PPOL 3295

This class is not a policy course, more of a history of humanitarian aid and explanation of the system. It is not hard to get a good grade in the class. There is a midterm that is very specific but will not be hard if you study. The readings are not important and often a waste of time. There are small assignments throughout the semester with 2 major applied assignments. These are timed and possibly the only interesting thing about the class. There is a group debate that is not time consuming at all. If you want to know if you want to study policy and/or apply to Batten, do not take this class. It will not help you.

This class was probably my favorite class that I've taken at UVA! Professor Gelsdorf is actually the coolest person ever and she is so sweet. She has an incredible background of working for the UN and responding to several different humanitarian crises around the globe. Make sure to go to her office hours! She gives really great career advice and goes out of her way to make time for all of the students who want to meet with her. The course gives a really great introduction to the humanitarian aid system and some of the complexities that currently exist within it. The course consists of one pretty easy midterm, weekly reading check/reflective assignments, a group debate on an issue in the humanitarian aid system, and two timed applied assignments that are relevant to humanitarian aid and the concepts we learned in class. The applied assignments take a lot of effort, but they really teach you how to work under a time crunch which is so valuable. You read two really interesting books in the class, and we actually got to Skype with the author of one of the books we read and ask her questions which was really cool! I would absolutely recommend this course to anyone at UVA, regardless of your major! It forces you to think about some of the issues facing the world and to consider humanitarian aid as a career rather than just charity. I really loved going to class every week and am honestly kind of sad that this class is over.

I had very high hopes for this class. The reviews were almost uniformly positive. The subject matter seemed interesting enough to make for a solid elective. Yet one month into the class, I would have paid money to go back in time and drop the course. If you are dead-set on entering the humanitarian aid industry as a career, this will probably be your favorite class ever. If this does not describe you though, DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THE GRADE DISTRIBUTION AND GLOWING REVIEWS: you will get NOTHING out of this class. You will dread coming to class every week. The disorganization and repetition of the lectures will numb your mind. The pointlessness of the excessive readings and the supporting assignments will test your tolerance for futility. The arbitrary grading of the 3 hour "applied assignments" and the puffed up over-specificity of the midterm will both puzzle and frustrate you. And above all, the boundless enthusiasm that a handful of people in the lecture have for the class, will make you question whether you're even hearing the same thing.
This class was my albatross. My punishment for not realizing earlier that there is no such thing as a class that is too good to be true. I was fooled by grades and reviews into thinking that this *wouldn't* be a laser-focused dive into the minutiae of the humanitarian industry; that it *wouldn't* make those uninterested in pursuing humanitarian aid as a career feel ostracized or out-of-place; that I would actually enjoy it. Don't be like me. Think about whether you're the kind of person who will actually get anything out of this class before you enroll. You'll have a much more pleasant semester.

This course is now under LPPS 3295 since Batten changed its mnemonics, but I would definitely recommend this course to anyone! The class does a great job balancing the history of humanitarianism and current dilemmas. Although the class is not policy heavy, the class provides practical lessons and insights in to the work done by humanitarian aid workers. Also, if you're any bit interested in Batten, Professor Gelsdorf is a great representation of the type of professors in Batten School. She, like many other Batten professors, has experience in the work field that she teaches on and shapes her class around what she learned and how it might impact the us now. Professor Gelsdorf is open to discussion and thoroughly enjoys meeting and talking to students, so PLEASE go to office hours. Work wise, the class is very similar to most Batten classes in that it consists of a good amount of readings, some sort of writing assignment(s), and a group project. The class itself changes a bit towards the end of the semester as she likes to invite her colleagues to speak/ give different perspectives about the humanitarian aid industry, so be open to some change.

