Frances Richard

I'm posting this review two and a half years after taking Women and Culture with Prof. Richard. I honestly didn't like this class at the time. I didn't like her, I felt like she didn't like me, I disliked all the pretentious comments getting thrown around all the time, and I walked out of the class with an A- and felt like my writing didn't improve at all. I'm just now realizing as a junior that this is one of the few classes I've taken at Barnard or Columbia that truly made me feel engaged in the class, made me care about what we were discussing, and made me debate and question people because I wanted to, not because I was being forced to in order to meet some minimum participation requirement. That's all I wanted to say. I'm still not sure I like her, and I still dislike pretentious comments, but I think this class was valuable to me and if you're taking it, I think it will be valuable to you too. Good luck!

As many other reviews say, Professor Richard has many insightful comments and pushes you to be specific in your writing and comments. She does a great job of facilitating discussion by making sure no girls repeat vague comments they found on Spark Notes -- she really makes you think and complete your thoughts and comments. However, she was an EXTREMELY hard grader. I am no student who gets mad if teachers have high standards, its understandable, we are at a very rigorous school. My issue with Professor Richard is that she did not help in meeting such standards. After meeting with her many times, I never seemed to learn how to improve my writing skills. When it comes to actual classes, Frances Richard makes it interesting and engaging but for writing the papers she is not helpful at all. That being said, she IS helpful with coming up with ideas just not helpful in the process of writing the papers. She always found issues with my final draft which she did not mark on the rough draft, making it difficult to get good grades in the class. She is also very cold and condescending at times. Not a warm fuzzy teacher in any way. As a first year english teacher I really was unhappy with her because I found she did not help in setting the foundations for writing at Barnard. She did not help teach my how to improve my writing skills.

She's a great professor. Frances really knows how to get a discussion going all the way until the end of class and tries every now and then to weed out people who don't participate because of shyness (but does her best not to embarass them once they are "found out"). She is also extremely approachable during office hours, appointments, etc. and answers her emails very quickly. Her comments are useful, especially for the first drafts of essays.

So obviously there is very little you can do about the professor to which you have been assigned. You got lucky. Having her impart wisdom upon you will be the greatest experience of your young college career. Since you can't exactly change professors (and really, you would be stupid to do so) here is some advice for her class: 1. Embrace it. Buy into it. Participate. All of the above. She may ask you to expand on a topic, or make you define exactly what you mean by a particular word, or even call you out for textual support- which, I understand, can be a little intimidating. Don't let this stop you. Speaking in class, and participating in the intellectual roller coaster ride on which you are about to embark will lead to some of the most enlightening experiences of your life. READ THE MATERIAL. Pick out key passages to highlight in class. She loves this. 2. Go to her office hours. Use her. Really. Many of the girls in my class were afraid to go speak with her because they didn't have a firm grasp on their ideas...this is the best time!! I would go into her office not having any notion of what idea I wanted to pursue, but, through bouncing ideas off her I gained a better sense of my thoughts and completely grew as both a writer and a reader. Sidenote: she's great in email as well. I would send her complete paragraphs and she would send them back with amazing suggestions. Honestl…

Frances Richard is the most ridiculously awful teacher in the English Department. The first couple of classes you will be amazed at how pretentious and rude she is, then you'll just learn to tune her out. Outside meetings involve her showing up late, giving you a couple of sentences of critique, advising you to read the Illiad (no matter what) and then leaving early. It's a shame because the syllabus is really good, but her presence is grating. Avoid at all costs.

Professor Richard's eloquence will take your breath away. Listen, respond, and you will learn more than you would ever expect. Frances Richard is passionate about words and the architecture of language. She is an editor, and expects your full devotion to writing (and reading). She will raise the bar for you as a writer, and help you to reach your goals. I learned so much about myself as a reader, writer, and talker in this class -- I can hardly believe it. She edges on good discussion. She will make you want to read harder. Amazing woman. Highly recommended as a professor.

Prof Richard is fantastic!!! If she taught more courses I would legitimately become an English major just to take all of them. I really wasn't looking forward to taking first-year English, and I didn't get my top choice of section, but this class turned out to be excellent. Even when we were discussing touchy material (which was surprisingly often) she managed to keep the discussion enjoyable and thought provoking, as opposed to frustrating. She is also completely brilliant, as demonstrated through her thought provoking questions during discussion and her intense review of all drafts/papers that you turn in. If you take a class with her, be sure to go to office hours to discuss writing ideas. It will help you IMMENSELY, even if you really have no idea what you want to write about. I came into college with a pretty good foundation of writing experience, but this class truly taught me how to develop and support my theses. Do note that this is not a class that is good to come to unprepared. Although you may be able to get by, you'll feel dissapointingly left out of the discussion.

Aloof, sometimes cold, and absolutely brilliant. If she doesn't have tenure in 5-7 years, Barnard is losing out. Remarkably astute comments on papers; is able to pinpoint the exact weakness in a thesis and always has constructive criticisms. Seems to know unending amounts about the historical, social, political, and economic situations which impacted upon the literature, and knows exactly how to synthesize all of these different factors and then to relate them to the literature. Always poised and in control of the discussion, but makes sure to focus during first 15 minutes of class on eliciting reactions to the literature. But she's not for those who rely on a gregarious, Mother Earth-esque English teacher. She isn't very personable, which even her incredible fluency and knowledge can't always alleviate.

Frankly, Barnard should really tenure this brilliant woman. The very first day I attended seemed a bit intimidating because some of the other students in class seemed to have already read the authors on our syllabus, but Prof. Richard eased my worries. She is extremely approachable and leads great discussions in class, without going off tangent so much like other professors. If you're interested in taking any English course at Barnard, this is the professor to take it with.

The most brilliant person I've ever had the pleasure to meet and from whom to learn. She truly has the gift of understanding how to drastically improve your writing and expression, based on how your mind works. She is incredibly inspirational, and the reason why I am taking on an English minor, when I had no plans to do so before taking her course. I would recommend her class to anyone that genuinely wants to learn and improve their writing, analyzation, and thinking all together. She is a difficult grader, but her feedback is incredibly specific and helpful if you take the time and effort to improve. In short, Professor Richard is the most gifted professor I have ever had, and I have a feeling that every professor I have in the future will pale in comparison.