Kathy Eden

Kathy Eden is incredibly smart. Unlike my LitHum section (which was heavily discussion-based), Eden delivers a lecture each class pausing to ask questions and get opinions every once in a while. At first, I didn't like this teaching style but it grew on me to the point where I love it now! Eden is able to pick out great portions of the text, draw intra-textual connections, and overall, make class fun!

Kathy Eden is one of the best professors at Columbia. She made me genuinely interested in the texts and was very engaging and clear with her lectures. She has a nice sense of humor and is very available to help you with anything from class. I am surprised to see others saying she has a mean streak, it really didn't seem that way to me. This definitely was more on the challenging side for a class in my opinion; I think I was falling a bit behind at first which kept me from getting an A (I got an A-). Still a respectable grade though.

Kathy Eden's CC is the best CC section for those who actually want to engage with the core. She is a gem of a professor, and knows more about the Western tradition than just about anyone. Kathy Eden's CC is focused on cultivating an actual understanding of what each of these texts say on their own terms. Professor Eden does a wonderful job of mixing lecture with leading questions and targeted discussion, which saves her class from CC's biggest trap (that is letting students discuss whatever they want in some vague connection to the text). If you don't want to hear people who didn't do the reading ramble about their opinions, but instead want to actually learn something substantive and change the way you think about the world, take her CC. She does not condescend to her students and expects a high degree of preparedness and thoroughness. She will tell you when you're wrong, which is a virtue many professors lack. Though this description may sound severe to those who don't know Professor Eden, she is in fact the warmest and kindest professor I've had at Columbia. She is interested in each one of her students and is overall understanding and kind. She can make a Columbia experience worth it.

Prof. Eden is one of the best, if not the best, professor I've had so far at Columbia. Her English Lit 1500-1600 just seemed impeccably composed--every reading built on the other; and every concept related back to each reading in a way that gave me goosebumps sometimes. Prof. Eden is very organized in her lecture. The way she explains things is very thorough; in fact, she is always SO thorough that we run out of time. Always. She keeps the class engaged, makes sure everyone understands difficult and abstract questions, and is very approachable. Just generally fabulous. She knows everything there is to know.

Professor Eden is one of the best Lit Hum profs you can have. She's really relaxed in class which can make a big difference in a two hour class. As long as you do some of the reading and pay attention for half of the class, not only will you learn something, but actually do well.

I absolutely love Kathy Eden. I was a little daunted coming into this class because the syllabus was loaded with the same texts that fill CC: Plato, Aristotle, etc.. All of those Greek guys. But Prof. Eden made them exciting, distilling them for us. Her lectures were very organized and she encouraged discussion even though the class had about 50 people in it. Not one usually prone to discussing philosophy, I found myself contributing regularly in class. Prof. Eden gives a new spin to classic texts and shows how they function in modern culture. I developed a friendship with Kathy and whenever I see her she greets me with a hug and tells me to come by her office so we can gossip. She is the best.

This is my first time reviewing Kathy Eden. I had her a decade ago back in 2009/2010/2011, and even thinking about her today makes me a bit upset--a decade after the fact. I agree with one of the reviewers below: this woman has a mean streak and an ego --only the latter is understandable. Very judgmental and mean. It's the black mark of my Columbia College experience. If you falter a little in her class, there are no second chances. If she doesn't like you for some reason, she permanently writes you off as not worthy. The environment she creates is cold, not conducive to fostering open friendly discussion. Everyone was too frightened to raise their hand in class. This stands in stark comparison to my other semester of CC which was so much fun: all of us very willing to speak up about what we think and how we felt towards the text. But the semester with Eden (what a deceiving name) was cold and full of judgement. I will never get that semester back. To be completely forthcoming, perhaps you can say I'm a bit biased/bitter because of my grade (B-/C+ with Eden) compared to A/A- my other CC semester. But the one other time I received the lowest grade of my CC years (B- in Jeffrey Sachs' course) was the highlight my undergraduate coursework experience. I loved that class, and will never regret that experience. My differential experience across the two semesters of CC is at least pa…

I learnt a lot about the context, histories and also the literary techniques in the Renaissance text we studied.

If you are assigned to Eden's LitHum section, you're in for a treat. Professor Eden is extremely well-knowledged in every work, and presents the works in a way that encouages class discusson and participation. If you are in her class, DEFINITELY read all of the works by the deadlines... otherwise you'll feel very unprepared in class and may possibly find the discussions unstimulating and boring. Discussions can get very intense, and the class may seem more difficult than the lithum classes your peers are in, but at the end of the course you'll feel as if you got a lot out of this core requirement... and you'll know how to read some of the greek words that Eden puts on the board. She is very accessibly during office hours, especially before a paper is due, and she is very considerate.

I have to agree with the reviewer who complimented her intelligence and organization but also levied a warning. This woman has a deep and wide mean streak in her.