SPAN 3400

The course is pretty easy with Gerli. He is really passionate about the subject so he makes it somewhat interesting. Grades fairly. I'd recommend.

Gerli is arrogant, vain, and just plain rude. If you have to take the class (it was a req for me), you'll be fine, you just won't enjoy any of it. Some people in the class didn't mind him as much, but he really got to me.

Gerli is incredibly smart and extremely knowledgable about the topic. He makes boring and difficult readings really interesting. Unlike most Spanish classes, this is pretty much just a lecture. He switches back and forth between English a lot, and lets you answer in English sometimes. He doesn't ask for much participation, so if you don't like speaking out in front of a group, especially in Spanish, this is your class.

The course is a typical introductory literary survey course. We read short excerpts from a textbook. There was only a midterm and final with a short ID section and then a choice between two essays.
I really really enjoyed Gerli's class. He honestly doesn't talk much about the passages, but instead uses the class to discuss the socio-historical context of the works. He alternates a lot between English and Spanish. A little class participation earns his attention. The midterms were, to me, very easy, and sufficed to study two days before the exam. I got an A.

I am so glad I took this course with Gerli. He was phenomenal. He knows so much about literature and the historical context that it really brought to life the reading. Some bonuses of his class: you hardly need to participate, he speaks in Spanish and English, and you don't even need to do the reading when you come to class. Just take really good notes and you'll be fine for exams! One drawback is if you miss a class, you're seriously behind unless you know someone else in the class. Otherwise, highly recommend. Great professor and I learned so much!

This might be my least favorite class that I've taken so far. The professor seems to know what he's talking about, but no one else ever did. The readings were dry and confusing, and most of them couldn't even be understood because of the languages they were written in (but they were still assigned). The professor rambles the entire time and nothing he says is clear, and when students try to ask or answer questions, he responds by mocking them if they don't say the correct answer or if no one has the answer he's looking for. The class was essentially treated like a study hall because no one even bothered attempting to pay attention to him throughout the semester because it was a lost cause trying to understand what was going on. There are two exams and a paper, and he takes points off if you follow the instructions and give the correct answers. I took this class because it was the only one offered that fit in my schedule and would count toward my major, but every time I went to the class I considered just trying for a minor instead so I could drop it.

This class is definitely very divisive but overall if you are looking to take a survey class I would recommend this one without a doubt. The readings assigned are definitely hard to understand and many students stopped reading early on in the semester but if you come to class even having not read anything and take notes on what Gerli talks about you will be fine for the exams (both of which are take home). Additionally, you hardly ever have to participate because Gerli lectures for the whole class time and rarely allows students to answer questions. I probably spoke 3 times the whole semester but still ended up with a full participation in the class. Although this class might not be the most interesting it doesn't require that much work on a weekly basis and provided that you put in effort on the midterms and essay you should easily get an A- or above.