learned history in (there's no textbook). Lectures were hard to follow. It was a class that tested critical thinking and how you interpret things. Personally, I am not a fan of that and would have rather been tested on history. Other than than, this class does not require too much work but you better be ready to think outside the box or it will be tough.

Best teacher I've had so far. He is so engaging in his lectures and is able to connect with the students in a way I haven't seen in any other professor so far. With a class of about 100 and multiple sections, he takes the time to remember each of our names and is responsive with emails. Any questions or problems and he is there with an answer. Overall he's just an excellent professor and that's that.

This guy is amazing. Lecture is always intersting, he actually sang half of Wonderwall by Oasis halfway through class for really no reason other than peopl were kinf of sleepy. He makes this class so much harder on himself in order to make sure you know why you got a grade, as opposed to just giving you a grade, and as a result, its so easy to improve your score. Super clear what you're graded on, super interesting, medium amount of work, lots of cosplay, great pop culture comparisons, If you're going to take one class at cal poly and then drop out, make sure its this one. Best teacher ever.

Perfection.

I want to marry this man

Jason likes to call himself Jedi Master Jason. His ability to memorize names is astonishing. It only took him about 10 minutes to memorize half the class' names and another 10 minute to memorize the other half of the class in the following class. For the class, the only homework you have to do is watch movies and documentaries from his list in the syllabus and answer some questions in a paper to see if you had actually watched the videos. For some of the videos/documentaries, you can follow a movie script that you can search through google. You also have to write a research paper in this class along with peer evaluations to critique your fellow classmate(s) paper. Jason grades based on whether you can analyze information or not. Summarizing or repeating what was already mentioned by the author will get you a grade of C, as best. You also have to read two books in this class. For the midterm/final, you are allowed to bring in a cheat sheet that is 1 page front/back. Most people fill their cheat sheet with detail from the book because during the exam you need to write about two chapters from the book. I believe that this evaluation resonates with the other classes that he teachers as well. TLDR; Want an A? Analyze and provide your own thought. Want a C? Summarize what has been given/provide little to no analysis. Want a F? Don't cite your sources

What the guy/gal below said. Amen. I too took this class and have long since graduated from Poly, but I was cruising Poly Ratings for a kick and thought that I should pipe in and let you know how much of a joke this prof is.

Everyone knows Jedi Master Jason is crazy cool. This class involved a lot of reading, which I understand because Jason goes balls to the wall when it comes to ancient Rome. We actually ended up doing discussion for most of the class. You got to present on one reading to the class and then lead a discussion (not as scary as it sounds, actually pretty easy). We had one final paper at the end, and reading responses due every class period. Honestly the reading responses got really boring after awhile. I would rather he set up system of note taking that could reinforce everyone to read, but I guess it does make us better writers if we constantly are writing so whatever (You can be right this time Jason). This class, for me, was a 10 out of 10. Totally worth it. Still not a convert to the ancient roman fan club, but learned a lot and will for sure be bringing up unwanted interesting facts up to my friends from this class:)