First Year Seminar @Barnard · Columbia University
Readings went by quickly, very average length of assignment.
We had a discussion post due almost every week and around 6 essays properly due (maybe once a week). He meets with us before every final draft is due for approximately 15 minutes to discuss any questions we may have.
Shelichach is actually the greatest of all time and this class is his shit. He knows what's up when it comes to a good horror story. His readings are genuinely HOOKING like you will be so engaged in the stuff he assigns. In my top 5 books of all time, 3 of them are books I read in this class. He's also such a wonderful grader and based and fun to talk to even if he doesn't agree with your opinion/interpretation.
Going into this class, especially knowing it was a pass-fail class, I was expecting a pretty enjoyable time with good discussions, which I did get out of this class. I loved the discussions we had in class, and Professor Shelichach is super direct and takes the time to really talk to each student to help them better their essays.
light discussion posts most classes, 2 drafts of 2 papers, final presentation and paper
Being a P/F class, I don't think anyone should be worried. There was usually a short discussion post each class (around 200 words) and very reasonable readings (from a page to a maximum of 20, but on average about 5). The essays were not that difficult and actually rather interesting.
AMAZING PROFESSOR. Very understanding and chill. Interesting content.
One of the best professors I've had! As a STEM major, I don't particularly like writing, but Prof. Schelichach made this class so interesting. Great person, very educated, and excellent professor. The discussions were lively and intriguing, and so were the readings. This is the only class I hadn't skipped, not even once, all semester. He's very lenient with the essay topics and just wants us to express ourselves. And the comments on the essays really show his dedication as well as appreciation for the effort we put in. Each time, I had amazing feedback filled with constructive remarks! Plus, you can really see his enthusiasm each time any of us would talk (very heartwarming). I think his class is very motivating and an amazing choice to take for first-year students. No regrets. I've recommended this course to all my friends!!
Readings every class, usually never much more than 20 pages for short stories. We read a novella and a book and didn't get assigned much reading for either. One discussion post for almost every reading, 200-300 words. No need to respond to others. Each of us had to "lead discussion" once, which basically just consisted of you coming up with three questions to ask and him working them into the discussion for the day. There wasn't really any need to prepare more than that. If people didn't have anything to say after you asked your question, he would help you out. One 3-4 page essay and one 4-5 page essay, both of which can be longer if you'd like and based on readings from class. The first is a close reading essay in which you focus on one of a few short stories read so far, and the second is a lens analysis essay which focuses on a novella using an outside text, also read for class. A first draft is submitted for both, you get comments from him over email, you meet with him to talk about your revisions, and then you submit a final draft, which includes a very low-stakes paragraph about your revisions. One final essay which does not have a first draft. Also has a presentation attached, both quite informal/relaxed assignments.
Usually, a reading and discussion post for each class. For the most part, the length of the readings was reasonable, but there were occasionally some long ones. You definitely can get away with skimming for the longer ones, but it's helpful to pay attention for the readings that are part of the prompt of an essay. As, I think, for all FYW classes there was three essays (Lens Analysis, Close Reading, and Research). We would submit a draft, get feedback, and submit our final drafts so nothing too intense. The professor was pretty good at giving constructive feedback and also took the time to meet with each student and thoroughly go through his comments.