Zane Mackin

Zane Mackin is a pretty cool teacher. He's not the best Lit hum teacher but he's DEFINITELY not the worst. The class is based on very casual, moslty student led discussion, which is great because you can participate as much or little as you want. My only word of caution is that he is a Dante scholar and therefore tends to go overboard in discussion for the Divine Comedies. We spent 3 weeks on them and then had to rush through the rest of the syllabus without time at the end for review. Other than that, the class was definitely easy going. The quality of each class definitely depends on student input.

I had Dolcino last semester for Italian. The best part of the class was probably following his wardrobe. And he totally played favorites with a few of the girls, which sometimes seemed to me to get a little sexual. The class would titter with nervous laughter. But as far as the actual teaching went, he was very dedicated and made sure we knew what was going on. He also really pushed people to come see him in his office hours, though I never went. He graded a little harshly compared to other teachers, which he knows and appears to almost revel in. I guess it's his way of pushing everyone to try their best. I wonder if it works... didn't for me.

This review is likely utterly unnecessary, since Professor Mackin will likely have finished his dissertation and left by autumn, but I want nonetheless to leave it here for posterity's sake. The peevish commenters below mistake themselves. Professor Mackin is a very fine Literature Humanities instructor, whose jovial and easy-going manner, which makes coming to class a constant joy, matches the seriousness of his scholarship and his dedication to the texts we study. Classes move forward by common deliberation and discussion, not by his lecturing. His loyalty lies not in any interpretation of a text to which he is partial, but rather to the text itself and to our discussions around it. He is a fair grader, detects bullshit when he hears or reads it, prefers papers to exams, exacts the best of every student, and understands the inadequacy of grading in communicating all that has been learnt. His expertise is in Dante and Medieval literature, but leads every class discussion with insight and a flexible mind. I found literature humanities an excellent experience under his instruction, and, should any future students be so lucky as to have him as a professor, then I would be envious of them. Moreover, he has a very fine moustache.

I admit it: I’m a fan of “Dolcino.” He dresses as if he’s a really cool guy, but I don’t really have a problem with that, because hey, he /is/ a cool guy. But should that matter, anyway? No, I don’t think so. He’s always enthusiastic in class—he encouraged us (and once required us) to see Italian films throughout the semester, and taught us some interesting things about the way Italians live. You certainly should NOT take this class if you’re a slacker, because you won’t do well; on the other hand, if you’re willing to do the work (it’s the same amount required of all of the rest of the classes), you will do just fine… never would I have called the way he graded our quizzes and tests harsh, but he’s also not particularly lenient. So… yeah. This guy’s 100% American, but it really comes across that he’s dedicated to every aspect of Italy. He’s got the accent, a completely fluent grasp of the nuanced language, a great understanding of the culture and history, etc… just take the class with him if you can. He’s a great guy.

Boy, was I relieved when this class came to an end. Although ZDRM could be kind of cool sometimes, he usually tried too hard to seem worldly and intimidating. He would ask "deep" questions during class discussions that I suspected didn't mean anything at all, and would look piqued when no one wanted to answer. I did my best to avoid going to his office hours, but the times I couldn't they were horrible.

Totally pompous, but he does the job. He tries very hard to come across as a cool bohemian, which is totally annoying. He speaks too much Enlglish in class--quite often, rather than taking the pains to explain things in Italian, he quickly switched to English. Take Stephen Twilley instead, if he's around (though, I guess grad students only get stuck doing this once anyway). He follows the syllabus well, teaches you everything you need to know, etc...like, I said he does the job, but his blatant pompousness really irked me.

Okay, how does ZDRM (as he signs all his emails - Zane Dean River Mackin) have such great reviews? I guess he wasn't the worst LitHum professor in the world, but I can't say the experience was at all great either. He comes across as extremely pretentious, and not just in the way he dresses. Except him to fall behind in the syllabus very, very quickly. I'm not sure why. We rarely seemed to talk about anything important or interesting. But, it happens. For example, we had 3 class days on the syllabus devoted to the entire Divine Comedy. By halfway through the third class, we were still on Canto X of the Inferno. We hadn't even touched the other two books. I understand that Dante is his specialty, but seriously? You can manage your time better than that! And I'm not sure how to phrase this next one, but he just comes across as a bit... insensitive? It's a hard thing to put your finger on, but he'll oftentimes make statements like 'Eh, why not just read the whole thing for next class anyway' when changing the assignment from reading a book over two days to reading it over one class day. In other words, he never actually says 'it's not like you have anything better to do anyway', but he comes pretty close to it. Oh, and how could I forget the midterms? The IDs were terribly obscure. By that, I mean that no amount of studying would have helped you beyond a point. He literally will p…

He's cool. At first it may seem to be a lot of work but once you get used to it it's not bad at all. He doesn't just use the boring examples from the book and tries to talk about everyday real life things. He can pack so much into a 50 minute class-period, I was amazed. I felt very comfortable in the class and felt no apprehension about making mistakes because it is elementary I and that's how we best learned.

ZDRM takes his class seriously and that's enough to forgive his faults. His dress humorously varies from class to class, he has his favorites and can be odd and/or snarky at times. However, he really cares about his students, wants them to do well, and is eager to do the best he can at teaching. His class was definitely a worthwhile, pleasant core experience.

Zane is fantastic. He is a little intimidating at first because he's pretty intense, but once you get to know him and the class starts to loosen up a bit, you will all have a great time. He is an excellent instructor, and won't hesitate to spend as much time as you need helping you understand something. He loves to have people come to his office hours, and is always willing to help via e-mail any time. He grades the quizes pretty toughly, but it's worth it in the end. The class is difficult, but nothing you'll freak out about. If you have to opportunity to take any class with Zane, do it! He's a great teacher, and a great guy.