PLPT 3200

Bottom Line: I would ABSOLUTELY recommend this class. In fact, I generally would only recommend politics courses to politics majors, but this class is worth recommending to ANYONE who wants to learn critically about race, politics, philosophy, and social thought. They have to be ready to put in the effort, but again, it is worth it.

Strength: Professor Balfour really helped bring the material alive. Every class would start with a background of the author, then we would engage the material in different dynamics -- as a whole class, with a fourth of the class, or with a neighbor. She has a keen sense of the material and had the ability to hone in on key terms and details. Man, I can't stress enough how awesome Professor Balfour is at having students engage with the material and actually grow in critical thinking and reading.

Weakness: Very little. If anything, the midterm and final exam are difficult -- there are three sections: identifying terms and their significance, identifying quotes and their significance, and a comprehensive essay. But keeping with the readings weekly helps you stay on track.

Homework Load: There is a reading response required for each class, but she only asks you for a paragraph (or less) to answer the question directly and with brevity. The readings are at a level that feels challenging but -- thankfully -- isn't overwhelming. (All the readings are extremely interesting anyways.)

This was a great class and easily among the best that I've taken so far at UVa. The material is engaging and very interesting, and Prof. Balfour is extremely knowledgeable about everything in the class, and is great at lecturing, explaining, and facilitating discussions. However, all that being said, it does require a good amount of work (reading and writing). There are no long papers but there are 1-2 short essays due every class on the assigned reading. These are not too difficult since they are graded pass/fail, but doing the readings is very helpful. For the midterm and final, doing the readings and understanding the main points of each author is essential. Staying caught up with the readings, paying attention in class, and writing good essays (for your own benefit) is the best way to study for the exams. Overall, I highly recommend this class.

Loved this class! So interesting. She makes you write response questions about the readings every class and occasionally picks them up which can be a little annoying but forces you to engage with the readings. Really interesting topics and authors. Gained a lot of knowledge in this class and would recommend it.