Music in Narrative · First Year Writing @Barnard
3 essays and rough drafts read 3 books and discussion based in class
This class has a really interesting concept — exploring how music shapes storytelling across different genres and mediums — but the execution didn’t fully live up to its potential. There were moments of really engaging discussion and cool readings, but it sometimes felt like the structure and focus weren’t totally clear. It’s definitely more about narrative and language than technical music analysis, so don’t worry if you’re not a music expert. The discussions depended heavily on who was talking that day — sometimes thoughtful and layered, other times awkward or surface-level. If you’re someone who values structured guidance or detailed feedback on your writing, you might find the course a little uneven. That said, if you’re creative, flexible, and enjoy thinking about how sound and story interact, you can definitely get something meaningful out of it — just know that you’ll get out what you put in.
This class has short discussion posts and/or readings due every class and three essays which is similar to the workload of most other FYW courses. Since it's P/F grading is completion based. Of course, Weybright will still give plenty of feedback to make you a better writer. One thing I will note is that sometimes her feedback can be confusing, particularly if your strengths aren't in English courses.
You can tell that Professor Weybright is passionate about what she teaches and hopes to pass this on to her students. She makes the classroom environment collaborative and welcoming. However, I would not recommend this class to anyone who doesn't enjoy very standard/typical English courses that heavily lean into classic books and essay writing. If you don't enjoy this type of content (which is what Weybright centers the class around) you might end up bored or confused when reading classics such as Jazz (Toni Morrison) or Persuasion (Jane Austen).
Not crazy and standard for most FYW. Three papers (drafts and final drafts). You will receive feedback on both. There are consistent discussion posts and weekly readings. Make sure to stay on top of readings because they weave into your papers and discussions a lot. The readings and discussion posts are very fair and very manageable. Discussion posts are relatively open-ended and straightforward.
Dr. Weybright is a great professor! She is very down-to-earth and understands your extenuating circumstances if anything comes up. I highly recommend this class; she is passionate about what she is teaching. Her main two readings are Morrison and Austen. She loves literature and getting down to the finer details. I really liked the discussions in class as they really did not have structure, and everyone was able to contribute without feeling boxed in. Sometimes, there were points where it felt somewhat high school-like where she was giving very structured worksheets for us to complete, but this was rather rare or when a paper was coming close to being due. Her essay feedback is incredible and she is very knowledgeable about her subject area; it was very valuable and you learn a great deal about style. She is very open-minded and loves to hear other perspectives. To really do well, just try hard and show improvement, and her class will be a great experience. Also try taking risks in her class--she loves them, and it may help your writing!
Three final essays total, and a rough draft submission for each. There's also about one discussion post each week and I would say 1-2 hours of reading weekly. Workload is no problem.
I really liked Prof. Weybright, and this was an interesting class. If you're interested in music or even just like Toni Morrison and Jane Austen, this is a great choice for your FYW requirement. Weybright LOVES literature and it's cool getting to talk to her about readings, which are all pretty great. It sometimes felt a little too lecture-y for a 15-person seminar, and there could definitely be more discussion with less instructor intervention. This class rocks, and I would highly recommend for Barnard frosh.