Margo Rosen

I very lucky to be able to take Professor Rosen's class. She made the material engaging and interesting. I recommend her as a professor to anyone taking LitHum.

Amazing. My favorite professor. She makes grammar interesting and she's witty without wasting our learning time. I look forward to Russian every day because of Margo. She has high expectations for her students, but she's friendly if you need help or have questions to ask. Humble, too; she often says things like, "Bear with me-- I haven't taught this material before." Meanwhile, we students wink at one another as the greatest teacher in the world tries to apologize for her instruction level!

Prof. Rosen is a godsend. The previous reviewers described her very well, so I won't go into detail, but had to add that you MUST take her class. You will learn a ton both about the texts and about your own writing. She should have a gold nugget. Don't be scared by her grading on papers. My theory is that she has some sort of secret curve/bonus where everyone's finals are "really really well done" (you don't get them back or to see the grade even if you ask) allowing her to bump up everyone's grade at the end of the semester. She doesn't want to penalize good, thoughtful students for a dud paper, so she will probably make it up to you in this way. Combined with generous allotments for participation and Google Docs, Prof. Rosen allows for many opportunities for redemption (or if not redemption, bonus points). At least half the class will get in the A-range according to my transcript. My main advice is to participate well (she called me out on not talking enough in office hours, although she doesn't spot call) and take her comments about close reading and extrapolating features of the text as a whole from words/phrases in the the passages very seriously on exams and essays. My exams literally looked like this: "quote of 1-4 words in the passage" --> feature of the text (e.g. rhyme scheme, narrative discrepancies, teleology): brief note form explanation. Make a list of features o…

Margo Rosen is the best professor I've had. Period. I wish she taught all my classes.

I just wanted to say that I absolutely agree with all the previous reviews: Margo is warm, caring, wonderfully professorial in that frazzled, excitable sort of way, and an excellent teacher. There's no point in restating all the points the old reviews say; they all still hold perfectly true. Professor Rosen is an EXCELLENT Lit Hum teacher. A note on her essays: the close-reading point still holds true. You need to focus in on one passage and analyze it with little reference to the book as a whole. She's also big on being concise and cutting out fluff - the "bullshit" line that an older review mentioned seems to be part of a yearly trope she uses. If you follow that advice, though, it's not hard to get a good grade on your papers. Just have a point to your essay, back it up with details in the passage you're analyzing, allude to the point in your intro, and make the point in your conclusion.

Margo Rosen is fantastic. I can honestly say she's the best language teacher I've ever had, and I've taken a LOT of language classes. Unlike many other teachers, she really engages the material and tries endlessly to pull your face out of the textbook and get you actually talking. Often, during group "conversation" exercises from the book, you have to leave your seat and actually converse with the other students. She encourages conversation in class, as long as you make a good effort to use the current material. I can't count the times we've all cracked up laughing over a bon-mot po-russki. Yet somehow, we still cover everything we need for the tests. I swear, room 707 must be in a time warp. She also really explains grammar, instead of just lecturing about it. If you want to know why that vowel is fleeting, or when you're supposed to drop the soft sign, she will explain it happily and articulately. She teaches a great class, whether your interests are academic or functional. She also rewards creativity, encouraging students to explore what they can do with what they already know. If you want a class where all you're expected to do is copy the example and change the word you're declining, please don't take Russian with Margo. If you want to have fun and learn Russian for real, sign up!

Professor Rosen is an excellent teacher, and her strengths are particularly well-suited to Lit Hum. Her class is constantly and consistently engaging, interesting, and even fun. I'll go into a lot of detail about her class, which will probably sound dry at times; that's simply a function of my extended analysis and poor prose. Her class is absolutely fantastic, and was an incredible introduction to the Core here at Columbia. She is highly recommended, and deserves even better than the silver nugget she has currently. A disclaimer before I begin: Obviously, a lot of the quality of a Lit Hum class depends on the students - if they're all quiet, the class likely won't be enjoyable, no matter how great the teacher. I was lucky enough to have a relatively lively class, where at least 10 people spoke in any given class period, rather than 3 or fewer people making all the contributions. On the other hand, both by making a large chunk of the grade (30%) based on class participation, and with her easy and engaging manner, Margo definitely brings out the best in her students. Professor Rosen's class is focused on close reading. Her essays are all exercises in that skill: to get a good grade, simply mine the passage for the tiniest linguistic details that the author might have placed to make a larger point, then make the larger point yourself in the conclusion. Afterwards, go back and wr…

What is it about the Russian department monopolizing all the nice professors? This woman is incredibly nice, smart, patient, and instructive. She isn't even Russian, and her accent sounds like it's on the money! I look forward to her class every day, and I listen to every word she says in order to maximize my learning. Margo is a treasure. She will keep you on your toes, though.... No slipping through the cracks in this class.

Margo Rosen is GOD. Her class delivered everything I expected out of the Columbia Core, and really was life changing. After taking her class, I feel prepared to read and analyze any text that comes my way. She advocates "close reading," and wants her students to become experts at it. By the end of the year, the things we would pull from the texts and the conclusions and observations made TRULY blew my mind and changed the way I see the world. In my opinion, THIS is what the core is about. Not only is Margo a brilliant woman, but she is also extremely down to earth and a wonderful person to talk to about just about anything. Make use of her office hours--she will truly make a concerted effort to get to know you as a person and to understand your own learning style. I cannot say enough about this professor and this class. I wish I could have her for CC too (and every other class I ever take ever.) She epitomizes the type of person I want to be when I grow up: someone who is smart, has a wonderful sense of humor, cares a lot about learning, but doesn't take herself too seriously, and wants to see others succeed. She could make any work of literature fun, stimulating, and fascinating. In short, take this class. It will probably be one of the best intellectual adventures of your life. I know that sounds cheesy as hell, but that is what this class is and I loved EVERY second of it.

Professor Rosen is very thoughtful, approachable, and enthusiastic. Definitely the best instructor I've had at Columbia so far. She is so genuinely excited about all of the works we read that after each class, I ended up liking even the works that I had initially disliked. She encourages discussion and lets you make any point as long as you can soundly back it up with specific details in the text. The other reviews are pretty much spot-on, but I just want to say that Margo is a truly wonderful Lit Hum professor. Take her class!!!