note that this class was in the summer semester, so it was crunched into a month
The workload was reasonable, although there was a good amount of reading and writing assignments. The food project was really interesting and I liked it.
The midterm and final exams were doable, but quite long (nearly 3 hrs each) and had a lot of writing.
Overall, interesting class because of the way the modules were set up based on topic. I felt that each module was relevant and thought provoking.

This semester, the class was taught in alternating units by Professors Hedstrom and Hale. Hedstrom's units were World's Fairs, Taste, and Civil Religion, while Hale's were Minstrelsy, The Bomb, and Race & Photography. The two professors had different lecturing styles, but both are definitely passionate and knowledgeable about the content they teach. My two complaints were that there was too much reading assigned for each week, especially for an intro-level class, (although the summary of it is usually given in lecture/discussion), and the "no technology" rule in place this semester which was kinda annoying (although it wasn't strictly enforced). Tests were somewhat vague in their questions, but grading was pretty lenient. The foodways project is actually a lot of fun if you pick a good topic. Overall, would recommend for a chill, fairly easy class. #tCFfall22

Take this class!! It is such an easy gpa booster. There are weekly readings, which are very long but you do not have to actually read them fully. The professors mention the readings and what they are about in the lectures, so as long as you take notes about that in class, you are fine. The only homework is a weekly journal entry, which is literally one page, and graded based on completion. There is a midterm, and a final, but both were graded very fairly. They also didn't require a lot of studying. I would just recommend going to lecture and paying attention. #tCFspring2022

This class was taught by both Prof. Mathew Hendstorm and Prof. Jack Hamilton. The course was interesting and relatively easy, even though I am not a fan of history readings. You'll have to submit a weekly journal about the assigned readings, which is only 1 page, and you only need to skim the readings to do them. The readings were generally long, so skimming is a tool you have to utilize. TAKE GOOD NOTES! It helps a lot with the midterm. The foodways project is an excellent grade booster and is really enjoyable because it is about food. The final was switched to be a take-home test, and we had three days to complete a test that only needed 3 hours, which was also an excellent boost to my grade. I really recommend this class if you want an eye-opening humanities course. In the beginning, I thought this class was challenging, but when I learned how to skim the readings and write good notes, it became the easiest class in the semester.

Amazing class! I personally preferred Hedstrom's lectures to Hamilton because he was so incredibly engaging, but both were still great. The units are World's Fairs, Protest Music, Taste, Consumer Capitalism, Civil Religion, and Boxing. I thought civil religion was the best. It truly transformed how I see America. The class was pretty easy and straightforward. My TA was Sally Duncan, and she was a super easy grader but not a great TA. She talked so quietly and asked us questions so there was basically no discussion. I would skim the readings or read summaries. You don't need to read them, just at least have a general idea of what they are about. Loved this class!

This class was taught by Professor Hedstrom and Professor Handler (they alternated teaching each of the 6 units). Both were extremely well prepared for lectures, and I never had trouble with being engaged for the full 75 minutes. They were the best two lecturers I've had so far at UVA. Readings each week could get pretty long, but they are generally doable. Weekly journals due to TAs are helpful for connecting key concepts to previous units (which will also help with midterm and final exam prep). Overall, the course was very interesting and it felt meaningful to learn about the American systems we participate in, often subconsciously. Definitely take this class if you want to better understand American culture and learn from amazing professors.

(Taught by both Hedstrom and Hamilton, alternating units)
I didn’t really know what “American studies” was before taking the class, but it’s interdisciplinary so it’s like looking through a lens of sociology, history, religion, politics, etc. to get a better understanding of the U.S. I can’t recommend this class enough if you’re up for a decent amount of reading (that you can eventually skim) and enjoy talking about these topics.
Your grade is pretty heavily weighted on the midterm, Foodways project, and final, with the rest being journals which are weekly and based on the readings for the week. It can feel like a lot at times, but it’s fairly manageable. You’ll get out of the class as much as you put in.

*taught by Hedstrom and Hamilton on alternating units*

I came into this class not knowing exactly what to expect, wanting to balance out my more STEM heavy schedule with something different. I was very pleasantly surprised. Almost every lecture kept my attention for the entire 50 minutes, (both Hedstrom and Hamilton are good lecturers), and I was genuinely interested in the topics being discussed. The weekly assignments of reading the resources and writing journals was very manageable (... you don't have to do alllll the readings as long as you review them before tests), and the two assessments in the course (midterm and final) were doable with some studying and review. This was one class I actually looked forward to going to throughout the semester, and thought the content was valuable and applicable to the world today. Overall it was a good intro course and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a manageable class.

*taught by both Hamilton and Hedstrom, alternating units

If you attend the lectures and do the readings comprehensively, it shouldn't be too difficult to get a good grade in this class. Attending the lectures is super important as the professors don't upload the powerpoints, and the powerpoints are more of a supplement to their lectures rather than a summary.
The work for this class included 2-3 hours of reading (Hedstrom usually assigned the denser readings), a weekly 1-page reading journal submitted to your TA, and an end-of-year foodways project (in addition to two exams).
Hedstrom's lectures definitely seemed a big dryer than Hamilton's, but he was still an effective lecturer overall. Hamilton's lectures definitely were more engaging (definitely could be due to the subject matter) and he did a good job at explaining the main points without going off into too many tangents. For a class that is required to apply for the major, I thought it had interesting topics and was taught well.

*taught by both Hamilton and Hedstrom, alternating units

I believe this was the first semester this class has been taught jointly, and I felt like it worked in some ways, though not all. The lectures were posted asynchronously but you had to finish them before your synchronous discussion, so I recommend doing a later discussion time/day to give yourself more time to watch the lectures. I don't think this class is offered in the spring though, and it'll probably be in person next fall, so just ignore that if that's true. I don't recommend taking this class unless you're genuinely interested in American Studies; it's not an easy class for a filler. While a lot of the work is fairly easy—the TA's are lenient graders so you'll probably get at least a B if you do all the work—there's a lot of work. You have to write a short paper each week, which isn't bad, but it has to be a reflection on the readings, which take up at least 3 hours of your week if you're reading them completely. I think most people learned to skim most of the readings towards the end of the semester, or skip the altogether, because I don't think they're really worth it if you're taking this as a filler class. Hedstrom in general gives the longer readings; I liked Hamilton's teaching style better as well. Towards the end of the semester, I remember having one week with over 300 pages of reading. It might be enjoyable if you, unlike me, are actually interested in American Studies, but if you're just taking it to fulfill a requirement, there are easier classes with less work.