First off, I would say that students should not be dissuaded from applying to Global Studies because of this course. The content in this class is not indicative of the reality of the Global Studies major.
Tessa Farmer seems like she's a nice person, so I'll give her that. However, this course really suffers from her use of complicated and technical language that's really hard for students to understand. She also spends far too much time "connecting back" at the beginning of each class, and then runs out of time for the rest of the content. She has a manner similar to that of a first-grade teacher, which you may like, but was not for me.
I disagree with other reviews saying you need to do the readings. I didn't do a single reading the whole semester and I got A's on every exam. As long as you come to lecture most of the time, you should be totally fine. It's also super easy to figure out what the short answer questions will be about on the quizzes based on the content and how long she spends talking about it.
Unfortunately, though, lecture is extremely boring and dense. The class is all about really technical political theory and Professor Farmer constantly uses terms that are literally made up. You will Google words for a definition and they will not show up. However, you don't need to really understand this stuff to do well in the course. Just regurgitate what she wants to hear on the exams and you'll do well. Students in this class were way caught up with trying to understand the content in a real world context. If you accept none of it is real, the class is way easier.
Overall, don't take this if you don't have to, but also don't let it scare you away from the Global Studies major. I think the department is not doing themselves a favor by having Professor Farmer teach this course. You can see that when half the class drops in the first week.

Personally idk why people are hating on this class so much. I genuinely enjoyed learning about the wide variety of topics under global studies. You get to learn bits of all the global studies tracks so it's very helpful in trying a bit of everything to figure out what you like. The topics and readings also bring up perspective and thoughts that you may never have had (VERY eye opening!).

HOWEVER, if you are prone to skipping lectures, I do NOT recommend taking this course. The professor teaches a lot of content verbally that is not in the slideshows and if you miss one, you WILL be confused. In that sense, this course definitely forced me to improve my in-lecture note taking skills.

The content is rather niche and lecture/reading specific so simply Googling your questions will not help at all. But, Professor Farmer keeps reviewing hard terms in class and her office hours also help a lot. If you have a hard time drawing connections between topics, this course might not be for you. You need to be able to see how everything is connected.

Exams are very straight forward and easy if you showed up to class and did your readings. But I will emphasize yet again, you NEED to show up to lectures for this class.

I initially wanted to do a GS major but tbh after this class I have changed my mind. It’s just kinda all made up and very dependent on you going to class and listening to sometimes overly technical and confusing lectures on topics that don’t seem to exist outside of this class. Also your grade is all based on 3 tests one of which you drop, I thought they weren’t too hard but I did do an in depth review for each. The readings aren’t necessary she goes over them in depth in class. You get a notecard for each exam and the final. Yeah definitely one of my least favorite but it’s just an odd class with a bad setup. I would say it is not an easy class or a GPA booster but getting an A is achievable as long as you come to class and study.

Genuinely the worst class I have taken at UVA. I cannot stress enough how awful my experience in this classroom was. I would have taken a W if I could have. I emailed Professor Farmer for accommodations or help, but it was to no avail. The TAs seemed to have broad flexibility in grading, based on unclear, inconsistently applied guidelines.

Professor Farmer is aware of the negative feedback but has not made meaningful changes to the syllabus. If you are considering taking this course, I would strongly caution you. No other professor at UVA has taught in this way or communicated as rudely over email, in my experience.

guys she really wasn't that bad, I'm going to be honest. Solid enough class that had a clear structure, great TAs, and went over the general global studies subject decently enough (Which is the ultimate goal). I think this class is only bad if you're unable to critically analyze what your professors say and (surprise surprise) if you dont do the readings.

Yes, she goes on tangents, but all teachers do. If you're a student who is going to go to class and text the whole time, YEAH she will call you out LOL. That being said, she will delay classes until someone speaks up for a question and she does very much speak to left-leaning perspective on things. This wasn't really an issue for me, though.

Her lectures summarize the readings very well, but you should at least skim them and take light notes. It will help clarify the purpose of some of her tangents, but again, they go well together.

The tests are okay, except she does occasionally try to trip you up if you haven't done the readings. The TAs you have might make this much better.

Overall, the class is not god awful. We get generous curves on tests. All material that will be tested is relatively clear, and the lectures are obviously alright. It's about as helpful as an introduction class can be, so long as you aren't coming in and being a bum...

This class is fairly manageable once you understand how she structures her quizzes. The readings can be a bit tedious, but they’re essential since all the quizzes (which feel more like exams) are based directly on them, so don’t skip them. Each quiz typically includes 10 true/false questions, 10 multiple choice questions, and 3 short answer responses. She often pulls material from her slides, especially sections like the “Connecting Back” slide, as well as the discussion questions that accompany each reading assignment. Her lectures can be long, but they’re very informative and helpful for understanding the material. You’re allowed a notecard for each quiz, so be sure to take full advantage of it. Overall, I really enjoyed this class.

