James Fitzsimmons

Absolutely LOVED the course!! Prof F is one of the funniest people you will meet and his commitment and passion to the content is evident! There was one midterm and 3 papers during the semester and one final paper due. Overall a wonderful experience - would highly recommend taking the class!

This is my third class with Fitzsimmons and it is run similarly to the rest of his classes with weekly readings, lectures, a couple short papers, a midterm, and a final research paper. He is awesome and never lacks in passion and excitement which is helpful when focusing on otherwise depressing topics. The readings can be dense, but he explains them in lecture, and he is very generous with grading and I have never gotten less than full credit on one of his short paper assignments. He tells you exactly what is on the exam with a study guide which is delightfully refreshing. Definitely recommend Fitzsimmons to anyone, anthro major or not

This is my third class with Fitzsimmons and it is run similarly to the rest of his classes with weekly readings, lectures, a couple short papers, a midterm, and a final research paper. He is awesome and never lacks in passion and excitement which is helpful when focusing on otherwise depressing topics. The readings can be dense, but …Read more

Professor Fitzsimmons is one of my favorite individuals at Middlebury. He is ecstatic each morning (despite it being an 8:15) and obviously has a deep passion for the subject. I would somewhat religiously skipped this class for the first half of the semester and rarely took notes. The only exam is a Map quiz and you have the choice to write one essay based on three different essay prompts given out at different points in the semester. The final was an essay. I got an A in this course with minimal effort, and I befriended someone who is now one of my favorite teachers in the anthropology department.

Professor Fitzsimmons is one of my favorite individuals at Middlebury. He is ecstatic each morning (despite it being an 8:15) and obviously has a deep passion for the subject. I would somewhat religiously skipped this class for the first half of the semester and rarely took notes. The only exam is a Map quiz and you have the choice t …Read more