Hiie Saumaa

Workload seemed standard, a lot of reading, but cliff-notes is recommended. Also, pop quizzes every so often to check whether you at least know bit of what's the topic of discussion. Group work is not too heavy and gets people talking, finals can be dense so make sure to study and review as they are long response based (expect to write many paragraphs). Discussion is standard to each class where different topics/themes from the current reading eg. Iliad etc. is brought up and your opinion is requested or bounced off to other classmates.

Very light. Readings twice a week. Short (1 page) reading responses on about half of the readings. (a lot of people didn't even do them). 4 essays. Vary in length. Easily graded. She gave the entire class A's on the reflective paper.

Lovely teacher, enjoyed that we did journaling every so often, to get our thoughts organized and standing exercises as well. Also, enjoyed the outing to Symposium (Greek restaurant) very relevant to the readings ;) All in all, enjoyed both semesters, and the open minded discussion. Just a note, however, try not to get distracted and take notes during class to get on her good side!

Best UW teacher out there, without a doubt. Super lenient in terms of assignments. Many people in my class would forget to do a reading response and it would barely bother her. Although, if you do them, it's a sure way for her to like you. Participation is completely optional. I think I may have spoken twice all semester. She provides really helpful comments on our essay drafts and is also very willing to give extensions. She's also a really easy grader which is certainly a plus. Basically I loved Hiie and if you can manage to roll yourself out of bed for a 9 am class, you should most definitely fight for a spot in her section! It's worth it!

moderate lots of reading (duh it's lithum) 1-3 reading quizzes per semester 2 essays per semester midterm/finals occasional reading responses

Hiie was the best!!! I'm SO glad I had her for LitHum. The workload in her class was reasonable. It was a bit lighter than most LitHum courses, but certainly not a joke. She was so caring about her students and truly wanted to see everyone succeed. The class was heavily discussion based, which in my opinion is how LitHum is meant to be. She is so sweet, gives ample feedback on assignments, and responds to emails in a timely manner. She will give you an extension if you need it. She sometimes takes a while to give back grades on group assignments, but it's not a big deal because everyone does well on those anyway. Highly recommend this class!!!

TL;dr : Bad teacher, nice person, easy to moderate workload, average grader. She has no idea how to lead a discussion. We talk in very vague terms about themes, with no close reading and little guidance from Hiie.

3 papers (2 pages passage analysis, 3-4 pages comparative literary analysis, 5 pages comparative literary analysis) quizzes, in class responses, out of class responses maybe 5 total presentation on one of the texts with a partner Newsletter project- a multimedia project in a group of 4, has to relate to the course, but free reign other than that reading the Lit Hum texts (obv) Midterm and Final... passage ids, pick 4/5 or 5/10, passage analysis essay, literary theme analysis essay.

So, so glad I had Hiie. She actually cares about the students and gave us a break: when we had a project due in her class, she gave us extra time on papers, easy days during midterms. I felt completely prepared for exams after taking her class. Classes are fun, she breaks it up so it doesn't feel so long. We might divide into groups and each group would explore a theme and then present to the class. We write in wisdom books during class sometimes, reflecting on the way the books relate to our life. It's a nice way to start class. It never felt like too much work, actually learned the material, discussions were productive and well led, hands down my favorite class.