Aaron Ritzenberg

One close-reading essay, 5-7 pages. One final project. Weekly discussion posts. One presentation that you had to record and send through. Participation. Reading one novel a week/every 2 weeks (probably the most challenging aspect of the course). Grading was decent, not easy but not overly harsh either. Great feedback though.

oral presentation, 10% weekly blog posts, 20% (annoying but actually kept me prepared for class each week, which I guess is the point) close reading essay, 4-5p, 20% final essay due reading week, 50% lot of reading but fairly standard for seminar.

Heavy. He assigns a lot of readings (most people don't do them) that we discuss in class, and is strict about deadlines on homework assignments. Because he sets such high standards, I ended up working more on the essays than I thought I would. Probably would say around 6-8 hours depending on the week, and around 10 hours writing and revising an essay.

I don't know how professor Ritzenberg does not have a golden nugget. Seriously one of the BEST professors this university has by a landslide. I look this seminar in the spring and if he had not taught it, I would have left the class after the second week. The readings were a hit or miss, but he made sure the entire class was engaged constantly. From the first minute you enter his class you are LAUGHING nonstop; I seriously do not remember the last time a professor made me laugh this much. It was not just me: everyone had a great time. When he needed to be serious, he was - and of course, his perspective on the novels we covered were fresh, insightful and challenging at times. But all I can say is that this seminar was FUN. He also encouraged everyone to participate and made the seminar super comfortable. It was a welcoming vibe and he did not feel pretentious or judgey at all when listening to your takes. By the end of the class, we all loved him so much and did not want to leave the class. If you get the chance to take any class with him please do, you will not regret it. His grading is thorough and not easy - you will learn A LOT about writing essays with him, and you will be grateful. I cannot wait to take another class with him in the future. Professor Ritzenberg, thank you!!!

I am in love with Professor Ritzenberg. It's really hard to pick favorite courses within the English department (for obvious reasons, to anyone who knows anything about the department), but this class is definitely one memory I will treasure and one of the better seminars I've taken. -- More about Prof. Ritzenberg: In his emails before the course began he sounded very serious so I wasn't sure what the class would be like, but he is one of the most approachable profs I have ever had. He is easy to talk to in office hours, both about the coursework and other topics (eg career, etc.). To go along with this, class discussion is one of the most painless I've ever experienced -- we've all been there... Lit Hum classes where no one talks, English seminars where only one god-awful obnoxious kid talks... In our class, I think everyone felt that the environment was one in which it was easy to contribute, and I definitely heard every person in my class speak up at least a few times over the course of the semester, even the quietest (and I've definitely been in classes where I forgot certain people were even present because they literally never spoke.. I have also been this person before). He is also super funny and quirky. He has a cute/awkward sense of humor that lightens the mood in class and contributes to the previously discussed open environment. Our class had lots of laughs. I neve…

I think he is a great teacher. Professor Ritzenberg made me analyze my own writing in a way that I hadn't before. I had gone into the class thinking I was a pretty good writer, and he made me reevaluate that opinion (In a good way) by forcing me to become more conscious about the choices I make. By the end of the course, I have become much more aware of my writing choices and have improved numerous aspects of my writing, which is in my opinion the purpose of the UW course. Important to note potential downsides for people interested: 1. He's a tough grader. He himself acknowledges that he's harsh, and it is very difficult to get an A in his class. However, I feel that his harsh grading in fact motivates you to improve your writing and really spend time thinking about it. Overall, I would sacrifice that half a letter grade you may get elsewhere for a chance to really improve your writing. 2. He does make some quirky/awkward jokes, and is admittedly a kinda odd dude. We had a class discussion about the morality of having sex with a dead chicken which was surprisingly enlightening, but you may see why that could cause some awkwardness. Again, however, I feel that his quirkiness hardly detracts from the class, and almost everything we do in class is very relevant to our writing. Overall, he may be harsh, but take him, he's great!

Lots of reading (more so than most U Writing sections I believe) and a lot of it is very dense, academic writing. You can get by with only reading what you plan to use in papers, but if you read it all carefully you'll find it's all gold for writing papers. 4 papers (he makes you do all 4) graded fairly but an A is very difficult to obtain: 15%, 20%, 35%, 20% (5% added to best paper) He is also very meticulous with attendance and will mark you late if you are even a minute late. Make sure you keep track of your latenesses/absences!

I had Professor Ritzenberg in one of the new "themed" University Writing sections, and he is absolutely amazing. Our theme was "Readings in American Studies" and although we did stick to readings concerning American Studies, assignments were so broad-based that you could write about anything. Professor Ritzenberg was phenomenal, though. His lectures were always really interesting and the class, at times, felt like a philosophy lecture more than a writing seminar (but in the best way possible). He has a great way of making you think about the way your writing changes the world and really holds power. He meticulously read all drafts and papers and his notes/criticisms always seemed helpful. In his syllabus he explicitly states that "the grade of A is reserved for papers he would nominate for departmental honors and writing prizes," so if an A was what you were hoping for you may be disappointed. He is a very tough grader, but your writing will only benefit from it. When possible takes this class seriously and do as much reading as you can. You can get by with doing barely any reading, but try to get through as much as possible. The max grade you can realistically get in his class is an A-, but it's definitely worth it.

4 papers, each are a little longer than the last. 1 of them is a research paper (8-10 pages). Readings, little writing exercises, weekly discussion. Sometimes you have to do peer editing.

AMAZING teacher. He changed my writing completely. Probably the best UWriting Columbia has hired. Every seminar was worth going to, the readings were interesting, and he was very personal. You would come out of class with a deep train of thought -- his teaching can be philosophical and applicable to every day life. If you put the work and energy in, you will see a pay off with your writing and with your grade. Participation is also valued.