Professor North is the kind of lecturer you hear about before actually attending college. He just stands there with no slides, and just talks on about books. Everything he analyzes is incredibly insightful, and honestly he just seems really cool and no-nonsense. I'm the kind of person who takes notes on everything a professor says, which really helped with the final and the two papers (both of which you can choose the topic for from a list). It seems like a lot of pressure, but all you need to do is stay attentive in class and take notes, and you'll be fine. Honestly, I only read one of the assigned books, and two others I'd already read a long time ago, which was enough.

Professor North is great! I found his lectures really engaging, and he is 100% knowledgeable about all of the texts about which he speaks, offering insight and connections I found fascinating. The grading scheme was 30% paper 1, 30% paper 2, 30% final, and 10% discussion. The two papers were fairly easy so long as you collaborate with your TA (they're the one grading them). The final was just one essay about overarching connections, for which lecture information was very useful. Be cautious--there are 7 assigned texts throughout the quarter, so the reading each week is usually above 200 pages. I didn't read a single text, however, and still managed with Sparknotes and close lecture attention/good notes.

pretty fun class. there's 8 required books, a good mix of classic and contemporary (none from the twentieth century, though), all of which you can download for free online somewhere. I got away with reading like half of that, though that's also because covid happened and I was given the option to not take the final. there are two papers (and no midterm, just a final, unless my memory is failing me) and for each you need to write about only one book, which is why I don't think anyone needs to really read all eight. the only reason you need to read at least a couple more is because the final requires you to look at overarching connections, I think. anyway the lectures were always pretty interesting. there's no slides or recordings or anything; you just go and sit and listen and absorb the lecture. discussion was very helpful for me in learning how to close read and write more efficiently. I had miranda as the ta and she gave good feedback on the essays + led good discussions.

Definitely not a class to take if you are looking for an easy GE. However Professor North is an incredibly engaging and interesting lecturer and I learned a lot from this class. The only difficult part is keeping up with the intense amount of reading (8 novels). I ended up being not able to finish 2 books, but you are given a choice in questions on the final which were all discussed in lecture and discussion anyway. If you pay attention in class and talk with you TA's regarding the 2 papers, you should be ok.

Clear and engaging lectures, gives you interesting perspectives on a list of books, 2 essays and a final this time, easy IF you read the books, go to every lecture, and ASK the TA who is grading your essays/finals. He or she will tell you how to write well, as in what they want to read. The essay topics and final questions are all written by prof north, and they are ALL based on lectures. If you already like reading and writing, and you can write good lit analysis essays, then this class should be fine.