This class teaches you absolutely nothing and is severely overrated. I mean, it is actually impressive how little you learn in this class, but how much work you have to do for it. Professor Gelsdorf is very unorganized, yet she just repeats the same points every single class. The TAs also teach the majority of the classes and give exhausting lectures on their times as interns in the humanitarian field. The few guest speakers were the only interesting parts of this class, but that doesn't outweigh what else you have to deal with. Many weekly readings, group projects, clicker questions, and a midterm. Would not recommend.

100% recommend this class. One of the best parts of this class is Professor Gelsdorf's vast knowledge of the humanitarian sector (20 years of experience in the United Nations). Additionally, there are various guest lectures throughout the semester which greatly add to the course experience.

We started with the history of the humanitarian sector, then learned about principles and agencies in humanitarianism and ended the course with contemporary conflicts within the sector. Expect many different articles, instead of a single textbook. Throughout the semester we had a few writing assignments, which tested us on course material, but also tested us on practical skills such as time management. Although, the practical skills seem specific to the humanitarian sector, these are skills necessary to many different careers. The grading, I thought was fairly reasonable. As long as you keep up with the readings and attend lecture, you should do well.

Overall, I really enjoyed this course and I think this is a great class if you are open to learning about humanitarianism!

I absolutely loved this course! It is a great introductory course to the humanitarian world and it doesn't require too much of your time. The assignments were engaging and fun, I found that I really enjoyed them because they were different than any other test/assignment in any class. The workload was extremely manageable and a lot of it was mainly to make sure you understood what was going on. Prof. Gelsdorf was great and you could tell how much she really cared about the work being done and her students. She made time to talk more about her personal experience (which she has a lot of) and how the course relates back to the real work in the field. All in all, if you are interested in this sort of material, I would highly recommend this course!

This is one of the best classes I've taken at UVA. It really helps you learn about what is happening outside the UVA/ America bubble. The readings are actually pretty entertaining and worthwhile. Professor Gelsdorf is one of the coolest humans you have ever (and probably will ever) met. There are a couple of unusual assignments that make up the class, but they are practical, real life applications and give you real insight as to what the humanitarian world is like. You'll learn a lot. Grade wise, you'll get out what you put in. If you don't really put in effort, your grade will show that. But if you do the work and put in effort when it comes to assignments, your grade will reflect it as well. This class is almost a break from normal UVA stressful classes but still finds ways to challenge you in terms of your values, ethics, and morals. 10/10 would recommend this course and anything that involves this professor!

TAKE THIS COURSE! If you are interested in truly understanding Humanitarian Aid and how it works this course is a MUST. There is nothing better than when a professor has ACTUALLY been in the field and everything she says IS from experience. You will just be so amazed with Professor Gelsdorf and her ability to keep a whole class of over 200 students engaged. Like every other course you will have readings, assignments and a midterm ... this is completely normal for a college level course, but these are all informative and above all INTERESTING!! If you want to take a class that will CHALLENGE your perspectives and motivate you to get involved in the humanitarian world afterwards, PLEASE TAKE IT!! She is also so approachable and truly interested in the diversity of her students, she is a role model.

I cannot stress how important it is for EVERY student at UVA, irrespective of what they're majoring in to take this class with Professor Gelsdorf. The class is centered around the world of Humanitarian Aid and covers many important topics within the field. Professor Gelsdorf is an extremely intelligent, genuine, humble, and professional instructor who wants her students to leave the class with a solid knowledge on what it means to be an aid worker and how the basic humanitarian principles play a role in today's ever-changing society. What I liked in particular about this course is that we got to look at every issue through a multi-dimensional perspective and had to ask ourselves many ethical questions along the way. In her class, every single assignment given is with the purpose to further your understanding of the material and the complexity of the field and I feel like I truly developed a few hard skills that I can definitely use in the future. Overall, not only did I learn a lot about the the different sectors and organizations that feed into the humanitarian world, I also learned about the flaws within the sector and how we can go about improving the shortcomings in the field. Once again, I definitely recommend this class to anyone who is interested in not only learning about international humanitarian aid, but also about themselves.