Liza Knapp

I really enjoyed this class and I find Professor Knapp to be very engaging and interesting. That being said, in order to truly reap the benefits of this class, be prepared to work your ass off. We started off reading three books at once (1 novella, 1 semi-autobiography, and Jane Eyre) which were then followed by three massively long books (think ~800 pages each) which were The Idiot, Middlemarch, and Anna Karenina, and finished off with two more novellas and your choice of a Virginia Woolf novel. The reading list is fantastic, but I often found myself frustrated at how little time we had to appreciate each of these incredibly dense and labyrinthine texts. Additionally, I am a pretty fast reader and I still found myself often feeling overwhelmed by the amount of reading I had to do each week. In class Professor Knapp is incredibly animated and deeply passionate about these works which is fantastic and definitely necessary when working with some hefty and occasionally slow or convoluted texts. I found this spirited lecturing, beyond being endearing, to be helpful to identify some interesting parts of focus in these works. On the midterm and final: the midterm was somewhat nightmarish. 75 minutes to write 4 FULL essays by hand. Closed book, no notes. And while most of my in-person exams are graded with the understanding that the format impacts the style/quality of writing and con…

Honestly the reviews on Professor Knapp are crazy she is the sweetest person. I must admit on the first weeks of the semester I was bit skeptical as well because her discussions seem to be very spur of the moment (she follows her thoughts to lead discussion) however this is not a problem at all. She is sort of a grandma type figure--> vert kind, and understanding (if you are ever sick or had an emergency she will probably give you an extension if you simply ask for one) she also brought us snacks once for thanksgiving break and I believe she is actually a very lenient grader compared to other professors at Columbia.

Only take this class if you're prepared for the amount of reading. It's a lot. To be fair, you can do lots of it via audiobook if you prefer. Class is definitely worth it though because it gives you a reason to read all these great works that you wouldn't have read otherwise. Lisa Knapp is an amazing professor, super engaging, hilarious, passionate about the subject and her students. She's an absolute gem of a person. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Fall 2023 Course: CLRSGU4011_001_2023_3-DOSTOEVSKY,TOLSTOY&ENGNOVEL : CLRSGU4011_001_2023_3 - DOSTOEVSKY,TOLSTOY & ENG NOVEL Instructor: Liza Knapp

Honestly, I had heard about Liza Knapp previously and was very intrigued, yet I had no real expectations. After taking this class, I am absolutely obsessed with this woman, like I am literally taking a graduate class next year just to be taught by her again. She is the funniest woman ever and is so zealous about the material. I have a running list of her quotes with which I berate my friends weekly. She is very intense and a little old-school but in the best ways. I find her to be very engaging, but I do see how her lecturing style is confusing. The class's content is great and spans plenty of the authors' works, yet all of it connects in some insane way. My advice is to take this class but just SHOW UP to class and take notes on all the random things she says. Literally, you just have to attend and like do the assignments. She is also very understanding and much of the assignments are pretty loose, other than the midterm and final. She slays and I want to be her best friend.

I am utterly disappointed with Liza Knapp. She is absolutely horrid with her grading system. There is no clear grading criteria for her essays, midterms, and finals. I expected Literature Humanities to be a fun course. Knapp's lackluster style and monotone discussion pattern took this away. The content was mildly boring.

She's a wonderful lecturer with so much passion and lots of emotional connection to the texts. She'll be so passionate about something that she starts crying during class. She has a deep knowledge of her subject and an energy that you won't find in anyone else. The texts are well-chosen and I really enjoyed reading them. She focuses a lot on compassion, and she gave me a whole new perspective on Jane Eyre. She also contextualizes the novels well within their cultures. That being said, there is a WHOLE LOT of reading. It can be very overwhelming when you can't finish everything, even though you want to. If you haven't read them before, I would highly recommend reading The Idiot and/or Jane Eyre as well as Anna Karenina and/or Middlemarch before the course begins (over the summer). I was able to keep up for the first have of the semester and then fell irretrievably behind when we got to the truly enormous books, which made the class a lot less enjoyable. In-class essays on the midterm were stressful (too much to do in the allotted time), and take-home final is a lot of work. Summary: Great class, too much on syllabus

When I received Liza for my Literature Humanities course on Culpa after seeing that golden nugget, I was overjoyed. Little did I know, reality had a different plan. Knapp, our instructor, has this outrageous expectation for a weekly reading load that's just not feasible. The course itself lacks structure, and it seems like Knapp favors those who dominate class discussions with seemingly empty filler, rather than appreciating those who genuinely ponder and articulate thoughtful ideas. I mean, it's Literature Humanities, and you'd think the content would be straightforward, but the grading system turns this into a nightmare. The lectures? Let's just say they're painfully dull. Get ready to endure nearly two hours of people who believe they've cracked the code to every book. Instead of fostering an environment for everyone to contribute, Knapp seems fixated on idealizing those who are already vocal. It's evident in how she subtly dismisses ideas or overlooks concepts from those who don't participate, while showering praise on the most obvious comments from the person who spoke just a minute ago.

Stop reading this and take her class. Whether it's a required course or it's just for fun, I guarantee you will not regret spending 4/5 months listening to Professor Knapp twice a week. Her enthusiasm for her subject is truly one of the most wonderful and entertaining things I have ever seen. I could not wait to sit in on her class and bask in the inspiring energy that she exudes every day. It must be said that this was only my first semester at Columbia. However, after sitting in on one of her classes during registration, I decided to take her class completely on a whim. It was a lot of work, especially considering I had never read the material before, but I would not have regretted it even if I had received a low grade. She gives insightful but encouraging feedback. Not the hardest grader, but definitely think through your arguments thoroughly.

I love Liza! She's a gem. Sweet, considerate, helpful, you really can't ask for a better Lit Hum professor. She has this endearing quirk where she will only address people in class by their last name (ex: Mr. X, Ms. X, Mx. X). You'll get into this habit too and might end up not knowing everyone's first names by the end of the year. Liza is a part of the Slavic Studies Department, so we ended up reading Tolstoy ("Sevastopol Tales", "Childhood, Boyhood, Youth") instead of Paradise Lost. She really loves Slavic literature. Also, drawing. Her class usually follows the typical (and dull) Lit Hum lecture model, but she will occasionally break it up by having students get up and draw scenes from the books on the chalkboards. There are a few class debates as well (Was Odysseus a good leader? Should Pride & Prejudice be on the syllabus?, etc.), along with some presentations to the class. Like any Lit Hum class, you probably will not end up doing every single reading and that is okay. As long as you skim and remember some key points, you'll get by. However, Liza does love to call upon students who have not raised their hands and may ask some pretty specific questions. If you don't know, it's not that big of a deal because she'll either call upon someone else, answer it herself, or get distracted completely and never address it. Her lectures aren't always that structured, and she is unin…

Amazing!!!!! I loved this class and the professor!!!! Her enthusiasm and her passion for the subject is obvious!! She walks around the classroom discussing specific passages from the readings and makes weird noises showing her fascination with whatever it is she is talking about. Attendance is taken, so you need to make sure to attend all the lectures. However, the lectures are always interesting...you will never get bored in this class! The workload is pretty heavy, but all the readings are very interesting!