GSGS 3030

This is a fantastic class! I highly recommend GSGS 3030 to any student considering majoring in Global Studies. Professor Levenson's lectures were passionate, but I know some students had difficulty following his lectures because they didn't usually have a clear objective. I still thoroughly enjoyed the lectures because they had an area focus and tried to contextualize readings.

There is a significant amount of reading each week, but I always felt like the content I was learning was incredibly valuable. There are weekly reading quizzes in discussion each week, so I recommend picking a Friday discussion so you have amble time to do the readings. Due to the sheer volume of reading, I would recommend taking this class only if you have an interest in global studies.

Course Assignments: blog posts and blog compilation on a topic/region from a few given categories (30%), weekly reading quizzes and participation in discussion (15%), a midterm exam (25%), and a final exam (30%)

BEST CLASS I HAVE EVER TAKEN! Professor Levenson is amazing. Lectures are so intriguing and the way Professor Levenson talks is so engaging. He chooses a wide range of materials to read that were very interesting and the points his makes from the readings are so interesting. Easy to get an A in this class if you keep up with readings and prepare for the midterm and final, which in my case were both online. I had TA Hager and he was amazing! I would recommend this class to anyone from Global Studies majors to Engineers. Attendance for discussion was mandatory but it was honestly really interesting and since your TA grades your final blog entry and both midterm and final, discussion is a great way to prove that you read the material and payed attention in lecture and establish a good relationship with your TA. Take this class!!! I truly don't know if any other class at UVA will top this one and this professor.

I am not a humanities person so took this class purely to fill requirements, but it actually ended up being one of my favorite classes for the semester. I love how Professor Levenson gets really into the material and the content is fascinating. He bounces around talking about various concepts from mainly African/Asian/Middle Eastern history, but I appreciated touching on important highlights in global history which I had never learned about before. The one thing I was not a fan of was just how much reading this class had (like towards the end of the semester, we were reading 200 page books every weekend). However, I would much prefer to read and discuss the material rather than write about it. Considering it is cross listed as an English class, we only had to write 1-2 page blog posts every few weeks and at the end just compile them all into one paper. #tCFspring2021

I think this class was overall pretty good and not THAT challenging. That being said, there is a good amount of reading, and not a lot of time to complete said readings. You do need to do the readings, though, because there are weekly reading quizzes during your discussion section. If you can choose a TA, Julianne McCobin is by far the best, she is so incredibly sweet. There are blog posts throughout the semester that are compiled into a final blog post at the end of the course, a midterm, and a final. Otherwise, there are the weekly reading quizzes and participation of course. This was not my favorite class to take online, so if you can, I would wait to take it in person because Professor Levenson is a fun person to get to know, but you simply can't get that experience when all of the lectures are pre-recorded.
#tCFspring2021