Ata Anzali

Professor Anzali is one of the most engaging and kind-hearted professors at Middlebury. He brings humor and enthusiasm that draws you into all of his classes. He assigns a lot of reading in this course, but it is all informative, and he never expects you to remember every detail. Quizzes are short and fair, assignments are reasonable, and lectures are fascinating. I highly recommend taking this course and/or any others with Prof. Anzali

Professor Anzali is one of the most engaging and kind-hearted professors at Middlebury. He brings humor and enthusiasm that draws you into all of his classes. He assigns a lot of reading in this course, but it is all informative, and he never expects you to remember every detail. Quizzes are short and fair, assignments are reasonable …Read more

Absolutely amazing class—highly recommend. The general structure involved readings and lectures in the first half, then shifted in the second half to primary source readings and more discussion-based classes with less lecturing. The first half was pretty chill, while the second half was more intense since most of the projects and assignments are due then. Professor Ata Anzali is knowledgeable and enthusiastic—I’d 100% take another course with him. The readings were fascinating and covered a wide range of topics including geopolitics, religion, philosophy, ideologies, and more.

Absolutely amazing class—highly recommend. The general structure involved readings and lectures in the first half, then shifted in the second half to primary source readings and more discussion-based classes with less lecturing. The first half was pretty chill, while the second half was more intense since most of the projects and ass …Read more

This class should definitely be on your list—if it ever gets offered again, which I highly doubt. But if by some miracle it is, hey, here’s your review. Professor Anzali is a wonderful human being and easily one of my favorite professors at Middlebury—top two, maybe even number one, sorry Mark Orton. He brings real energy to the classroom, and the course itself was just phenomenal. Obviously, we took a trip to Morocco, which was a top 10 life experience for me. Total immersion—culture, food, people, everything. I mean, need I say more? You’re diving into a topic that doesn’t usually get much attention, yet is incredibly rich in history and complexity. We learned about Morocco’s political structure, the legacy of the French protectorate, and how all of that shaped the very distinct Moroccan Islam that exists today. Incredible course. If they offer it again, and you manage to get in—you’re lucky. No exaggeration: best experience of my life. Period.

This class should definitely be on your list—if it ever gets offered again, which I highly doubt. But if by some miracle it is, hey, here’s your review. Professor Anzali is a wonderful human being and easily one of my favorite professors at Middlebury—top two, maybe even number one, sorry Mark Orton. He brings real energy to the clas …Read more