Christia Mercer

I know that many people did not enjoy this specific course with Mercer, however I also know that I am not the only student who considered it extremely impactful and had a really positive experience. Mercer's class, although involving a sort of "living" syllabus, is consistently scaffolded with 2 simple and effective activities: visiting museums and writing about them. This presents an awesome opportunity to go and see so much incredible art that we have in the city as well as a low pressure opportunity to reflect on it. Some weeks I submitted sketches, other weeks critiques, other weeks standard reviews, and as long as I actually went to the museum I had an easy and enjoyable time in class. Beyond this I learned so much about art and how to talk about it. I developed my own personal taste and a confidence to participate in the "art world" beyond the course. TLDR: if you like going to museums and actually want to learn about art, this class is right for you

the course content itself was great and interesting. prof. mercer is clearly competent and fascinating. unfortunately she is also a woke warrior and her moralizing makes it difficult to engage with her when you're not in total agreement with everything she says. Very nice but clearly has vibes-based favorites. the TAs' expectations for grading were so poorly communicated. furthermore, she shamed us for caring about our grades instead of being raging activists on the street and then hit most of the class with an undeserved B+.

I had the pleasure of taking two classes with Prof Christia Mercer during my time at Columbia: Philosophy and Feminism, and Topics in Early Modern Philosophy. Would highly recommend them both! Philosophy and Feminism was one of the first philosophy classes I ever took, and a major factor in my decision to major in philosophy. Prof Mercer's lecture style is extremely engaging and entertaining, and going to class was always enjoyable. While her teaching weaves together multiple concepts and real-world applications, the material is very easy to follow if you do the readings and pay attention - all the pieces fit together quite nicely. I would recommend it if you are considering majoring in philosophy, or even if you are studying physics or something completely different—the material is relevant in everyone's everyday life. I am not sure if the structure is the same as when I took it (Fall 2021), but I remember the in-class exam being fair and clearly structured, mostly consisting of Quote IDs/passage analyses from the readings. I was originally intimidated by this, but the exam expectations were accessible and straightforward so long as you have been keeping up with the course material. The final paper was very enjoyable to write, and probably one of the most creative assignment options I have had during my time at Columbia. The carefully selected readings (Kate Manne, Judith But…

Professor Mercer is definitely one of the best professors I've had so far at Columbia (I am a junior). While she demands a lot from her students, it's not a huge burden and it's only because she's clearly passionate about the texts. Plus, it's worth it because her teaching style is engaging, laid back, and (gasp) fun because it's infused with a sense of humor. She's incredibly open to different opinions and questions, and encouraging and instructive regarding analysis and paper writing. She even had our class over to her home for a delicious Italian dinner and casual discussion of what we were reading. Additionally, it's obvious she knows her stuff--chair of the department and incredibly knowledgeable in the fields of philosophy and feminism as well (plus I'm sure others I don't know about). You will learn a lot from her--it might come from constructive criticism or the pop quizzes, but either way your quick reading/analytic skills and writing skills will improve.

Christia Mercer is one of the best teachers I have had at Columbia. She is truly brilliant, and her classes are not only clear but also fun, which is something remarkable when you are studying philosophers like Descartes and Kant. I always looked forward to her lectures. In response to an earlier review, which complained that Professor Mercer’s classes do not contain enough historical information, I say that studying the history of philosophy is different from studying history. The history of philosophy has to do with the evolution of human thought, not with historical details about individual philosophers. Professor Mercer focuses on a the central question—What is there really? The reason we study questions like this one, is that in order to understand and write about philosophy, we must know what other philosophers have said, and how they said it. For example, we have to know what Cartesian dualism is in other to engage in a meaningful discussion about the mind/body problem. It is not just that the opinions of these philosophers are relevant today, but also that we need to know what has been said by others in order to formulate our own opinions. I too was once frustrated by having to study the arguments of outdated thinkers, but I now understand why we do it. Furthermore, Professor Mercer actually provided a good amount of historical context for the philosophers she introduc…

An excellent survey of early modern feminist writings. Mercer has done a fine job balancing the important literary, political, and philosophical texts written by and/or about women that have made an impact on history and on the feminist movement. Discussions were lively, Professor Mercer encouraged everyone to speak, not just the 'loud' people. She demands a high level of scholarship, but because weekly written responses are a required part of the course, we were all familiar with her expectations of us when it came time to write our graded papers. Mercer is also a very accessible professor outside of class. She never rushes you during office hours and is usually willing to make an appointment to see you if need be. Furthermore, Professor Mercer always gives prompt and thorough responses to email questions. All in all, I recommend this class, or any of the philo history classes that she teaches.

Different ways philosophers conceptualized the search for ultimate knowledge and ways in which to compare them to one another and the overriding conception at the time they wrote.

Super disorganized, she made a syllabus that is super vague, constantly changed the grading, the types of assignments, the requirements, how exams and assignments were weighted You got into the course not knowing anything. And then you get surprised by how bad your grade turned out. She grades with random checks, check plus, check minus, check plus plus, and you end up not having a clue where you stand.

Personally, I found the class riveting and the materials engaging. I enjoyed all the readings and thought they added to my understanding of how gender is perceived throughout history. I liked how we covered a variety of philosophers, such as Butler and Plotinus. I also appreciated how we explored intersectionality and also looked into the philosophy of science. Besides the interesting content, I found Professor Mercer incredibly open during office hours. When I first met her I was extremely nervous, but she was open to hear my thoughts on the class and even took a book recommendation from me! During class, I thought she engaged with my questions thoughtfully and helped me clarify any concepts I found confusing. I think the only negative was the lack of organization, but that was due to Professor Mercer's worries about AI. Honestly, I genuinely thought this course was super helpful in not only my understanding of gender, but also philosophy as a whole. Her class also introduced me to Foucault's work, which I throughly enjoy now.

Seeing that two of my classmates have already written some very enthusiastic and positive reviews, I scarcely think it necessary for me to write another one. But I can’t help it. Professor Mercer is just too brilliant as a teacher and as a person in general. She is one of those professors who are able to stamp their marks on you, changing the way you think and feel. With her affectionate (sometimes maternal, and not in a creepy way, mind you) personality and unique sense of humor (she tells jokes that range from cutely awkward to head over heels hysterical), she makes it an absolute pleasure to go to class and discuss the readings, and you truly get the feeling that she cares about your learning from details such as the way she listens to and comments on your remarks in class and the cookies she brings to keep you focused. The class itself is not a breeze—the readings can be tough and the weekly quizzes make skipping them pretty much an impossibility if you care about grades. But if you simply do the reading and pay attention in class there is not much else you need to do to get above an A-. Bottom line: if you are looking for an easy class, look elsewhere; if you are looking for a stimulating and hilarious learning experience, look no further.