SOC 3470

Not a very difficult class if you have an interest in the subject. However, if you're looking for an easy A but have no interest in development or gender issues, don't bother taking it. The boredom of sitting through class or the frustration of trying to tackle the readings to make up for skipping class will not be worth it.

Rae knows a fantastic amount about development, starting from prehistoric times and continuing through to today. Classes are one big lecture from Rae, but not hard to listen to if you are interested in the material.

Blumberg is very knowledgeable, require quite a lot of readings though

Interesting course but must attend lecture AND do the readings to succeed

it was a 2.5 hour lecture with little discussion. twice a week would be a better course. takes a while to get to discussion of contemporary development (and not just world history), but blumberg is funny and nice.

She knows TOO much. Bounces around a lot and tells a ton of stories about her past experiences, but overall a very interesting class.

This class is a really interesting class. Its a very broad overview of human societies throughout history but really focuses down on modern day gender and microfinance issues later in the semester. If you do the reading and listen to things Blumberg emphasizes in class its not at all hard to ace this class

This course has a final exam and a midterm. One research paper that is 4-6 pages long. Requirements are no big deal. The most annoying thing I found about this course was Blumberg's method of making you come to class. She doesn't post her powerpoints online which are basically summaries of key points you should know for exams and she doesn't even post her syllabus online...I don't know what's up with that. You have to go to class to get all the materials she hands out or go to her office hours. She's a very nice professor, laid back and a little eccentric. There is a fair amount of reading if you want to keep up with the course. This course also has a lot of feminist theory tied into it being that Blumberg's work revolves around it so expect a lot of Gender and Development material.

This is honestly the most worthwhile course I've taken at UVa - gives you a much better understanding of the links between history and the present, and causes of current world issues. Rae hands out notes in class and is tremendously knowledgable, if rambling. As long as you study her handouts, you can get away without doing the readings. She gives out up to HALF A LETTER GRADE (e.g. difference between A- and an A) of extra credit and grades generously. 1 short paper, 1 5-6 page research paper and 2 midterms (about 40 multiple choice) *GO TO REVIEW SESSIONS. They are well worth your while.

Lol wtf was this class. Prof. Blumberg is repetitive as hell, to the point where everyone in the class knew that when she talked about Australia's geographic luck, she was going to say "they did not have one suitable cultigen genetically plastic enough for cultivation," w o r d f o r w o r d. That being said, she is undoubtedly the most entertaining professor I've ever had, and has experienced quite a bit in here time in the field.
The class is broken down into two parts. The first part is the 'deep history', which covers how humans have progressed from hunter-gatherers to the industrial societies of today. The second part covers the sociology of developing and developed societies today, focusing particularly on gender.

There are two exams, a final paper, and ample extra credit opportunities. There are reading assigned for every class, but she covers all you need to know from the readings in class, so there's no point in doing the readings. Overall it was a pretty easy class, I'd recommend it