ENGL 2599

i took "criticism in the first person". if you have any experience in visual arts, english, or philosophy, and you really like being challenged, then this class is for you. before college, i had done really well in english classes, so i was pretty cocky about what i did and didn't know about english. but this class humbled me (and in doing so REALLY expanded my horizons). basically, the class tackles the problem of discussing what it means for something to be "subjective". we read a lot of academic works discussing this problem and how we should look at art in general, and also examples of creative writing (they are challenging but SUPER intersting -- this is coming from someone who hates reading). the topic might sound boring but if you're into philosophy type stuff or you love analyzing things, it's actually really interesting.

do not take this class unless you are ready to put 10 hours aside a week for reading. cannot tell u how much it pissed me off that people obviously didn't do the readings....for a class that's entirely BASED on the readings. personally, im very glad i took this class because the hard work was so rewarding (my ability to argue things has improved SO much because of it, my writing style has also literally been transformed, and i decided to get a philosophy minor because of this class).

I genuinely loved this class and Professor Ogden. She did a great job of faciliatating meaningful discussion (the class is essentially an open discussion with the exception of essay prep days) and really seemed to care about hearing what each of the students had to say. She gives great feedback on essays and in-class writing assignments and makes sure that everyone has a good understanding of the subject matter before moving on to a new discussion topic. A lot of the assigned readings can be very dense, but if there is anything you don't understand she makes everyone feel totally comfortable asking any and all questions during discussion. I feel like my writing and my approach to literature analysis has greatly improved just from taking this single semester class!