HIAF 2002

HIAF 202 is one of the best classes I have taken at UVA. This was my first time learning aout colonialism and how it transformed the African continent. Mason is a great lecturer and you will read interesting novels.

Mason is a good professor and you'll learn a lot. His grading seemed a little too harsh to me - I did every page of reading and didn't miss a single class, and only managed a B. It was still worthwhile and interesting. You can tell Mason enjoys teaching the class.

I felt Mason gave some valuable insight into Africa, especially how colonialism has continued to impact current conflicts. There are weekly quizzes and lectures review reading and expand a bit; sometimes the class seems a bit disjointed and Mason can gets sidetracked, but overall he's knowledgable and it's a worthwhile class.

Mason is very nice and extremely knowledgeable about Africa, but his lectures are a little out there and sometimes off-topic from that weeks reading. The class seems so easy, but I did every bit of reading throughout the entire semester and somehow managed to pull a B in a class with a TAKE HOME final. No idea how that happened, considering I've never received anything below an A/A- in the history dept. Great guy, some interesting reads, but I'd pass on this class

I have mixed feelings about this class. It was a great introductory class to African history, and Mason did a good job in explaining how the rest of the world contributed to Africa's current problems. I didn't enjoy Mason as a professor though, he enjoyed name dropping and is very arrogant. There are weekly quizzes based on the readings that are nitpicky and unfair. The midterm and final were both set up differently than how Mason said they would be. The material is great, the setup and professor could be better. Never missed a lecture, did all the reading and got a B.

The lectures were fairly interesting, but the midterm, final and quizzes for the class were a nightmare. The tests are graded extremely arbitrarily and the quizzes asked about very minute, trivial details about the reading. Getting anything over a "B" in this class seemed impossible, even if you do all the reading and take good notes.

It was hard to get above a B, but professor Mason was AWESOME and the lectures were great. I loved this class and would take it again. The midterm and final are tricky and there's a ton of reading, but totally worth it.

Only History class I have taken at UVa and gotten less than an A-. Looks easy, sounds easy, but Mason makes up for with arbitrary grading. Also, very lazy--he only gave us the midterm back 3 weeks late and forgot to print out the map section. If you know anything about the history of Africa, you won't learn anything.

Mason makes some good points, although sometimes came off a bit haughty. I didn't let it bother me and would just laugh when he tried to 'click' in a South African language. The week's reading is due on Tuesday, and it can be a bit much but for the most part it is really good reading/literature. (We read Things Fall Apart and Invictus this semester). There are also weekly quizzes and the reading helps on the tests so it is worth your while. No writing assignments, though.

Awesome class