ENGL W3225

A lot of reading, even for an English class. It was easy to fall behind, then fall more behind, then just give up.

Prof Cole is nice, pleasant, and well dressed, but I don't think she was particularly excited about this class. We never really got beyond basic analysis, and by that I mean we would often read passages out loud for as long as 10 minutes, only for her to ask us simple questions like what we thought, make a banal statement, and then quickly move on. I was shocked that out of the three days she dedicated to Mrs. Dalloway, she only taught one of them - the other two were doled out to the TAs for their own training. I'm all for the education of graduate students, but Mrs. Dalloway, perhaps Woolf's most acclaimed work, was not the right book to give up to them for experimentation. The course also was structured around quasi-mandatory, downright confusing participation elements like "reading responses," "online posts," and "on groups," and it was never clear whether or not any of it was actually graded. We got comments back on the reading responses from the TA but they weren't attached to any grade. If you want to read all of Woolf's books in one semester, and like to impress people by showing off your knowledge of unfamiliar texts like Jacob's Room (which I realized was not often read for a very good reason), by all means take this class. Just know that it is unlikely you will actually learn anything about Virginia Woolf beyond what you could have otherwise read on sparknotes.

Somewhat heavy reading (approximately 10 books), two short response papers (2-3pp), 2 short papers (5-6pp) and a final exam (either take-home or in-class).

I enjoyed this class mainly because I happen to love the works of Virginia Woolf. We read 8 Woolf novels in their entirety, plus Conrad's Heart of Darkness (snore) and some of Woolf's essays. Professor Cole is very nice, but her lectures seemed a little shallow considering her noteworthy scholarship. The lectures might have been better if she had focused more closely on specific passages, rather racing through all of the major themes from each of Woolf's writings. A lot of the time I felt like she was telling us things that aren't exactly difficult to figure out; however, I still learned a lot in the end because of what I put into the class myself. If you do the reading, think, take notes, and let your curiosity lead you into further research, I think that it ends up being a good class if you appreciate Virginia Woolf.

1 Midterm, 1 Takehome final (which she makes you take in class if you skipped too many...so figure out her attendence tendencies). 2 short response papers on some of the readings. Not bad.

Professor Cole definitely knows what she is talking about. And she is in great shape. And her wardrobe is great. And you will get pizza on the last day of class. That being said, Virginia Woolf is painful to get through. Unless you've already read some Woolf and you know that you like her style of writing, I would advise not taking this class. You have to read like 7-8 Woolf books, cover to cover. However, this class size is large enough that you don't really have to go. If you know how to find good JSTOR articles on the books and can teach yourself some basic themes and symbols, this class is a breeze. I didn't read most of the books and still did fine. Overall, Cole knows the material and is a decent lecturer. She seems nice, but you better hope that you get a good TA as a grader.