RUSSN 120
Literature and Revolution
Description: Lecture, three hours. Designed for juniors/seniors. Russian majors are advised to take this course in their sophomore year. Lectures and readings in English. Major works of the 20th century (Belyi, Pasternak, Bulgakov, Solzhenitsyn, and others) from prerevolutionary avant-garde to the present. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
I took Russ 120 last Spring and thoroughly enjoyed it. Although a bit restrained, I always was quite fascinated by her lectures. I did not have any prior experience with Russ Lit, nor do I speak Russian as many of the students in the class seemed to--perhaps its my ignorance that allowed me to take interest in this class, but I did. I lived almost all the books we read, even though I didn't finish a couple of them. I received an A in the class withoout too much duress. Slacked off until the midterm and then crammed, same thing with the final and final paper. I don't know... I really liked it.
I took Russ 120 last Spring and thoroughly enjoyed it. Although a bit restrained, I always was quite fascinated by her lectures. I did not have any prior experience with Russ Lit, nor do I speak Russian as many of the students in the class seemed to--perhaps its my ignorance that allowed me to take interest in this class, but I did. I lived almost all the books we read, even though I didn't finish a couple of them. I received an A in the class withoout too much duress. Slacked off until the midterm and then crammed, same thing with the final and final paper. I don't know... I really liked it.
Most Helpful Review
Russian120 - Literature and Revolution OK, I will admit up front that I dropped this class - after week six! And I've only ever dropped one class at UCLA (and that was in week two). I'm used to hard classes and sticking things through (Econ major), but I'm also used to hard classes that are reasonably hard - i.e., you put in the work, study hard, and you get results. As a person, he seems wry and interesting, full of 'British-isms' and dry humor. And he's also obviously very knowledgeable about all the Russian authors we had to read in our two books. However, when he lectures, there is NO STRUCTURE whatsoever. You wind up with so many disparate ideas jotted down in your notebook. Often, there are three or four authors (both our readings were books of short essays/stories/plays), and it was nearly impossible to gauge whether he has moved onto to a new person or whether he's returning to add a side note to an old topic. He's constantly interrupting himself to prove a tangential point, and often times he'll start providing a structured list and then distract himself by looking for a picture of a certain author on Wikipedia for the class. This is something we can do on our own! Please don't stop what you're saying to show us a picture of the author and then proceed to continue at a different place from where you left off... Overall, this class has no structure whatsoever. He only roughly adheres to the syllabus, and even then he's impossible to follow. I most definitely do not recommend this professor.
Russian120 - Literature and Revolution OK, I will admit up front that I dropped this class - after week six! And I've only ever dropped one class at UCLA (and that was in week two). I'm used to hard classes and sticking things through (Econ major), but I'm also used to hard classes that are reasonably hard - i.e., you put in the work, study hard, and you get results. As a person, he seems wry and interesting, full of 'British-isms' and dry humor. And he's also obviously very knowledgeable about all the Russian authors we had to read in our two books. However, when he lectures, there is NO STRUCTURE whatsoever. You wind up with so many disparate ideas jotted down in your notebook. Often, there are three or four authors (both our readings were books of short essays/stories/plays), and it was nearly impossible to gauge whether he has moved onto to a new person or whether he's returning to add a side note to an old topic. He's constantly interrupting himself to prove a tangential point, and often times he'll start providing a structured list and then distract himself by looking for a picture of a certain author on Wikipedia for the class. This is something we can do on our own! Please don't stop what you're saying to show us a picture of the author and then proceed to continue at a different place from where you left off... Overall, this class has no structure whatsoever. He only roughly adheres to the syllabus, and even then he's impossible to follow. I most definitely do not recommend this professor.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2024 - Unclear grading as professor did not give back any grades except our first and last quiz grade. When asked for our presentation grade he said he wasn’t going to post it. Did not post a single grade on canvas so your grade is just a mystery. A huge load of readings and quizzes are extremely hard as you have to remember obscure details from the novels. The novels are also already hard to read considering that they’re old and translated from Russian. I personally was frustrated because I wasn’t worried about my grade as I came to every class and did well on the first quiz and on the presentation (I think). So to my surprise I got a B+ and reached out for an explanation of my grade he just told me to “see him next quarter”. Still have no idea what I got on the final essay and test, which were both due the same week.
Fall 2024 - Unclear grading as professor did not give back any grades except our first and last quiz grade. When asked for our presentation grade he said he wasn’t going to post it. Did not post a single grade on canvas so your grade is just a mystery. A huge load of readings and quizzes are extremely hard as you have to remember obscure details from the novels. The novels are also already hard to read considering that they’re old and translated from Russian. I personally was frustrated because I wasn’t worried about my grade as I came to every class and did well on the first quiz and on the presentation (I think). So to my surprise I got a B+ and reached out for an explanation of my grade he just told me to “see him next quarter”. Still have no idea what I got on the final essay and test, which were both due the same week.
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