Viola Huang

Bro istg this was supposed to be a chill class so the professor crashing out 4 weeks before the end of the school year was crazy. To be honest, even with 2 hour labs and low hella busy work in between, I loved my classmates so it made it worth it and I looked forward to classes. I also liked the class because it was very discussion based... but then we were told that our contributions to discussions was not what our prof was looking for. The expectations of you are to basically be able to religiously recite the author and everything about them down to the color of their hair... memorize all the points and facts in the reading too. Don't get me started on the grading. Most of my classmates and I were graded insanely harshly with unhelpful comments towards our work not really explaining the true problem of our work.

Bro istg this was supposed to be a chill class so the professor crashing out 4 weeks before the end of the school year was crazy. To be honest, even with 2 hour labs and low hella busy work in between, I loved my classmates so it made it worth it and I looked forward to classes. I also liked the class because it was very discussion b …Read more

I am shocked to hear of the negative reviews from students of Prof. Huang, as I have had a great experience in her class. Not that critiques are invalid, I just had a different experience and our class environment definitely seemed to differ from the Games class. I would agree with other reviews that a lot of the time, it seems like Prof. Huang already has an answer in her head, and if you trip on wording, she will definitely correct you. One of my issues with the class was how much space other students would take up. Because Prof. Huang prioritizes students who didn't speak as often, I hesitate to blame this dynamic on her. You can kind of tell that she has favorites, but she still gives everyone a chance. The readings were great, a lot of them were quite dense but overall, really valuable pieces. I look forward to coming to class and despite minor issues, I would reflect positively on my experience.

I am shocked to hear of the negative reviews from students of Prof. Huang, as I have had a great experience in her class. Not that critiques are invalid, I just had a different experience and our class environment definitely seemed to differ from the Games class. I would agree with other reviews that a lot of the time, it seems like …Read more

Through the numerous classes that I have taken at Middlebury, I have never had a Professor ruin my learning experience like Viola Huang. Her initial kind and understanding demeanor is quick to change when she believes that you do not care about the material. That belief stems from her own personal judgment that is rooted in unfairness and unconscious biases. Given that she is a professor in the Black Studies department, it is incredibly ironic that she seems to undervalue her classes when they are composed mostly of Black students. Her flipped classroom approach initially appears to foster a proactive learning environment, but it ends up doing the opposite, marked by rigid expectations, a lack of openness to differing opinions, and preferential treatment toward students who echo her exact viewpoints. These same expectations extend to her grading of papers, for which she does not clearly communicate her standards to students. Even if you discuss your ideas with Viola beforehand, she may later critique aspects of your work that she initially failed to identify or address. Considering the recent development of the Black Studies Department, it is especially disheartening that a professor like Viola Huang is allowed to undermine something so important and hard-won.

Through the numerous classes that I have taken at Middlebury, I have never had a Professor ruin my learning experience like Viola Huang. Her initial kind and understanding demeanor is quick to change when she believes that you do not care about the material. That belief stems from her own personal judgment that is rooted in unfairnes …Read more