AAS 2500

I took the "Souls of Black Folk" class. Professor Pendergrass is very nice and understanding. The class is soo easy. Weekly reading audio responses, a midterm and a final that are open note/unlimited time, and a 10 page research paper about any topic relating to Black studies. If you are someone who doesn't really know much about social justice or structural racism, this is a great class for beginners because she makes it very approachable. It never feels like she is forcing her views on people; she's just educating based on actual scholarly research.

Taking this class I have very mixed reviews, the coursework isn't too hard and the readings are enjoyable in my opinion. Professor Pendergrass is not the best professor to teach this course. The grading is all over the place in terms of what she is looking for in her exams, if you don't do well and you come to her for help she is very unresponsive and nonchalant about helping you out. She grades the exams very harshly and does not leave feedback on why you did poorly. Even though I wish I could suggest this class because it is so interesting depending on what kind of student Professor Pendergrass assumes you to be you can have a horrible experience. If you do decide to take this course take it with a professor other than Professor Pendergrass.

The class is not a hard class but it requires effort. I would recommend taking notes while the professor talks (not everything, just the key terms). Also, show up and participate. It is a seminar class so she pays attention to who is paying attention and shares at least once or twice each class. She is a great professor and the classes are usually small so participation is key. Also, set a reminder to do your weekly discussion post. These are an easy A if you do them on time and meet the word count. They are worth 20-30% of your grade so it would be silly to not do them. I liked the structure of the class and felt like I learned a lot. I would definitely recommend. The hardest part of the class was the midterm and final because there's not exactly a rubric so she grades tough in my opinion on those (win some and lose some I guess). The midterm and final are worth 30% combined so I will say that if you don't do well on the midterm, you have the final to redeem yourself and your grade.