Gauri Viswanathan

Professor Viswanathan is so great. This class has a pretty diverse and interesting collection of readings, and she does justice to all of them. The class is pretty much as it is described online, though I do think it helps to read each text or go in with some understanding of the socio-political environment the next was written in. Professor Viswanathan encourages discussion and debate but balances it out quite a bit with her own opinions/readings of the text, which are always insightful and a pleasure to listen to. She's super kind and helpful and you will always leave her office hours with a lot more than you expected coming in. She will give you good feedback on papers and is always responsive in terms of meeting outside class time. Additional perks: she's involved in a lot of events with the Asia Society NYC and you will get complimentary tickets to many of the ones she is at if you ask. Overall, a great class and a great professor.

Professor Viswanathan is a professor who always encourages her favorite students to always actively engage her material, and to never focus on cycles of revenge, trauma, or shame & hypocrisy that would low-brow analyze her subjects. Therefore, professor Viswananthan is a great professor and side-steps desperate themes of anti-Americanism that plagues and thus renders a share of the nation's community colleges professors as not ready to hold an office at a prestigious university like Columbia University, as she does.

Prof. V is extremely knowledgeable about really cool, esoteric things. In addition, she is skilled at creating an intimate seminar environment in which everyone feels comfortable sharing their ideas, but student comments never get out of hand. She is very helpful in terms of meeting outside of class and clearly sees the success of her students to be a priority. She is a fair grader, meaning that she will call you on your BS, but reward you justly when you've done good work. Her paper comments are thoughtful and thorough. And, to top it all off, she took us all out for dinner at the end!!!!!

Prof. Viswanathan is a wonderful discussion leader who brings a wide array of perspectives to each week's reading. She has an excellent way of showing her support for students' diverse readings of the texts. When she decides to lecture it is most always relevant, clear, and always the spring board for another dimension of discussion rather than an end in itself.

In class, we read a variety of works from colonialist and post-colonialist India (authored by Rabindranath Tagore, Raja Rao, Gandhi, Ambedkar, Mahasweta Devi, Bapsi Sidhwa, Amitav Ghosh, Arundhati Roy, and more). We discussed issues of caste, gender, Westernization, oppression, trauma, and memory throughout these works. I learned about a variety of literary and political perspectives in 20th century and 21st century India through these works.

The course asks you to read a variety of interesting and relevant books, on which you write weekly assignments. I really enjoyed it. I think it improved a lot my ability to think critically about texts and also my awareness of these canonical texts.

2 short papers (4-5), 1 longer paper (7-10), 1 presentation

I am an English Major in CC and only take seminars because I prefer the class discussions and hands on experience that lectures don't provide. So far, I have taken 5 seminars with some of Columbia's top professors. Gauri Viswanathan is the reason I studied my butt off in highschool to get into Columbia. Her lectures and comments on the books inspire class discussion. She doesnt force her students to speak, we all fight eachother to be called on next. That to me, is the sign of a wonderful professor. In so many classes I have taken, professors are articulate but don't encourage discussion, that is what makes seminars boring because you can't escape. Professor Viswanathan is the opposite. She is open to different interpretations and she encourages all sorts of comments and takes on the material. Often times we would stray from the topics to prove a particular point. I don't know why anyone would call her cold and aloof. Intimidating yes, cold, absolutely not. You have to understand something about Professor Viswanathan. She is a very smart women, not just well read and well spoken, she is a top scholar in her field. She links themes and topics and presents them in a way that is mind boggling If you were that smart don't you think you would feel slightly out of place dealing with a room full of 18 20-year old hormone raging college students? I honestly think we intimidate her. If…

About the field of South Asian Writing in English, about South Asian history, culture, and social dynamics

This course was an excellent opportunity to read late 19th century British literature specifically focused on colonialism. It was a joy to read Kipling, Conan Doyle, Wilkie Collins, Joseph Conrad and more.