Professor
Harryette Mullen
2 of 3
Most Helpful Review
I could not agree more with the post below. While I am currently taking Professor Mullen for a different course (American Poetry 1945-Present), I could not be more disappointed. Professor Mullen does not teach, she merely requires that students sign up to present 3 times over the course of the quarter, thus exempting her from lecturing. Her classes are unstimulating and "taught" based off of peer interpretation of texts that are irrelevant to the course. I signed up for this course eager to study the transition in poetry from the '40s and '50s (beat poetry! Frank O'Hara!) only to be THOROUGHLY disappointed in our reading selections. If I wanted to take a contemporary poetry class, I would have signed up for it. Unfortunately Professor Mullen (a contemporary poet herself) doesn't take the catalog description to mind when assigning poetry selections that are dominated by current poets and required readings from the early 2000s on. The only 2 exceptions to this were Gary Snyder's "Turtle Island" (1975)and Mary Oliver's "American Primitive" (1983) - 30+ YEARS after 1945, the listed starting point for the course! I'm so tired of professors teaching according to their own interests instead of catalog course guidelines. DO NOT TAKE MULLEN unless you enjoy disorganization and LAZY "teaching" or absence of.
I could not agree more with the post below. While I am currently taking Professor Mullen for a different course (American Poetry 1945-Present), I could not be more disappointed. Professor Mullen does not teach, she merely requires that students sign up to present 3 times over the course of the quarter, thus exempting her from lecturing. Her classes are unstimulating and "taught" based off of peer interpretation of texts that are irrelevant to the course. I signed up for this course eager to study the transition in poetry from the '40s and '50s (beat poetry! Frank O'Hara!) only to be THOROUGHLY disappointed in our reading selections. If I wanted to take a contemporary poetry class, I would have signed up for it. Unfortunately Professor Mullen (a contemporary poet herself) doesn't take the catalog description to mind when assigning poetry selections that are dominated by current poets and required readings from the early 2000s on. The only 2 exceptions to this were Gary Snyder's "Turtle Island" (1975)and Mary Oliver's "American Primitive" (1983) - 30+ YEARS after 1945, the listed starting point for the course! I'm so tired of professors teaching according to their own interests instead of catalog course guidelines. DO NOT TAKE MULLEN unless you enjoy disorganization and LAZY "teaching" or absence of.
AD
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2022 - Great professor. She teaches outside on campus and likes to have students lead the class. Before I took her class, I saw that many people complained that she did not lecture. I would not say that's fully true. Though keep in mind that the class is discussion based rather than lecture based. She always adds and leads the discussion if people don't know where to start. She will also always give us the backstory of the author and context for their poetry. You can really tell that she is passionate about poetry, I mean sometimes you can literally see the excitement in her eyes when she talks about the next author we will read. I would definitely recommend this class. Just note that participation and attendance do count towards your grade. So if you're extra shy or like to skip class, this professor may not be for you. Workload: We have to read 1 full poetry book a week, write a 500 word discussion post on BruinLearn weekly, and the final was a 10 page essay (she provides several lengthy prompts to help us write it). Students are also assigned groups to present with about 3 times in the quarter, students have to basically talk about the poetry book that is being read during their assigned weeks. Textbook: 10 weeks means 10 poetry books. It is a lot, and can be expensive, but most books can be found online. Attendance: She records attendance on a sheet of paper, so missing is not an option!
Fall 2022 - Great professor. She teaches outside on campus and likes to have students lead the class. Before I took her class, I saw that many people complained that she did not lecture. I would not say that's fully true. Though keep in mind that the class is discussion based rather than lecture based. She always adds and leads the discussion if people don't know where to start. She will also always give us the backstory of the author and context for their poetry. You can really tell that she is passionate about poetry, I mean sometimes you can literally see the excitement in her eyes when she talks about the next author we will read. I would definitely recommend this class. Just note that participation and attendance do count towards your grade. So if you're extra shy or like to skip class, this professor may not be for you. Workload: We have to read 1 full poetry book a week, write a 500 word discussion post on BruinLearn weekly, and the final was a 10 page essay (she provides several lengthy prompts to help us write it). Students are also assigned groups to present with about 3 times in the quarter, students have to basically talk about the poetry book that is being read during their assigned weeks. Textbook: 10 weeks means 10 poetry books. It is a lot, and can be expensive, but most books can be found online. Attendance: She records attendance on a sheet of paper, so missing is not an option!
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2017 - Do NOT take this class. Prof. Mullen does NOT teach. She sits at the front of the classroom while students do presentations. Each student is supposed to sign up for 3 presentations a quarter, so everytime class meets we just sit there and listen to classmates talk out of their asses about some poems for two hours while she adds NOTHING or is RUDE about adding information or correcting anything the student might have gotten wrong. There is ONE paper for the class, the whole quarter, due finals week. There is a midterm proposal due week 6 for which you get NO instruction other than the brief explanation on the midterm. She also expects you to write a journal for every poem collection we do but gives you zero instruction on those and then grades you on them. I can't believe I'm paying to be at this school and being taught by other students. It's RIDICULOUS. Do NOT take Mullen if you actually want to learn something worth your time.
Fall 2017 - Do NOT take this class. Prof. Mullen does NOT teach. She sits at the front of the classroom while students do presentations. Each student is supposed to sign up for 3 presentations a quarter, so everytime class meets we just sit there and listen to classmates talk out of their asses about some poems for two hours while she adds NOTHING or is RUDE about adding information or correcting anything the student might have gotten wrong. There is ONE paper for the class, the whole quarter, due finals week. There is a midterm proposal due week 6 for which you get NO instruction other than the brief explanation on the midterm. She also expects you to write a journal for every poem collection we do but gives you zero instruction on those and then grades you on them. I can't believe I'm paying to be at this school and being taught by other students. It's RIDICULOUS. Do NOT take Mullen if you actually want to learn something worth your time.
Most Helpful Review
I had Professor Mullen for both 174C and the poetry workshop 133. Her teaching style is more free than other professors. She really wants students to think critically for themselves and develop their own opinions and understanding. I think that her poetry classes, both the workshop and the class, are very good for beginners to poetry because she really tries to help you break down the material in an understandable way. She's very open and friendly in her office hours. For 174C, and in part for 133, she grades on your effort and whether or not you have really learned something from the class. If you should that you are invested in the material, come to her office hours with questions, and go to lecture (attendance is a part of the grade in 174C), then you will be fine. I think that class participation is key. She's not a dictator and will not micromanage the class, instead she tries to give students space to be free to figure out their own ideas. I highly suggest Prof. Mullen, especially to students who are new to poetry because she really creates a friendly, encouraging learning environment.
I had Professor Mullen for both 174C and the poetry workshop 133. Her teaching style is more free than other professors. She really wants students to think critically for themselves and develop their own opinions and understanding. I think that her poetry classes, both the workshop and the class, are very good for beginners to poetry because she really tries to help you break down the material in an understandable way. She's very open and friendly in her office hours. For 174C, and in part for 133, she grades on your effort and whether or not you have really learned something from the class. If you should that you are invested in the material, come to her office hours with questions, and go to lecture (attendance is a part of the grade in 174C), then you will be fine. I think that class participation is key. She's not a dictator and will not micromanage the class, instead she tries to give students space to be free to figure out their own ideas. I highly suggest Prof. Mullen, especially to students who are new to poetry because she really creates a friendly, encouraging learning environment.
AD
2 of 3
