HISA 1501

I love professor Barnett!!!! The entirety of the class was spent going one by one: highlight of the week and an interesting point from the reading. Occasionally he would lecture at the end, but it was always interesting and helped to clarify points from the reading. Lots of reading, and you need to work (be specific, get your facts straight etc) on the papers, but no final or midterm. Great class, you learn al lot. Definitely take it if you can.

Very informative, fun, and informal class. Professor Barnett is a funny guy and its pretty laid back during class. All class consists of is telling the class the "highlight of your week" and saying one thing you found interesting from the reading for the week. Total of 4 papers for the semester.

Took this class my first year at UVA and LOVED it. I knew absolutely nothing about Bangladesh/Pakistan coming into the class but came out completely enlightened. Barnett truly just wants everyone to learn about what is going on in this area of the world. He's pretty serios but very, very passionate about what he teaches which is what, in my opinion, what makes him such a great teacher.

Best professor ever. He is super laid back. You only have two 2 page papers and one 7 page paper. NO finals or midterms. You also get food every time you come to class. He is super nice and approachable. TAKE THIS CLASS!

A really chill class, perhaps the one of the easiest second writing requirements. Barnett is awesome, free food every class. 1 ungraded paper, 2 2-page paper, and 1 7 page paper. There's also a speech you have to do at the end of the semester too. Readings can be long, but otherwise it's great

There's only three papers (2-, 3-, and 6-pages). The final (6 pages) is take home and he'll edit the draft, so all you have to do is make the necessary changes and turn it back in. Pretty easy class, only need to read about 20-30 pages of each reading. Really interesting professor – knows what he's talking about and has a lot of personal anecdotes to share.

I'm writing this review two years after taking the class, and it's still my favorite class. I think it should be mandatory for everyone from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India. It gives you a great foundation of information. Also, the class itself is very easy and laid back, and Barnett is an amazing professor. I literally text all my first & second year friends every semester telling them to take it.

Awesome guy. Very valuable class; you really learn so much, and the material is very interesting.

(on Civil Society & Insurgency in Afghanistan and Pakistan) Great class to take if you're interested in the intersection of South/Central Asian history, politics, culture, and regime!! Also a relatively easy way to knock out the second writing requirement, we wrote three relatively short papers, of which the last two were reviewed by Professor Barnett & resubmitted. A decent amount of reading, but less as compared to other first-year seminars and easy to do if you're devoted. Big on class discussions, so make sure to do the reading, ask questions, and participate!! TL;DR you get out of this class what you put into it, so work hard!

Barnett is a fantastic and caring professor and is incredibly knowledgeable about the subject matter. That being said the amount of reading he gives isn't exactly ideal, and he tends to digress a lot during class which is understandable -- he is an old man, but very adorable. It's a fun class if you really love history and are willing to spend your week doing all of is readings, but if you're just taking it to satisfy a requirement, maybe take another 1501 class.