Karl Kroeber

EVERYONE should have Prof. Kroeber at some point (and especially this class)! This class expanded my mind and made me think in completely new ways, all delivered with Kroeber's profound views on human thinking. Besides bringing the class to think completely out of the box, I gained a lot of insight into the philosophy of theology, religion in the modern world, etc. Each class Kroeber gives a fascinating lecture and then opens up discussion, encouraging people to disagree and argue with him (runs like a seminar). That's what he wants from students in the course - for them to engage with the material, and that's what he looks for in papers. Reading is very light for an English course, and not all of it is necessary for assignments. Papers are short and mostly self-guided (he asks you to come up with a question about the text and discuss it). At times he could be a bit disorganized, and the syllabus ended up being delayed a few classes. But the readings were wonderful and you really will gain a lot from the course. Make sure to go to office hours!

Having read the previous reviews, I feel the need to let you, poor misguided student, know: this was the worst class I have ever taken at Columbia University. I am an English major. I am a reasonable human being. Take my word for it; I have no idea what these other reviewers are thinking.

Prof. Kroeber has to be one of the best professors I have taken at Columbia. For those of you who are only willing to listen to idiotic rambling, courtesy of your fellow students, don't take this class, or any other class with Prof. Kroeber. He is unlike many other Columbia professors who allow you to regurgitate their own words with praise. He's unimpressed by jargon or students with inflated egos. Prof. Kroeber will definitely make you think, especially before you speak. He's old school and he represents the finest at Columbia. Even at his age he finds the time to grade his students papers with helpful commentary. If you believe that you're smart you'll realize that you are in good company.

I cannot even begin to explain how privileged I feel to have both taken this course and learned under Prof. Kroeber. He is, quite simply, everything a professor should be, and much, much more. Beyond affable and humorous and unquestionably brilliant, Kroeber brings a creativity to teaching that I have never seen in another professor. He teaches material to English majors in a way that I'm sure none of us have ever even pondered before, and by semester's end KK had completely changed the way I approach a text. Yes, he does teach with the proddings that the other reviers have mentioned; he will know your name in a week and he will ask you every question that you hope he'll ask someone else. But it will give you such a deep appreciation of the texts that you'll thank him by semester's end. A professor unlike any other.

What a frightful experience it was to walk into my FIRST Columbia classroom experience and watch my classmates, one by one, get reduced to blabbering idiots about the finer nuances of "The Iliad." However, it was also one of my most rewarding academic experiences at Columbia. Kroeber knows EVERYTHING about these texts. He's been teaching the class since before most of our parents were born, so he really knows his stuff. He has this really scary habit of putting students on the spot and grilling about anything in the text that he desires, but it is helpful, though. He forces you really to delve into these texts deeply. You learn how to think in a much more clear and effective manner. You learn how to write intelligently on those little nuances that at first seemed so scary. He's absolutely the best Lit Hum teacher on this campus and you'll be lucky to have him. These skills will benefit you for years to come. And yes, he does look a lot like a geriatric Steve Buscemi.

I just can't say enough about Prof. Kroeber. He's everything you'd ever want in a professor x 10! His lectures are actually discussions in which he encourages you to think for yourself. And as long as you can back up your opinion, you're good-to-go. He makes sure that EVERYONE speaks up in every single class, but believe me, you'll definitely want to participate anyway. If you're looking for a professor that does what he does because he's genuinely interested in motivating students, then you've found your guy. An absolutely wonderful professor!

3 fairly short papers; moderate amount of reading.

I wrote a particularly scathing review of Professor Kroeber earlier this semester, and I have to put it on record that my opinon of him has changed. In my last review, I mentioned several exceedingly harsh comments that Kroeber wrote on one of my papers; I am happy to report that he apologized for them and basically took them back when I talked to him one on one. He acknowledged my engagement with the texts and (unlike his comments) respectfully discussed with me my interpretations that he disagreed with. I got great comments on my last two papers, and I have to say I've never valued any teacher's praise so much in my academic career - because I know it isn't given out gratuitously. It's still a bit of a guess-what-his-interpretation-would-be-and-write-that game, but you get better at this as the semester goes on, and it may not be the worst thing in the world to adopt the same kind of interpretation that a man who has studied literature for about 65 years participates in. His abstract and broad discussions during lectures are still a little hard to focus on and get anything otu of (not to mention stay awake during - bring coffee!), but when he goes around the class interrogating individual students about a specific text, class is quite enjoyable (especially if you have a comment that you can stand up for, against his critique - and in the rare case that you say something that…

TAKE A CLASS WITH KROEBER. I love this man and I hope he sticks around for a couple more years. He graduated from UC Berkeley in 1944, so he's getting up there. Nonetheless, he is completely lucid and enthusiastic. In a class with 70 students he read everyone's papers and wrote a paragraph at the end of each one. His approach to teaching is wonderful. He wants to learn from his students and encourages them to explore whatever they find interesting in the books. He believes in short papers and open paper topics. His lectures can sometimes be a bit boring but for the most part are engaging. He encouraged discussion, even though the class was big. He's totally approachable and you should absolutely go see him during office hours, just to talk to him. He's a character and should not be missed. Oh, and the books we read were great too. We read short novels (the longest was 200 pages) and short stories by Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Balzac, Kipling, Conrad, Achebe and more. The focus of the class was on imperialism and colonialism, so we read books from all over the world. The class was much more about politics, philosophy, and anthropology rather than straight literary analysis.

This stuff is his passion and he lets it become yours. The readings are usually short passages transcribed from the oral tradition of Native American cultures from around the "United States". He explains cultural context behind the stories, but his focus is on reader response. Every week, a 1 page open ended response to the reading is due, but as long as you keep up missing one will not effect your grade. The class is basically about interpreting the multi-layered and rich stories and making sense of how the lessons contained within can effect your own life. For people bored of the "Western Tradition" who want to be exposed to a completely differnet cultural experience, take this class!!!! Kroeber is a wonderful teacher, whose first priority is the exchange of ideas. Class participation is the basis of this class and he really makes an effort to get to know each and every student. He actually cares about your opinion. To the reviewer who left Kroebers office with a feeling of being humbled: ask yourself, did you walk in with an open mind?