Mara Kashper

Readings are half selections from a Lit Hum syllabus, half relatively obscure Russian, all enjoyable. Kashper annoyed a lot of people. Some reasons are very valid. She plays favorites big time, is unorganized, doesn't leave the most thoughtful comments on your writing, and unabashedly promotes her own department in a course whose description does not suggest so. You will be doing a lot of things off campus and on your own time that are only tangentially related to the curriculum. Relax and have a good attitude. The way to be successful in this class is to write and discuss ideas with which Kashper would agree. A lot of students seemed to have an issue with that, but it is a perfectly valid way of running a course, and it is a valuable exercise to express arguments you don't believe. Don't take yourself so seriously. I promise you're learning. Your writing isn't improving, your worldview isn't dramatically shifting, but you're learning. And incoming first-years concerned about the in-residence requirement limiting the number of people they meet, let me just say that you will meet SO MANY PEOPLE your first semester of college. In-rez helps you establish some sort of bond with a few of them.

*** AVOID **** The motto is “It’s not about what you learn, but what you already know,” which is obviously good for some, but bad for others. This is a woman who cares absolutely nothing about her students, their effort, or progress. She will grade solely based on her liking you, and her liking you depends on the following: (1) You have to have a perfect working knowledge of the Russian grammar, which means, if you are in this country for more than 2 years, you better have been attending a Russian school. (2) You should have read most of the works on her syllabus prior to taking the class (3) You must have an in-depth knowledge of the Russian History. If you lack any of these, she will put on a "sweet lady" mask, but don't be surprised when at the end of the semester she's “not willing to listen to you”. Overall she doesn’t have a single opinion of her own. She generally reads a printout, and asks the students to discuss.

I would say 'I recommend this class and Mara to lovers of Russian', but the fact of the matter is: you haven't really got a choice. If you make it to 4th year Russian, Mara WILL be your teacher. She's the only one. And she's brilliant. You should be glad you get her as a teacher. She's interesting, passionate, and with a wealth of knowledge and experience to which you can have essentially unrestricted access, if you approach her. And she is oh so approachable. Really, she's extremely friendly, both inside and outside of the classroom. That being said, all the reviews which say that this class is A LOT of work are absolutely true. The readings can be difficult, class discussion may be a bit overwhelming, the "socheneniya" can be demanding. If you're looking for an easy 4 credit A, this is not the course for you. It's tough. But it's worth it.

You are expected to be able to read approximately one major novel per week. She can NEVER finish discussing it because the conversations always trail off. But do not worry, because she will hold make up classes whenever she feels the class is behind (one of them was held during the reading week). There is about one 3-page paper per week that is judged solely on your grammar and wit. These papers outweigh the midterm and the final whose grades she shows for 15 sec and is not willing to discuss.

Professor Kashper Is not only a very approachable and intellectual professor she is also a great person. I looked forward to her class every week. She is incredibly passionate especially about Russian literature. although she sometimes can seemed biased, her opinions and discussion topics were always thought provoking and challenging. She always made time for her students and when she was unavailable for office hours she offered hour long sessions at coffee shops and restaurants where she would buy us coffee and discuss not only our work but was excited to discuss every day topics. She was incredibly accessible and encouraged us to talk to her about anything we needed in terms of the class.

Mara teaches Russian the way it should be taught-- Hours upon hours of hard work backed up by a supporting and understanding professor. Don't be deterred by the workload. Really, it's good for you.

I just want to say that this class is A LOT of work. It makes life a little bit rough. Sometimes I think about what a drag it is that there is so much work. There is so much, really, a lot. so much work.

This class is no joke. First, the professor plays favorites and grades based on those preferences, with no mercy including the final grade. Kashper cares little for your opinion because she only teaches what she feels is the most important and crucial point in every piece of literature that you read. The benefit of this class is that you learn alot and you read alot. Moreover, you really have a good overview of how literature developed in Russia durign the 20th century. The downside is writting more than you ever would want and making yourself go crazy for trying to get on Kashper's good side, which does not exist.

So... you think you've made it this far, and Russian will be a piece of cake!? WRONG. Kashper makes sure everyone works their ass off for the semester, and although she's easy on the due dates, you'll be up to your ushi in work. I can safely say that this class took up 1/3 of my homework time. Granted, you will learn a lot, but she's the hardest grader in the Slavic department and it will begin to get to you. I actually found her to be a delightful lady and I liked her style of getting everyone engaged (don't like the Socratic method? don't take this class). She's approachable and friendly, and invited us to cultural events outside of class, including an end-of-semester dinner.

The long and short of it is: this class is a lot of work to no end. Work must be justified, it must lead to progress. A small class that always starts late and always ends late: the professor acts as if hers were the only class in the world. She assigns work according to this standard. There is no concrete syllabus: she makes it up as she goes and revises it even as it's printing, I swear. Flexibility is good, but anarchy is not. The verb book she uses (Muravyova) is old and good, but in this class...you will do the same five exercises over and over because the professor has forgotten whether you did them (aloud) already...and she will pass it off as review that she intended in the first place. You read one text the entire semester - Nedelia kak nedelia (A week like any other). The idea is to learn all the vocab really well...the reality is you are bored out of your mind discussing, three times a week, the reasons why the heroine does not have any time...and how do we know that her husband loves her? The text has no literary value but it suits Prof. Kashper's political agenda. (Topics for the final presentation were such: Children and careers, family relations, abortion: for or against; feminism: for or against. Granted, this class is taught at Barnard...but the biased feminism...an abuse of feminism, I daresay...has no place in the University, especially in a language class.…