GSGS 2400

The class is interesting and the professor is good. The readings are varied: sometimes very dense and other times they are novels written for the general public so it’s easy to get through. The assignments are super reasonable and the grading is as well. The professor is a really cool guy and he’s obviously very educated and passionate on the subject. Even though it’s a lecture based class there are lots of opportunities to participate and discuss. Overall I really enjoyed this class and found it entretaining and not too demanding. The professor is great.

Levi Vonk is an awesome professor and is a true expert on the subject. Vonk proves that professors don't need to assign 10+ hours of work a week for students to gain a lot from a class. I have gained more from this class than any other class at UVA and I only spend like 30 minutes a week on homework. I have never felt unwelcome or dumb in this class. It is a great environment. The mid-term is so chill and Vonk provides lots of extra credit opportunities. I bet all of his classes are awesome. I highly recommend a course with Vonk if you want to explore global studies.

I took the class in Fall 2023, when it was a new course, so there will likely be many changes made for Spring 2024 and onwards classes.

Professor Levi Vonk is a new professor recruited to UVA in Fall 2023 for the Global Studies program. He is an anthropologist specializing in migrations and has written a book called "Border Hackers" detailing his own true experiences in Mexico when researching migration patterns. Rest assured, Prof. Vonk is an expert on the subject.

The class is structured so the student does readings, and the professor will lecture on the reading to highlight key vocabularies. The lectures are very engaging and detailed, covering everything you need to know. His voice is not monotonous (it is lively). I would adventure to say (knowing others have done this) that even if you do not do the readings, you can succeed in this class. His midterm exam questions were easy; for us, the final was supposed to be a paper, but he changed it to a 10-minute group presentation project (videos, skits, presentations... all are within acception).

There are barely homeworks too. There are only readings which are mostly made up of papers and two books (we read Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies by Seth Holmes and Lives in Transit by Wendy Brown). My favorite part was when Prof. Vonk made connections with Marxism's idea of labor-power to global migrations, but apparently that addition was not well received so future classes may very well not see that idea.

All-in-all, the class focuses on migration from Mexico to America and it enjoyable and relatively easy. Highly recommended.