Refugee Stories

I really enjoyed this class. Professor Graves was incredibly understanding and created a stress-free environment while still keeping the material meaningful and engaging. The workload was manageable—not heavy at all—but every reading was thoughtfully chosen and interesting. What stood out most was how much Professor Graves cared about the subject and about what we had to say. He seemed genuinely interested in our perspectives, which made class discussions feel valuable and collaborative. I'd definitely recommend this class and would gladly take another course with Professor Graves.

I really enjoyed this class. Professor Graves was incredibly understanding and created a stress-free environment while still keeping the material meaningful and engaging. The workload was manageable—not heavy at all—but every reading was thoughtfully chosen and interesting. What stood out most was how much Professor Graves cared abou …Read more

I really enjoyed this class. The professor was very understanding and made the course stress-free while still keeping it meaningful. There wasn’t a heavy workload, but the few readings we did have were thoughtfully chosen and very engaging. Each one connected well to the class discussions and gave me something to think about. The professor cared about students’ well-being and made sure we understood the material without feeling overwhelmed. Overall, it was a relaxed and rewarding learning experience one of the most balanced and enjoyable classes I’ve taken.

I really enjoyed this class. The professor was very understanding and made the course stress-free while still keeping it meaningful. There wasn’t a heavy workload, but the few readings we did have were thoughtfully chosen and very engaging. Each one connected well to the class discussions and gave me something to think about. The pro …Read more

I really enjoyed this class! The professor was really accommodating and seemed genuinely interested in what he was teaching and what we were saying. Our readings consisted of both books and articles, which diversified the experience and made it more enlightening. I would greatly recommend taking both this class and any class with Professor Graves.

Professor Graves is a great professor and creates a great environment in the classroom that allows everyone to feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and takeaways from the readings. The workload is light, but you definitely still learn a lot. Graves enthusiasm for the class is a major plus.

I wholeheartedly recommend enrolling in a class with Professor Ben Graves – it was an exceptional experience that deserves a perfect 10/10 rating! He's very laid back but he fosters an environment that allows every student to succeed in this very thought-provoking class!

Refugee stories is a great introduction to a humanities course at Middlebury. While readings are assigned for each class, they are typically manageable and interesting, being a wide range from graphic novels to academic journals. Discussions can get tedious, but Prof. Graves does a good job switching up class format to prevent this. Overall, I've had a great experience.

Professor Graves is a wonderful professor that is not only very well-versed in the course content, but very passionate about it too. He is an extremely empathetic and understanding professor, so do your best in the class and you will be successful! (participate, do the readings, go to office hours for essays).

Professor Graves is very chill and very easy to connect to. The class mostly consist of readings and discussions with a total of three papers throughout the semester but all in all it is a very fun and intriguing class