MDST 3720

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS W PROF BANERJEE pretty sure this was his first sem teaching buttt.... horrible. relatively easy grader but could barely make it through the lectures because they were so dry/just summaries of readings with no room for class discussion/no engaging questions to actually spark good discussions — I had such high expectations for this class but I think all of those came from prof nermer's past iterations of the course.

Really nice professor who is passionate about the course. Hybrid zoom/in-person format proved difficult at times, but obviously he's not to blame for that. Work load is very manageable and the presentation assignment really didn't require much exertion. I'd recommend this class if you're willing to participate in meaningful discussion, if not, the feel could be a little awkward. After the midterm, you could still do well in the class without doing any of the readings as there's no final exam. This lightened workload made the class more enjoyable and helped me focus on more work intensive classes. You could also not talk for 90% of the classes and still get an A in participation, but again, it might result in some classic moments of uncomfortable silence. Dr. Banerjee is always willing to help and has some pretty interesting stories to tell if you ask.

I took this course because I planned to apply to the Media Studies major during Spring 2021 and was interested in trying out other media studies courses. To me, this class was purposefully aimed at preparing students for graduate school as the professor reiterated that many times. That being said, I personally felt like there was not much support provided generally in class and instead we needed to meet the professor during office hours. This was understandable but at times frustrating too. We had a midterm exam, literature review paper, class discussion presentation, and a final paper as well as participation grade. All slides were posted and the midterm was open note. The classes are based off of readings. Each class's set of readings includes required pieces as well as supplementary readings that were not required. I do want to say that I didn't love the way this professor provided feedback on papers. As a writer, I didn't necessarily feel super encouraged to keep writing, but instead felt like I should stop. I admit that I could have put more time into this class and maybe I could have met with the professor more than what was encouraged, but I finished with an A- and this was honestly satisfactory to me.

#tCFspring2021