James Adams

Fair. Not to hard or easy. Normal for lithum

Standard amount of reading. No reading checks. No participation. 3 essays, midterm, final.

I learned how to properly analyze a Jane Austen novel, about life in Regency-era England, how to write effective discussion posts, and construct a comparative paper.

The workload was pretty light. For the first half, a couple of fairy tales are read per class, and for the second half, we basically cover one children's book per week (only a few hours of reading). The professor was nice about the essays, and none of the assignments took very long (especially if you went to class).

Yes, there's a lot of reading. But it's all worthwhile. He grades fairly (he'll make you work for that A, but it's entirely possible to get one if you put the time and effort in)

Prof. Adams is fair to the material and does not let personal politics of opinion distract from these amazing traditional works. His love for the texts show in class and he seeks to impart it to his student. Another note, being a high caliber professor, a lot of very good students intentionally take his class... this makes fro great discussion.

Professor Adams' classes are structured very much like a STEM class, which, depending on the type of student you are, could be a very good or very bad thing. Participation is not considered in your grade, and in class, he will lecture exactly how to interpret the text. To do well on the essays, you just have to regurgitate what he said in class into the essay. Oftentimes, he will even directly answer some of the essay prompts during class.

I have learned how to read novels in different ways and how to analyze them to approve my arguments. I also have learned that how the author uses various strategies to approach her goals.

Professor Adams was a very down-to-earth, considerate professor. He has such an eloquent manner of speaking about literature, and especially in a class about children's literature, he was able to deftly explore both the realistic and the fantastical elements of a wide variety of pieces. Professor Adams offers excellent feedback in grading essays and short responses which I honestly thought did improve my writing, and he always gave a wealth of interesting topics to explore for all the essays in class. Between you and me, it's easier to get a good grade if you write about something he has talked about thoroughly in class. During lectures, his responses to questions are very well-thought-out and intentional, and he really takes the time to listen to every individual who wants to contribute. He lets the class go when he finishes lectures early, and does not try to drag out a discussion longer than needed. Overall, just a really pleasant speaker and a great professor. I would definitely recommend taking children's literature.

If you're thinking of taking a class with Prof. Adams, DO IT. You will not regret it. If he is not as well known among students as are the other Victorianists in the department it is because he's new to Columbia. (he's married to Prof. Moody-Adams, and came with her from Cornell a few years ago) Give him a few years and people will be fighting for room in his classes. It's shocking to me that they aren't doing so right now! He's AMAZING. (His "Victorian Literature" survey inspired me to be an English major!) He always has time for his students, making more office hours close to paper deadlines, giving extensive comments on said papers, and even accepting a first paragraph for comments before the final submission. His lectures are engaging, and his seminars are even more so (not to mention that his syllabi are always interesting) He's also approachable. There's no ego in sight (though it would be justified if he had one - the man's brilliant). Don't expect there to be a ta for the lectures. He does all the grading himself (he even has a little story he tells at the beginning of each of his lectures about how his time at MIT (Yep, that's right, he was a math major at MIT before being a Rhodes Scholar and doing English) influenced his decision to go it alone. You'll get full-on Adams awesomeness for the whole semester - no middle (wo)man! :) I'd recommend pretty much anything he…