AMES-503S

ASIAN & MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES

Offered Fall 2026

AMES · Taught by Hassel, Kimberly · Last offered Spring 2025

Overview

Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that discussion is a clear strength. The main downside is that grading clarity comes up as a friction point. Best for students who will actually talk in class instead of sitting silent. The sample is still thin, so treat this as directional rather than definitive.

DepartmentAMES

Terms offeredSpring

Typical enrollment9–9

Semesters of data1

5.3

Hrs / week

Responses

Enrollment

89%

Response Rate

Evaluation Scores

Overall quality

Teaching, content, and experience combined.

4.6

12345

Intellectually stimulating

Challenges students to think deeply.

4.5

12345

Instructor effectiveness

Explains concepts and facilitates learning.

4.8

12345

Difficulty

Higher means harder.

2.6

12345

Feedback Analysis

Feedback Analysislow

Analysis based on student evaluations

Based on 24 comments across 1 sections

Student Reports

How hard is the A?

Hard to get an A

Students repeatedly frame high grades as something you have to earn. This reads as hard to ace rather than casually easy, especially once the course pace or grading standards ramp up.

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

Lighter lecture burden

Student comments describe this as more discussion-, seminar-, or workshop-driven than lecture-dependent. The lecture burden itself does not sound like the main source of friction.

Strengths

• Discussion is a clear strength; students repeatedly describe the class conversation as engaging and useful.

• Readings, films, or outside materials come up repeatedly as a real strength rather than filler.

• Instructor support is a real strength; comments often mention responsiveness, care, or approachability.

Tradeoffs

• Grading and expectations come up as a friction point; some comments say the standards are not clear enough.

Best fit for

Best for students who will actually talk in class instead of sitting silent.

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.

• If unclear instructions stress you out, pay attention here.