I loved this class!! I was hesitant about it and I only took it because I needed to for a politics requirement but I enjoyed the content and professor Balfour was a great teacher. Since the exams are mostly IDs, I studied mostly by downloading all the slides and annotating the quotes on the slides to answer why it is significant. Truthfully, doing this and studying some terms is what you need to succeed. Her slides don't have much context though, so attending lecture is a must. Overall, great class and a pretty easy A!

Balfour is probably the best or second-best instructor I've had at UVa. She is clearly the most knowledgeable scholar on Grounds regarding her subject matter, and her lectures find the perfect balance between thought-provoking, challenging, and engaging.
The class is set up with two 50 min lectures and an evening section. Jean-Marc was a fantastic TA and would highly recommend him. I think Balfour is especially good because although her ideas and theory are so organized and profound, she explains everything in a way that is neither basic nor confusing.

Readings are great; not too long, and the structure of the class makes for easy accountability between class meetings. Midterm is easy, final is too. 10/10