PLAD 2500

PLAD 2500: Pandemics Beyond the Headlines was a cake walk. The information was obviously extremely relevant and interesting, and had a ton of expert guest speakers from both inside and outside the UVA community. Professors Leblang and Ford did a great job teaching this course and presenting crucial information. The grading was extremely easy (50% discussion, 50% assignments: half graded for completion) and was done by the TA's. I had Katarina as my TA and she was an excellent discussion leader. If this signature course is offered again, I would highly recommend taking it for a Science and Society credit.

PLAD 2500: Politics of Migration. Overall a very solid course! Leblang is super passionate about what he teaches and truly cares about his students. The course dives into a wide array of topics regarding immigration such as history, theories, etc. Prior to each class, you are required to do a 5 question reading quiz that is open note. They are typically very easy. I will say he assigns a hefty amount of readings, but you can easily get by from skimming. There are also 5 blog posts throughout the semester, and three exams (note the third exam is not cumulative). All the exams are take home and done instead of having class. He also gives attendance points by scanning a QR code during lecture. Lectures sometimes felt long since they were 1 hour and 15 minutes, however it is not the end of the world. Overall, I would recommend this course to anyone who is interested in immigration and wants an easier course! Leblang is awesome and he purposely makes the course not incredibly difficult.