Review:
This course had a lot of potential, but ultimately disappointed. Professor Almedom clearly knows the material, and gets rather upset when students are unable to grab every bit of information from the readings. You'll come out of this class learning that there a lot of problems to be fixed, but that you as an "arrogant Westerner" are not in a position to help too much. Almedom was also upset that many of us were not well-versed in African history. Her passion for the material shines through even if it doesn't convert into an engaging lecture. I learned a good amount in this course, but the amount of frustration that the class structure and grading policies created would not lead me to take another course with Professor Almedom.

Workload:
There was a LOT of reading for this course, and not all of the readings were mentioned in lecture. There was one written homework assignment in the beginning of the semester with no written guidelines, and it ended up counting for 25% of our final grade, which was incredibly unfair as our grades therefore did not properly reflect what we had learned throughout the semester. The course was used to pilot a software called InsightLink. I diligently worked with the program, even went to get it troubleshooted by IT Services, but Almedom pulled InsightLink from counting as a percentage of our grade.... so while the assignments and tests themselves were relatively straightforward, she misled us in terms of what was and was not graded. The final project was a group paper, and she had initially informed us that the presentation would be a graded portion of our grade-- after the presentations, she informed us that she had only told us this to make sure that we would prepare, and that the presentations actually were not graded. It was sad that a professor who clearly has a lot to teach would botch the grading process so badly.

review a class you took with Astier Almedom - help your classmates make informed decisions!

Review:
After providing a basic framework for the material to be considered for the class period, Professor Almedom puts emphasis on students' interpretation and responses to the content. She always seems open to new views and substantiated opinions on course material and readily discusses related information students wish to incorporate into discussion. Prof. Almedom's teaching style (at least in seminars) is ideal for motivated, intellectually curious students who come to class with ideas they would like to discuss or clarify. Students expecting to listen and take notes during class and simply "absorb" information being presented to them would not be advised to take Almedom's seminars.

Workload:
Reading assignments seemed carefully chosen and were quite manageable. Homework assignments were interesting and relevant with no busy work.

review a class you took with Astier Almedom - help your classmates make informed decisions!

Review:
Prof. Almedom has a very unique lecture style. She expects a lot of student facilitation, and students have to figure out what she wants from them. That being said, she has extraordinary academic and field-based expertise.

Workload:
Readings can be a bit dense, and the exams could be difficult. But there aren?t many exams, and the one paper is easy. Not too difficult.

review a class you took with Astier Almedom - help your classmates make informed decisions!