Lecture usually ranges from mildly interesting to fairly boring, and Mobley likes to flex about her research work a lot, but attendance is pretty much required since there are occasional in-class writings that are worth 1% of the term grade each. Papers are very manageable, and the grading seems to get easier as the semester goes on. Reading is necessary for weekly quizzes in discussion. Overall, somewhat interesting material and an easy A/A-.
HIAF 2001
Early African HistoryTotal Hours / Week
Grade Distribution
5 Reviews
Nice class because it can fulfill most of the requirements. The material is not too challenging, and the majority of the class is essay-based. If you go to lecture and pay attention, you should have no trouble succeeding in this class. Also seemed like most people were not too engaged in class, so if you pay attention you are already way ahead of the curve. She's a nice teacher.
Nice that it fulfills several requirements. The professor seems to pay extra attention to athletes, the TA grades harsher than the professor. Readings can be pretty dense but all the papers are based off the readings so there is no outside research. Pretty easy to get an A-
Tests/papers were pretty straightforward but grading was unfair because TA grades harder than the Mobley does. Too much reading too. Only reason I would recommend is that it knocks out a lot of requirements and it's easy enough to get an A-
Great course. Professor Mobley is the most approachable and engaging professor I have taken at UVa. The course is good because it challenges your preconceptions about African history and you learn a lot. Four midterms and one two page paper. Readings are manageable. Try and avoid Ben Davison as a TA.