HIUS 3490

Professor Harold is such an amazing lecturer and I would recommend this class to anyone who has the slightest interest in African-American music. Her lectures are interactive and gives you so much insight on the artists you're learning about. She is powerful when she speaks and it almost feels like you're at a TED talk every class. She gives a few readings before each class, but I didn't read them and I understood everything in class. She highly recommends you read them so you know what you're walking into in class however. Her quizzes and exams aren't bad at all, and she was very generous with the extra credit she gave us. I ended the class with an A and couldn't be happier. This had to be the best class I've taken at UVA by far, please take it. #tCFF23

This is probably my favorite course I've ever taken at UVA. Prof. Harold is incredibly engaging and dynamic, and it's clear that she genuinely enjoys taking this class. She makes no secret of the fact that this class is pretty much an easy A, but it's not an easy blowoff course because 1) attendance is required for a grade and 2) Prof. Harold is so good that you simply won't want to miss class. The quizzes are pretty straightforward, but they ask questions that are pretty specific to the readings and key terms, so make sure to study at least the night before. It's pretty easy to predict the questions, though, and she usually gives a pretty solid curve. Exam 1 is an in-class blue book exam—she'll give you the prompt ahead of time, so take that as an opportunity to prepare an essay. Exam 2 is a take-home paper. It's incredibly easy but six pages takes some time, so stay on top of it. Basically, if you attend lecture, skim the readings/key terms before quizzes, and go into the exams with some preparation, you will get an A in this class, and you'll enjoy yourself while doing so.
#tCFFall23

Take this class if you're looking to fulfill Historical Perspectives in a painless way. It's fun, engaging, and tbh restful. The lights often get dimmed while we watch video clips and music takes up at least 30% of talking every day. It's fun when you recognize music too, so the latter half of the class is better than the first. Professor Harold is fun but no bullshit, so do not be flowery on the exams and expect a good grade: make sure to use hard facts including dates. That being said, she offers curves on pretty much every quiz and exam 1 because the athletes in the class keep failing them. The quizzes are deceiving: do not overlook their importance as they equal almost a whole exam.
The grade split is listed below:
Class Attendance and Participation: 15% of final grade
Quiz#1: 5% of final grade
Quiz #2: 5% of final grade
Quiz #3: 5% of final grade
Quiz #4: 5% of final grade
Quiz #5: 5% of final grade
Exam #1: 30% of final grade (this is an in-class blue-book exam)
Exam #2: 30% of final grade (this is an at-home exam where the prompt is given 4 weeks before)

#tCFF23

I took this course because my brother took it when he was a fourth year and it was his favorite class he ever took at UVA. The course lived up to everything he said and exceeded it. It is all about the evolution of African American popular music by means of exploring the creation of new genres and lives of the artists that broke fundamental boundaries for the place of African American popular music to be what it is today. I absolutely loved this class and the professor! The quizzes are a bit difficult because they can be specific and some of the readings are long but I skimmed some of them and studied class notes and was completely fine. Other than that, it is basically just listening to great music and learning about the story behind each song. If you like music, take it. #tCF2020

LITERALLY THE BEST CLASS. If you listen to music at all then you should definitely take it! Professor Harold is the best because she's funny, her lectures are engaging, and she uses a lot of videos and sound clips during class. She doesn't just teach about black music starting at Motown and ending at Hip Hop. She paints a picture of black excellence, analyzes musical geniuses more deeply than most, and connects them all together in a culture where every artist was influenced by someone else. 10/10 but you have to do the reading to fully know what's going on.