90% of your grade comes from 3 assignments. The lectures were not posted online, so I went to class, took pics of the slides, and only wrote notes if the slides didn't have text. The only reason to look back at the slides is to know what to include in your essays, so if you're used to other humanities classes(I'm a history major), this is a breeze.

His lectures were interesting but it did not always seem like the content was related to the papers and the readings for the week. If you take this course, make sure you do not get Doris Mbaka as a TA. Her grading was harsh and her discussions were unplanned and unstructured. It's an interesting class, but not an easy A.

James Sweet is the real deal. Kind, cares about his students, wants you to succeed. The feedback he gave was always firm but constructive and guiding, and he will make time for you. Lectures are interesting, content is cool, and he's incredibly smart. I would really recommend getting to know him, even if you don't take a course with him.

I had Professor Sweet in fall semester 2021. Not necessarily an easy class but Professor Sweet's lectures are engaging and interesting. He is very passionate about history and it shows in his lectures. If you take this class be prepared for a lot of reading.

Sweet is a legend. The lectures were very engaging and interesting. I enjoyed every single one of the readings, although they were a bit heavy at some points in the semester. Two exams and two essays, no cumulative final. Grading was very fair and easy. I highly recommend to take one of his classes if you can.

Professor Sweet's class is definitely a reading heavy class. That said, our final exam had several questions about topics that were mentioned once in lecture and not in any of the readings. He likes to give time for questions in class but be wary, he told my class to "not embarrass ourselves by asking dumb questions."

A pretty hard class but Sweet is so engaging and passionate that it's impossible not to have fun.

This was an amazing class before COVID 19. Afterwards, lectures went to a power point with audio and discussion sections became online chat rooms where students had to type out their responses. When we moved to the online format, i never once heard from the professor again. 55% of your final grade was graded without an ounce of feedback.

Sweet is an icon. I absolutely love this class and him as a prof. I would probably take any class he ever teaches - honestly I would take this again if I could. He cares SO much about this topic & is SO wise. Readings and lectures are super important, but they are so enjoyable; nothing he does is an accident. Def make an effort to get to know him!!

Professor Sweet is incredibly knowledgable on subjects relating to African history and the African diaspora. He is inspiring to listen to, and he will challenge the way you think about race and race relations. Sweet is one of my favorite professors at UW, and I can't recommend him highly enough.

Extremely interesting class that really gave good insight into history. Professor sweet presented the material in a very interesting way and engaged the entire class. You have to attend lecture because the slides aren't posted online. Discussion is mandatory and important in getting to know the information. No textbook but weekly readings.

I took this class just to get an ethnic studies credit but it ended up being one of my favorite classes at UW. Prof Sweet makes students think critically and relates material to modern issues. Tons of weekly readings, but some can be skimmed. Gives a very helpful study guide for each exam along with the essay question; very fair midterm and final.

He's an amazing professor. Would definitely recommend, especially if you're looking for something to make you think. Helpful during his office hours. Essays are demanding only because you'll have too much to write. Gives a useful study guide for his exams. He definitely cares about his students. There are a lot of readings though.

Dr. Sweet is a great professor and it's very evident that he knows a substantial amount about his field. As long as you read the materials he gives you and you study for the exams, passing should not be an issue. He's also very approachable and seems geniunely eager to help his students succeed.

Awesome Professor! Sweet provides study guides for the exams that are extremely accurate. Very helpful in office hours. However, readings are very mandatory and there are alot of them

Really great Professor. Lots of reading, but provides a study guide for the exams and 99.9% of what is on the exam is on study guide. Papers are short and interesting. Readings can be very boring

African Diaspora Through Film. He really understood the topic. Every week was a new subject. Little connectivity between weeks. Movies were VERY boring, nodded off in almost every lecture.

My favorite class on campus so far, and my favorite professor. Very intelligent but easy to talk to and very helpful and friendly outside of class. It's a history class but he includes politics, psychology, anthropology, and biology, and really makes you think outside the box. I plan to take a class with him again, I don't care what class it is.

Interesting class and prof! He's extremely knowledgeable. His lecture was early in the morning, so the class was a little dull in terms of thought, but he mixed things up with videos and pictures of class content. Exams are on the books you read with the topics from lecture - about six books total. Solid, helpful prof. One of the better classes!

Had him for 278 and 279, one of the best professors I've ever had! I recommend taking notes on the computer to get everything down, but if you do the readings and listen in lecture (basically if you put in the work) you should get an A. He is easy going and approachable, and his study guides cover 99.9% of what's on the test, which is awesome!

Sweet is a very good professor, extremely knowledgeable about the material. Lots of readings, used on exams, but generally straightforward. In class examples are good, shows many documentaries and movies that are longer than a power lecture. Overall great class.

Not a bad class. Can be kind of boring if you're not really intrested in it. Lots of reading. Short Answer, multiple choice, true/false on exams are very easy if you do the study guide. Essays will be how you lose your points but you get the Q ahead of time so prepare. Discussion is mandatory but very helpful. Overall a good class and prof.

He is a great professor who knows his material through and through and is extremely passionate about it. One of my favorite professors on campus and I highly recommended him. Very interesting lectures. Often has papers in place of final exams.

Very good class, much better than many liberal arts classes. Is very clear about what you need to learn. Discussion is interesting and informative.

Good guy, laid back, knows his stuff real well. Grades best on what he can infer of your conceptual understanding, not any technical details. Loves his subject. Course is reading-intensive, but the readings are well selected.

lectures were boring and he went pretty fast so taking some notes was important to understand what the point was. the grading was fairly tough even though he was loose on the style. knows his stuff but acted sometimes like it was ridiculous if people didnt understand it the first time he said it. answered emails well but not very approachable

He was a pretty good guy. He is very easy going and doesn't require perfect MLA for the papers. Overall, if you do the reading and take a few key notes in lecture, you get a good grade. Simply show you read and you caught THE POINT HE DRILLED INTO YOUR BRAIN in lecture. If you don't, then good luck.

Possibly one of the best professors I have had in my college experience, and I have been to two other schools. Knows his sh*t, is very engaging and promotes class discussion. I have never had such interesting lectures before, and his tangents ruled...whatever.

Knows his history, and knows it well.

His tangents make me want to get hit by a bus.