Alec Joyner

workload: Traditionally lit hum book list. The reading load is heavy (assigned at least 60-100 pages a night.) SparkNotes is fine for class discussion, but for the midterm and final there are challenging passage ID questions, so I would definitely complete the readings. 2 essays: 1 close reading essay, 1 with broad prompt analytical In class leads on a rotation and discussion posts every couple months. Midterm: passage ID, analysis, and close reading. Thematic handwritten essay. The themes are very similar to the ones talked about in class. Final: administrated by the core.

Alec Joyner is truly one of the best teachers I have ever had!!! I have never seen a teacher make his students feel more seen, supported, and valued in the class than him. Whenever you speak, he nods his head and adds relating comments in support of your point. He is also brilliant and always contributes to the class with useful background knowledge and information. Professor Joyner is so understanding and is always lenient for extensions or extra office hours! He also always requests feedback and advice on what we want to focus on. It's AMAZING! He gives a break halfway through every class and provides us with snacks. Truly, I feel that my close reading, discussion points, and analysis have improved so much thanks to him.

2 essays-- 1 close reading 1 thematic with a creative project option Midterm and Final

Love this man, take his class if you can.

The workload is very reasonable. There are multiple assignment categories and a significant number of them are completion based. There are two essays (for the second one, you will get to do a creative project related to the topic which gives you more flexibility and makes it more fun). He is very accommodating with reasonable extensions if you ask in advance. We also had one midterm and one final which held a slightly smaller percentage of final grade.

I had both Lit Hum classes with Professor Joyner. I was terrified about Lit Hum, and postponed taking it as long as I could. However, I feel lucky that I could take it with him. He is an amazing professor and I absolutely loved every single class we had. He is not only a great teacher, but he is an amazing caring and kind human. I am a junior majoring in STEM and his class has been the highlight of my Columbia classes so far. I can't recommend him enough.

Discussion posts and in-class leads (10-15 minutes of leading something to do with the chapters read for that class) -- all graded for completion. Two essays/creative projects that he thoroughly explains and gives a lot of creative freedom with Midterm + Final - he even added extra quote options to the final selection so that we would have an easier time with IDs beyond the standardized selection.

Alec is seriously the sweetest professor! Beyond being a highly knowledgeable and sensitive individual, he truly cares for his students -- both personally and in terms of academic/intellectual development. the classes are truly centered around discussion, and his enthusiasm for the books we read is actually infectious! We honestly had such a good classroom dynamic and everyone really looked forward to coming into class and discussing the works. Also, just another small act that shows what a kind person Alec is, but he also makes sure to always bring in treats/snacks for every class, basically grants any and every extension for essays/projects, and even bought everyone a book of poems at the end of the semester! Seriously recommend him!