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Luke Yarbrough
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Based on 17 Users
Basic Info:
Attendance and Participation: 30%
Weekly Quizzes: 20%
Response Papers: 25% (3 out of 4 prompts, 300-500 words each)
Final Paper: 20% (6 pages comparing 2 academic articles' research methodologies)
Co-Curricular Event: 5%
Midterms/Finals: None
Homework: Reading heavy. It can be up to 70-80+ pages a week of reading, and often bits from the reading appear on Quizzes. However, there were multiple weeks I didn't bother with the reading and still got full credit.
Attendance: Discussion attendance required. Lecture attendance is as well, there are 5 "pop-writes" in Lecture throughout term that make up 5% of your grade. You have one excused absence, but beyond that it gets tricky.
Other: There is a no-electronics policy for this class - not even for notes.
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Overall it was a pretty easy class, there was definitely a learning curve between the Muslims in the class and the Non-Muslims, but even for the Muslims this class went into detail on a lot of aspects that are unfamiliar to many. Notably, this isn't a religious theory class: so don't expect in detail discussions about say, Quranic verses or the concept of Tawhid. More so, it describes the interaction of Islam with the world: for example, topics like Islam and Linguistics (Translation), the concept of Waqf and application of Islamic trust in history, etc.
The work isn't too bad, it's definitely a lot of dense reading but most of it is skimable for those with some prior background on Islamic studies and history. The final paper is a bit tedious, but not unbelievably difficult. You get a lot of help and go through it step by step w/ your TA. The quizzes and weekly response papers are pretty light provided you at least have a general idea of the reading. The Co-Curricular event was pretty fun as well.
Professor Yarbrough is a great lecturer. He explains everything very well and is very approachable. Mohsin Ali's lectures were pretty good as well. However, Professor Slyomoics' lectures were painfully boring, not well organized, and a pain to get through (Though I will say her body of work was pretty impressive). In terms of TA's, they aren't created equal and having a good relationship with your TA makes the class way easier or harder. I had Fadhila Hadjeris, who was extremely nice and a pretty light grader, albeit pretty useless in terms of asking for help or feedback. I heard Azeem Malik is a difficult grader, but pretty helpful, though I cannot speak from experience.
Overall, Its not an amazing class but not a terrible one. It can be boring at time, some of the assignments are vague and the reading is heavy. It is a pretty easy A, though, and the Professors are pretty helpful and nice (besides Slyomovics). But all in all you learn a lot, even if you are a Muslim, and if you are a STEM student it's great to kill a lot of GEs.
Grade Distribution:
Attendance and Participation: 29%
Routine Quizzes: 20%
Co-Curricular: 01%
History Paper: 25%
Literary Analysis Paper: 25%
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Overall, the second quarter of the Islam cluster was harder than the first. That's probably because I got a new TA who was a harsher grader. Instead of centered around the five pillars, this quarter was centered more around Islamic history. Attendance and participation still make up the majority of the grade but when broken down attendance is 10%, participation is 15%, and pop writes are 4%. The quizzes for this quarter were harder than the first quarter but still manageable. The co-curricular is weighed less and you don't need to write a paper about it this quarter. And if you go to more than one co-curricular, you can get bonus points. The history paper is centered around the context of an Islamic artifact while the literary analysis paper is about the meaning behind a contemporary Islamic poem. Overall, the second quarter of Global Islam was harder but still manageable to do.
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GEs fulfilled by this class:
Winter Quarter - Arts/Humanities: Literary and Cultural Analysis
Basic Info:
Attendance and Participation: 30%
Weekly Quizzes: 20%
Response Papers: 25% (3 out of 4 prompts, 300-500 words each)
Final Paper: 20% (6 pages comparing 2 academic articles' research methodologies)
Co-Curricular Event: 5%
Midterms/Finals: None
Homework: Reading heavy. It can be up to 70-80+ pages a week of reading, and often bits from the reading appear on Quizzes. However, there were multiple weeks I didn't bother with the reading and still got full credit.
Attendance: Discussion attendance required. Lecture attendance is as well, there are 5 "pop-writes" in Lecture throughout term that make up 5% of your grade. You have one excused absence, but beyond that it gets tricky.
Other: There is a no-electronics policy for this class - not even for notes.
-----
Overall it was a pretty easy class, there was definitely a learning curve between the Muslims in the class and the Non-Muslims, but even for the Muslims this class went into detail on a lot of aspects that are unfamiliar to many. Notably, this isn't a religious theory class: so don't expect in detail discussions about say, Quranic verses or the concept of Tawhid. More so, it describes the interaction of Islam with the world: for example, topics like Islam and Linguistics (Translation), the concept of Waqf and application of Islamic trust in history, etc.
The work isn't too bad, it's definitely a lot of dense reading but most of it is skimable for those with some prior background on Islamic studies and history. The final paper is a bit tedious, but not unbelievably difficult. You get a lot of help and go through it step by step w/ your TA. The quizzes and weekly response papers are pretty light provided you at least have a general idea of the reading. The Co-Curricular event was pretty fun as well.
Professor Yarbrough is a great lecturer. He explains everything very well and is very approachable. Mohsin Ali's lectures were pretty good as well. However, Professor Slyomoics' lectures were painfully boring, not well organized, and a pain to get through (Though I will say her body of work was pretty impressive). In terms of TA's, they aren't created equal and having a good relationship with your TA makes the class way easier or harder. I had Fadhila Hadjeris, who was extremely nice and a pretty light grader, albeit pretty useless in terms of asking for help or feedback. I heard Azeem Malik is a difficult grader, but pretty helpful, though I cannot speak from experience.
Overall, Its not an amazing class but not a terrible one. It can be boring at time, some of the assignments are vague and the reading is heavy. It is a pretty easy A, though, and the Professors are pretty helpful and nice (besides Slyomovics). But all in all you learn a lot, even if you are a Muslim, and if you are a STEM student it's great to kill a lot of GEs.
Grade Distribution:
Attendance and Participation: 29%
Routine Quizzes: 20%
Co-Curricular: 01%
History Paper: 25%
Literary Analysis Paper: 25%
---
Overall, the second quarter of the Islam cluster was harder than the first. That's probably because I got a new TA who was a harsher grader. Instead of centered around the five pillars, this quarter was centered more around Islamic history. Attendance and participation still make up the majority of the grade but when broken down attendance is 10%, participation is 15%, and pop writes are 4%. The quizzes for this quarter were harder than the first quarter but still manageable. The co-curricular is weighed less and you don't need to write a paper about it this quarter. And if you go to more than one co-curricular, you can get bonus points. The history paper is centered around the context of an Islamic artifact while the literary analysis paper is about the meaning behind a contemporary Islamic poem. Overall, the second quarter of Global Islam was harder but still manageable to do.
---
GEs fulfilled by this class:
Winter Quarter - Arts/Humanities: Literary and Cultural Analysis