Cathy Popkin

Um to the person below who said I didn't read the books, I did. I still wasn't following along with the discussions in class. xx

I really can't say enough good things about Cathy Popkin. Every classmate I talked to came away from that class last year adoring her, with good reason. She didn't give us some of the busywork that other LitHum classes have (quizzes or blog posts), but we still really engaged with the texts. She's funny, engaging, kind, and for sure the best professor I've had so far. She more than deserves the silver nugget on Culpa.

Big fan of Prof Popkin. She is one of those professors that actually cares about her students' understanding and will do anything for students who actually want to learn. In response to what someone said about being lost during her lectures: that's sort of your own fault. If you don't do the assigned readings before the lecture, yeah it gets pretty confusing. But if you do, Prof Popkin pace feels quite refreshing. In a lot of literature classes professors tend to over explain/analyze a single element of the novel while they neglect the rest. Prof Popkin tries her best to touch on everything. I really appreciate how she jumps from idea to idea. There simply isn't enough time in class to discuss everything, yet still she tries. And yea, after presenting an idea she asks some open-ended questions about it... but is this bad? it's obviously to make you think deeper. She won't necessarily answer these questions because 1. there's no time & 2. she wants you to think for yourself & discover your own meaning to the texts... With that said, if you are unclear about anything said in class, her office hours and review sessions are super helpful. Definitely take advantage of them.

Oh man. To be honest, Cathy Popkin is probably the best professor (and teacher in general) that I have ever had. I honestly don't understand how anyone can have such a detailed understanding of so many different works (especially when she's a Russian lit professor by trade). Her class is amazing, and she succeeds in making you interested in some books which are really, really uninteresting on their own. She has an uncanny ability to encourage discussion, which is actually interesting and relevant--none of the wishy-washy grasping at straws you so often see parodied when people talk about English classes. She makes the course as much about life as it is about literature, and about the ideas from the books which relate to us. Yet it's done subtly and tastefully, like so much of this class. She also will go out of her way to do interesting activities on the weekends, such as having the entire class for dinner at her house. Definitely would recommend. Ice skating 6 for sure.

Professor Popkin was a kind and enthusiastic instructor, but I was lost during her lectures. She bounced from idea to idea, rarely close read with the class, and asked lofty questions about the texts that she admittedly had no answers to. There was little to no historical context discussed, so I felt like I didn't learn much about Russia. The TA didn't provide helpful feedback on discussion posts. I enjoyed the books we read but felt lost in the class and I don't think I took much out of it.

Great professor, take her class. Her class does more work and she gives only 5-6 kids (out of 25) A-/A grades, but you'll learn more and have more fun than other sections. Our class had outings to museums and her apartment for dinner. She really takes an interest in her students. If you do the reading and put in the work you'll do well. Very macro focus is on broad themes, not a traditional English class you took in high school. Seriously take this prof.

Cathy Popkin is the type of professor that you want to be homies with. She's so informed about Russian everything; it's super impressive to hear her rattle on and on about Pushkin's foot fetish and how she finds some of the most famous characters in literature like Anna Karenina to just be whiney and annoying. She's one of those fun teachers that says expletives and speaks about literature in a completely non-pompous way, which I really love about her. Our class was kind of awkward during discussions, partly because the classroom we ended up in was more of a mini lecture hall and partly because she always moved on from her difficult-to-answer questions before the class could think of a response. It set a weird precedent for a lack of class participation, but honestly Cathy talks so much in class that I didn't mind this at all. She's so passionate and sweet. Love her. There's a reason she has a silver nugget.

I completely disagree with other review about Professor Popkin. I am also in her lit hum class and I think that she is a great teacher. The reason why the class seems boring is that most of the students only read SparkNotes and have nothing to contribute to the class. Popkin is passionate about every work on the lit hum syllabus. Sure, some of the books are boring and there are times when I don't want to be there but overall it is a great class. She is such a great teacher! Definitely take this class.

Listen, I know that all these reviews basically state, "yada yada yada, the woman is a delight". But she absolutely is - and it's worth the reiteration. Cathy Popkin is considerably more than just a highly qualified academic. Despite the fact that she must have read, heard or considered nearly everything there could possibly be to say on the subject matter, my often half-baked ideas have never been so engaged with by somebody in the teaching profession. Her love for the readings is palpable, and her patience and enthusiasm for discussion verges on superhuman. In all sincerity, the hardest thing about the class is not having enough hands to have one in the air, one in the book, and one taking notes at any given moment. If I could come back as an animal, it would be an orangutan, just so I could take this class again and type with my feet. And yes, I'm keenly aware that the tone of this review has gotten well out of hand. You might well conclude that I'm some kind of sycophantic lunatic... but I regret nothing. If you're even remotely curious about Russian lit, please take one of her classes. I've also had a class with the equally lauded Liza Knapp. If you're deciding between the two... take both. It's a horrible choice to have to make. If there was any justice, both of these instructors would have gold nuggets. God bless them. God bless Russian literature.

Though well-read and well-organized, Professor Popkin manages to bleed the life out of every single piece of literature we discussed. Breeding a general sense of apathy, Popkin inspires most of her students to only read the Sparknotes, if that much. The two hour sections are interminable, and 95% of the class is so bored that they don't participate. Those who do listen leave the class wondering if anything concrete or useful was discussed.