Lawford Goddard

Well first off I wanna say that Segment three is not a waste of time. It allows or should I say forces you to take an integrated cluster of classes about a topic you probably would not encounter otherwise. As an AfricanAmerican it is probably a bit shameful that I had never taken a Black Studies class. The Segment 3 forced me to do so and I think it was a beneficial experience.

That said, I think this particular class kinda sucked. This may be in part due to my lack of energy or the nature of the subject matter. It seemed that there was a constant attempt to excuse the lack of performance of the black community by citing the history of racism in America and the fact that Blacks are really foreigners in this culture. While I can agree with the basic premise, to have basically the same song droned into you week after week begins to get annoying.

Dr. Goddard as a professor is a pleasant enough guy. The course consisted of weekly journal type entries, a 15 minute oral presentation of a 15-20 page paper. By the end of the semester that 15 page paper loomed large on the horizon.

It was hard to figure out exactly what Dr. Goddard wanted from students. This is probably due to my lack of attendance. I think there was a tendency for him to allow the class to get a bit off kilter as often students would digress to areas only thinly related to the subject at hand. Unlike other BLS professors I have encountered, Dr. Goddard would only allow these deviations to last a couple minutes rather than the entire period. I am greatly appreciative of that fact.