AMES-220S
FROM AL-QAEDA TO BOKO HARAM
Offered Fall 2026
Term
Overview
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that the readings, films, or examples carry real weight. Best for students who will engage with the materials instead of skimming everything.
DepartmentAMES
Terms offeredFall
Typical enrollment18–18
Semesters of data2
3.6
Hrs / week
34
Responses
36
Enrollment
94%
Response Rate
Evaluation Scores
Overall quality
Teaching, content, and experience combined.
4.1
Intellectually stimulating
Challenges students to think deeply.
4.4
Instructor effectiveness
Explains concepts and facilitates learning.
4.2
Difficulty
Higher means harder.
3.0
Feedback Analysis
Feedback Analysismedium
Analysis based on student evaluations
Based on 103 comments across 2 sections
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that the readings, films, or examples carry real weight. Best for students who will engage with the materials instead of skimming everything.
Student Reports
How hard is the A?
A is doable but not automatic
The signal here is more do-the-work-and-you-should-be-fine than easy-A chatter. Students do not describe the A as automatic, but the evidence also does not paint grading as punishing.
Homework Load
Moderate homework load
Homework load looks moderate. The recurring signal is steady weekly work, but not a course that turns every assignment into a grind.
Lecture Load
Lighter lecture burden
Student comments describe this as more discussion-, seminar-, or workshop-driven than lecture-dependent. The lecture burden itself does not sound like the main source of friction.
Strengths
• Readings, films, or outside materials come up repeatedly as a real strength rather than filler.
• Discussion is a clear strength; students repeatedly describe the class conversation as engaging and useful.
• Students repeatedly say the course teaches something concrete, whether that is content mastery, research skill, or a strong foundation.
Tradeoffs
• There is no single dominant complaint theme, but the feedback is not uniformly glowing either.
Best fit for
Best for students who will engage with the materials instead of skimming everything.
Watch out for
• A large share of the evidence comes from one instructor's version of the course, so this may not generalize cleanly.
Student Responses
I developed a significantly clearer understanding of the roots of many radical terrorist groups, how they connect to the broader Islamic world/religion, and the exogenous social and political factors that incentivize the creation of such groups.
Fall 2025 · Lo, Mbaye
Learned about the considerations of terrorism at the state level
Fall 2025 · Lo, Mbaye
knowledge of politcal islam and western culture impact on the middle eas and islamic groups
Fall 2025 · Lo, Mbaye
key understanding of islam, how it functions and how terrorism has come up
Fall 2025 · Lo, Mbaye
Political islam, terrorist frameworks, counter-insurgency
Fall 2025 · Lo, Mbaye
Rating History
Rating history
Error bars show \u00B11 std dev
| Term | Instructor | Overall | Difficulty | Hrs/wk | Enrolled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2025 | Lo, Mbaye 3.7Rate My ProfessorsQuality3.7Difficulty3.0Would retake83%Based on 41 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | 4.2 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 18 |
| Fall 2024 | Lo, Mbaye 3.7Rate My ProfessorsQuality3.7Difficulty3.0Would retake83%Based on 41 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | 3.9 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 18 |
Instructor
Lo, MbayeAMES
Also teaches
AMES-190FS AMES SPEC TOPICS-FOCUS PROGRAM4.3