Deborah Steiner

Professor Steiner is extremely knowledgeable, but she only lectures - for 2 hours straight - with a 5 minute break in between. With that said, she posts absolutely 0 resources/content online and would communicate all assignments/discussion questions/class changes via email. I transferred into the class and even the syllabus wasn't online; I received it as a scan from a classmate. Her class is basically just a 2-hour lecture with some light discussion from students. In comparison, other classes would collaborate on documents, present in class, go over practice tests etc - I got almost all of my notes, study guides, and practice tests from peers in other classes. I found it very helpful when she discussed or analyzed sections of the books, but she often spent hours talking about the Greek contexts that the books were written in -- nothing that would have helped when discussing the actual characters, plots, and themes for the midterm or final. She would say some pretty funny and out-of-pocket things to keep your attention though. I learned the most doing the reading logs and answering the discussion questions, which she usually provides feedback on. About halfway through the semester, students who fell asleep in class or forgot their books would be sent away. Overall, I found grading and the workload to be extremely generous (given that I usually read summaries or watch youtube v…

Steiner is quite intimidating at first and runs a pretty no-nonsense class, but in the end she's really rather chill :) She genuinely wants to give you the best grade she can--you can fuck up a few quizzes (and even the midterm..!) and still end up with an A if you improve throughout the semester and are consistent with your reading/translations/participation. On the other hand, since she assigns final grades impressionistically rather than using a strict breakdown of quizzes/exams/recitations/etc., you really have no idea where you stand until the end of the semester. Another nice thing about her is that if you don't volunteer to translate, she will not call on you and force you to do it. So it's not the end of the world if you don't quite get through the reading before class. Which is not to say that you're fooling her or anyone else by staring intently at your book to avoid her eye contact, but at least she won't call you out on it in class. She also absolutely knows her stuff and likes to go on really long, interesting tangents about myth or Homeric reception. Yay! Simone is really nice. She seems new and nervous, but she's willing to go above and beyond to help students out. Friday morning sessions on Homeric grammar are rough in the best of circumstances, but she did her best and made us some killer handouts.

I did not enjoy this course. Looking at previous course reviews, I thought it would be mangeable, but that simply was not the case. We barely went over the translation, which I understand--this seemed to be more of a literary analysis class. I didn't like the pace or the rhythm of the class. I do admit, though, Professor Steiner is very knowledgeable. But, this course needs some serious restructuring. And by the way, everyone in the class is at a different level of experience. Yet, it was assumed that we knew how to, for example, write a close analysis--something I did okay in--but would it not have been helpful just to go over the basics for 15 min? That was something that could have benefited everyone. Also, the translation is a lot. Keep up, or you'll be lost. Every week you are expected to know 300 lines in total. It is expected that you know your vocab, grammar, scansion, etc, but you never get tested on it or go over it in class. Ultimately, I did fine, but this was my least favorite class out of all the classes I have taken. Honestly, it's put me off from taking another Latin class again.

Wonderful class. I am a first year engineering student who was absolutely terrified of joining this class. Interested in the material, but worried about the difficulty of the class based on previous reviewers. But grading was extremely lenient, and I got an A. That is not to say, however, that the class was a breeze. We covered a large amount of literature over the semester, all of which had to be known for the exams. The way that the class worked was that every lecture was split in half, covering a certain mythological character. For the first half, Professor Steiner would talk about the literary portrayals of the character/family, then Professor De Angelis would take over and speak about visual sources. Both professors were always well-prepared and gave very fascinating and accessible interpretations of the myths. For someone like me, with no previous knowledge of classical mythology, I was still able to grasp the lectures without a problem. I came out of the class feeling like I've learned so much about mythology, and still feeling like there is so much to be explored that I want to learn about classical mythology. I mean, what more is a class supposed to do?

This course covers a great range of iambic, lyric, and epinicion poetry. Its highlights include Hipponax, Archilochus, Simonides, Sappho, Xenophanes, and many more. Homeric and Hesiodic influence is carefully noted and emphasized, as is the influence of Greek art more generally. History and historiography are also accounted for with excellent precision and depth (as is allowed) by Prof. Steiner.

In depth study of various themes and scenes in Homer's Odyssey; further understanding of Greek language, grammar, and thought; further skills in articulating Greek close reading through writing; an understanding of scansion; developed interpretive skills; Greek memorization.

My Greek improved immensely, and I gained a much broader grasp on early Greek poetry.

Professor Steiner has to be THE BEST lithum teacher at Columbia. While most professors lead the class via discussion, her knowledge base turns the class into a more lecture-style course. However, she literally knows everything and anything to do with the classical texts, giving new context and meaning that makes even the most apathetic students interested. It is important to note that she does not allow technology in class; however, you get used to it really quickly and it honestly helps for the final/midterm when you realized you HAD to pay attention in class all semester.

Around 150+ lines per week (not turned in). Weekly quizzes with translation and grammar questions. A midterm and a final, each covering half a semester's worth of text (fairly brutal). Small recitation (first 10 lines of the Iliad, no big deal).

I've got to admit, I've been pretty underwhelmed by my professors this first semester, but hands down, Professor Steiner is the absolute best and my favorite professor! Her impressive knowledge of both latin and greek make this class incredibly engaging. And she has great sense of humour! In high school I'd gotten a chance to translate the Aeneid but I'd never gotten such a rich understanding of the language and its allusive and historical qualities as I have this semester. Professor Steiner has truly made Latin a pleasure to continue studying and I hope to take another one of her classes in the future.