AMES-123
HISTORY AND CULTURE OF IRAN
Offered Fall 2026
Term
Overview
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that the readings, films, or examples carry real weight. Best for students who will engage with the materials instead of skimming everything. The sample is still thin, so treat this as directional rather than definitive.
DepartmentAMES
Terms offeredSpring
Typical enrollment10–10
Semesters of data1
4.0
Hrs / week
10
Responses
10
Enrollment
100%
Response Rate
Evaluation Scores
Overall quality
Teaching, content, and experience combined.
4.1
Intellectually stimulating
Challenges students to think deeply.
4.4
Instructor effectiveness
Explains concepts and facilitates learning.
4.5
Difficulty
Higher means harder.
3.0
Feedback Analysis
Feedback Analysislow
Analysis based on student evaluations
Based on 35 comments across 1 sections
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that the readings, films, or examples carry real weight. Best for students who will engage with the materials instead of skimming everything. The sample is still thin, so treat this as directional rather than definitive.
Student Reports
How hard is the A?
A is doable but not automatic
The signal here is more do-the-work-and-you-should-be-fine than easy-A chatter. Students do not describe the A as automatic, but the evidence also does not paint grading as punishing.
Homework Load
Moderate homework load
Homework load looks moderate. The recurring signal is steady weekly work, but not a course that turns every assignment into a grind.
Lecture Load
Regular lecture load
Lectures matter here, but the evidence points to a fairly standard lecture burden rather than a course dominated by long or exceptionally dense lectures.
Strengths
• Readings, films, or outside materials come up repeatedly as a real strength rather than filler.
• Students repeatedly say the course teaches something concrete, whether that is content mastery, research skill, or a strong foundation.
Tradeoffs
• There is no single dominant complaint theme, but the feedback is not uniformly glowing either.
Best fit for
Best for students who will engage with the materials instead of skimming everything.
Watch out for
• Most of the signal comes from a limited sample, so be careful about over-generalizing.
• A large share of the evidence comes from one instructor's version of the course, so this may not generalize cleanly.
Student Responses
1. Understanding various points of view of Iranian history 2. The beauty of Persian-Sufi poetry 3. How to better write a paper
Spring 2025 · Safi, Omid
The ability to introspect within the past in real time and take those contemporary views and applying them to Iranian history in the modern sense. Understanding the countries history is a skill in itself considering how intricate it is.
Spring 2025 · Safi, Omid
I learned how to read and analyze Persian poetry, and I learned about the history of Iran up to modern times.
Spring 2025 · Safi, Omid
I learned how to manage my time effectively when analyzing dense readings. I also learned the importance of language and critical thinking when receiving information from Westernized media regarding various cultures in the Middle East. I also learned how to think from a more philosophical level, especially in regards to spirituality. Expanding my mind in this way helped me understand Iran and their history.
Spring 2025 · Safi, Omid
Prior to this course, I had very little knowledge about Iran and its history. In this course, I learned about famous Iranian poets (Rumi, Sa'di, Hafez), the rise of Shi'ism in Iran during the Safavid empire, and the conditions that led to the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Spring 2025 · Safi, Omid
Rating History
Rating history
Error bars show \u00B11 std dev
| Term | Instructor | Overall | Difficulty | Hrs/wk | Enrolled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 2025 | Safi, Omid | 4.1 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 10 |
Instructor
Safi, OmidAMES
Also teaches
AMES-203S MODERN ISLAM4.8AMES-209S LOVE, SPIRIT, AND MYSTICISM4.0AMES-317 MARTIN LUTHER KING