I didn't find this class as awful as other people are saying it was, but I also wouldn't say it was easy. The class was split into 6 units (the 5 global studies tracks + intro unit). The units mostly focus on ways of looking at the world.
There are 3 "quizzes" that should be called exams because they are each 20 percent of your grade. There is also a final that is 30%, and participation is 10%. You also get one notecard front and back for every exam and the final. The quizzes aren't, especially the T/F and multiple choice. The written sections are graded pretty harshly, but I think it depends on the TA you get. The quizzes were based mostly on the readings and definitions of concepts, with examples, and were doable if you really learned the terms and their examples. She started giving out a list of terms for the exams that made them much easier. The final was 2 essays based on connecting concepts from different units. Very doable, but also depended on the TA's grading. She did curve the first two exams for my class, and I think it is mostly to hit a certain curve, so if everyone does poorly, she will curve up a little, but you couldn't rely on a curve. She offers extra credit opportunities by going to and writing about global studies-related events around UVA, sort of annoying, but it was mostly completion, I think.
To understand what is going on in the class, you do have to do the readings because they are the foundation for the lecture content. She does some summarizing during class, which was helpful if you didn't get to reading, but I went into some exams without ever doing the reading, and it showed. She tends to talk fast and ramble, but prioritizing writing what she is saying and then comparing the notes you have to the slides while studying worked for me.
The main complaint I heard about this class was her teaching abilities, and I think it is partly true, but the content is based on concepts and paradigms that are not easy to explain and often require different ways of explaining to help everyone understand. She is always asking what we need to go back to review, and although there were some issues at the beginning of the semester, I felt as if Prof Farmer implemented a lot of the changes we wanted to see, like recording the review sessions, creating a list of terms, summarizing the readings, and providing definitions on the slides.
Overall, not an easy A class, but definitely doable. I enjoyed the content, but I could see how you might expect a different approach to the class. From what I have heard, it is not comparable to the class content within the tracks.

The most annoying course to exist. Far from an easy A. Tried my absolute best but the graders have rigid guidelines and course content is all over the place.

Genuinely the worst class I have ever taken. If you have little to no interest in global studies, stay far away. If you are like me and plan on applying to a major in the global studies track, expect to be frustrated most of the time (and pray that the class will get better from how it was this semester).

The class was broken up into 6 parts - an intro unit, and then 5 other units that focused on each track of the global studies program, with each of these units lasting 2-3 weeks. There would be a "quiz" (basically an exam) every 2 units, and then a cumulative final a week after the last quiz. There are 2-3 readings (that were very long and complicated) that you are expected to read prior to class (she does end up going over these, but it is still a good idea to do the readings as you have to reference them on the exams). The readings would only discuss perspectives that Professor Farmer agreed with. She would lecture for most of class, with a few opportunities to talk with your neighbors thrown in throughout the lecture. The readings and exams/quizzes are all the work that is to be done for this class, and there are 2 extra credit opportunities that involve attending an event on grounds and writing a 500-word essay connecting it to class.

As for the units, most of the lectures felt like a waste of time. This class somehow failed to be an effective overview of the global studies program, as all we did was dive into complicated topics that often left the whole class confused. Professor Farmer would use language and terms that would fit with a class that is higher than an intro-level class. I don't have much interest in any of the tracks besides GPH, but I feel as though none of the units provided a good idea of what each track looks like - we got super deep into topics that I had a hard time connecting back to the unit as a whole.

The quizzes were unnecessarily hard, and whenever I would talk with fellow students about the class, there seemed to be a general consensus that we have no idea what is going on, despite paying attention and taking good notes. We were allowed a 3x5 index card as a "cheat sheet" on each quiz, but each unit went through so much material that it was a struggle to squeeze it all onto a tiny notecard. The quizzes were a mix of T/F, multiple choice, and short answer questions. The final was just two long essay questions, with each question covering two concepts from a random unit, so you can imagine how much of a struggle it was to try to write an entire essay out of random details from class (we were also given a notecard for this exam, but since it was cumulative, it was hard to cover everything).

While the structure of the class was bad, the worst part is the class environment that Professor Farmer created. She made it very clear what her personal opinions are, often making comments that made me feel uncomfortable because of my religious and political views, as my opinions would often differ from her's. Midway through the class she introduced a section where we would offer "multiple perspectives" on a topic or reading, bringing up what we hear about it in the news or world today. It very quickly turned into a time where students criticized people of certain political beliefs. I often felt uncomfortable, refusing to speak up, because I didn't want to be criticized or have my grade unfairly punished. I ended up sharing my opinion in one of the classes, but it was clear that Professor Farmer did not like what I had to say, very quickly moving on to the next person instead of her usual agreement and discussion of the perspective that is brought up. Professor Farmer made a variety of inappropriate comments throughout the class that made me and other students feel uncomfortable. This included dismissing the murder of innocent Christians, misrepresenting the beliefs of those that she disagrees with, and not wanting to comply with certain university rules.

If you take good notes and are proactive about studying for the exams, you will be okay - I managed to eke out an A, but at what cost? Hours of work and frustration that honestly made me want to rip my hair out at times. All that being said, I would be wary about taking this class.

Awful class, tessa made the content hard to follow and it was difficult to do well in her class if you weren't attentively listening to her monotone voice for an hour and 15 minutes. The graders are extremely harsh and will penalize you if you forget even a word in the long definitions you are given to memorize. This course is the reason why I am not applying to GPH anymore.