Africa in the World In this survey course students will learn to situate Africa in the context of globalization. To do this, we will probe three main questions: (1) How has globalization shaped African political systems? (2) How has it shaped African societies and cultures? and (3) What development challenges and opportunities has globalization generated for the continent? To answer these questions, we will delve into experiences from Algeria, Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda. Reflection papers, class participation, in-class quizzes, and exams will help gauge students’ learning.

Global Challenges and Opportunities In this course we will learn to identify, describe, classify, analyze, solve, and make predictions about the world’s most pressing problems. Using the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework, we will select specific issues and learn to compare and connect across them to establish their interconnectedness and complexity. Students will then conduct independent research, collaborate with classmates across disciplines, and use a variety of approaches to come up with innovative solutions to issues most pressing to them. Lectures, class discussions, in-class group work, and oral presentations will guide students’ learning while self-study reports, group oral presentations and issue papers, individual written reflections, and class participation will be used to gauge student learning. By the end of the course, students will be proficient in collaborative problem assessment and problem solving across a variety of global issues.

Leadership What is leadership, and what does good leadership require? In this course we will investigate these important questions, focusing on today’s world context. Examples from politics, business, and community organization around the world will guide our inquiry, help us evaluate the quality of leadership affecting us and others, and enable us to assess our own leadership potential. To achieve these course goals, we will analyze real-world examples of good and poor leadership from around the world, compare across leadership cases, and assess leadership examples against theories of leadership in business, political science, history, and psychology. Class discussions, in-class simulations, short lectures, individual research projects, and oral presentations will inform our learning experience while reflection papers, individual research projects, individual oral presentations, and class participation will help gauge student learning.

From Social Innovation to Social Change In this course we will study what spurs social innovation and produces change. Our inquiry into the world of changemaking will entail theoretical and conceptual exploration, studying cases of social innovation around the world, and personal introspection. Theories from a variety of disciplines such as economics, political science, psychology, and sociology will frame our understanding of social change. Concepts examined include social problems, social innovation, social enterprise, and social impact. By the end of this course, students will understand what social innovation and social impact require.  This course is primarily intended for students participating in the Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship program.  Open to others by approval

Reading Africa What do we know about Africa? In this seminar we will explore this vast continent through novels written about it. African and non-African writers will help us discover the continent’s geographies, histories, cultures, and politics. We will study particular phenomena affecting Africans over the centuries including colonialism, dictatorial rule, humanitarianism, the women’s rights movement, and racism. With the help of films and student presentations, we will focus on Algeria, Nigeria, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

Introduction to Comparative Politics This course offers an introduction to the comparative study of political systems and to the logic of comparative inquiry. How are different political systems created and organized? How and why do they change? Why are some democratic and others authoritarian? Why are some rich and others poor? Other topics covered in this course include nationalism and political ideologies, forms of representation, the relationship between state institutions and civil society, and globalization. The goal in this course is to use comparative methods to analyze questions of state institutions -- how they arise, change, and generate different economic, social, and political outcomes.

Nadia Horning

Reviews and ratings for Nadia Horning at Middlebury College.Nadia Horning teaches Africa in the World, GlobalChallengesOpportunities, Leadership and more.  Explore top rated instructors and find the best for you.Is Nadia Horning good ? Find out on MiddCourses.

While Professor Horning's passion for the class subject was infectious, and the content was intriguing to work with, I don't think I meshed very well with the teaching style and configuration of the curriculum. Some may have enjoyed it, but personally it was difficult for me to understand the expectations for the exams and projects. If the course were to not have exams, I would have liked it significantly more. To me, it felt as though the grading (while blindly graded) was relatively unfair. I didn't preform horribly, I know others did. The expectations were not clear and thus the grading was unpredictable and incredibly subjective. I think the class holds a lot of potential and it's amazing that Professor Horning created such a hub of innovation on campus, but I think there is room for much improvement. 

Her grading was extremely harsh but she was very enthusiastic about what she taught. She was kind and always pushed us to be creative i our thought process. Enjoyed the class but difficult ended up getting a B+ in the class when it was supposed to be my easy A course. :(

There is no specific curriculum, the material is repetitive and an over-simplification of the real world, professor is extremely tough and unpredictable. Grading criteria is unclear and homework is based on presentations. Workload is really chill but not recommended if you want an easy A.