DO NOT TAKE. I truly wish I could have liked this class, but SO many things went wrong. The topic (Abstract Art in Downtown NYC, 1940-1990) is really interesting, and I fear that was the one redeeming quality.

Professor Robbins might mean well, but she has a crazy way of showing it. Mondays are for her to lecture, and Wednesdays are for a pair of students to do a 75-minute presentation on an artist from Monday's topic/review of the topic overall. The student presentations are why I call her The Doodler. Because if she's bored during your presentation, she will literally just take out her notepad and doodle right in front of you.

She is also Extremely particular and is always looking for something specific that she usually doesn't put in the assignment instructions (e.g., for your research paper, she doesn't tell you that she doesn't want the artist you pick to be Pollock or Frankenthaler (because they are well-known), and then she will just have you redo your proposal entirely instead of just writing "do not pick Pollock or Frankenthaler for your paper topic" in the instructions). She also looks for specific statements during student discussions as well, and if she disagrees with your opinion, she will passive aggressively start arguing with you in front of everyone.

Speaking of instructions! She would just change the syllabus willy nilly and make a three-hour video assignment due the same night, or add new content for you to include in your presentation that's two days out.

There's no doubt that Professor Robbins is very smart and well-versed in the topic. And to be fair, she did give good feedback on the papers and writing assignments. Unfortunately, it's just that you can't help but wonder if she actually enjoys teaching because it really does not feel like it.

I truly cannot recommend this class to anyone. Beware of The Doodler.