CPLT 3590

So your grade is partly class participation, partly a paper that you write midway through the semester, and partly a final paper due at the end of the semester. I'm not a fan of that grading style because it's so vague, but it works decently I suppose. Don't take this class if you're not an amazing writer because he doesn't provide any instruction on how to write papers for him. That being said, he does accept drafts and will respond with very thorough suggestions and comments before you wrap up the paper. The lecture is occasionally interesting, and frequently a bit confusing. The nice part is that the assigned reading is not particularly long and (technically) optional. He spends class just diving into the text in detail for 50 minutes and from my perspective he could probably lecture on the material for hours. He never runs out of things to say. So, overall, very little work involved and you learn quite a bit from him. He's very intelligent and very knowledgeable (I think he speaks fluent German). He can be a bit strict on grading papers so you have been warned lol.

Almost all of this class was lecture, with no discussion (by the end of the semester Prof Bennett still didn't know our names, and there were only 12 of us in the class...). His lectures are usually pretty interesting and he seems like a nice guy, and with only two papers it's an easy class if you're looking to fill a requirement. However, I've taken far more stimulating/rewarding classes elsewhere in the department, so I wouldn't take this one unless you're really interested in the subject.

Bennett is brilliant, and knows a ton about European literature, modernism, drama, and Kafka especially. Take this class, period.