Initially, this class was a lot of review from topics that were learned in high school. Carruth's section was the most unique, and was personally the most interesting as it looked at things with a more cultural context. Midterms and final are fairly easy, mostly multiple choice.

Also, selling textbook for $85. text ********** if interested :)

Honestly, it's a really good class. The only reason I didn't get an A is because I slacked off and didn't do a lot of readings or go to class. A lot of my grade fell on my TA who was kind of a hard grader too. Participation and attendance in lecture matters!! The class is basically 3 group projects, one reflection letter, two 700-800 word essays and then a midterm and final. The midterm is only 10%. She also gives you a lot of opportunity for extra credit. I would recommend this class, but just go to class. She posts the slides but she says most of the stuff in lecture. Professor Carruth is amazing though! I would do the readings, they'll help you out. Selling the 3 books necessary for this class for $25. **********!

Carruth is a well organized, interesting lecturer/professor, has useful content on slides (she uploads them), presents complicated concepts explained clearly, and avoids filler activities during lecture. She doesn't depend on Q/A to fill lecture time, or hold you to a participation grade. She leaves room for discussion, but lecture never grinds to a halt if people are not interested in going there.

She's a lit prof who's interested in the big picture. Her lectures all focus on analyzing novels through a small set of themes and concepts, so you more or less know what to focus on while reading. All the same, none of her assignments force you to memorize her ideas, so you get plenty of freedom to either reiterate her claims or do your own thing.

The workload and assigned papers are manageable, she gives detailed feedback, and is a fair grader. In terms of grading expectations, she is extremely straightforward with all assigned work including the final.

Take a class with her if you can, she's an amazing lecturer.

Professor Carruth is super passionate about what she is teaching and this is evident in her lectures. The slides she uses are mostly for visual purposes and helped me pay attention in class. Even though it was a 2-hour lecture, I stayed focused the entire time due to her brilliant lecturing style, which involves slides, lectures and discussion in just the right amounts. She's also super helpful during office hours and will spend time to get to know each and every student in her class. Also, the readings were all contemporary novels which are interesting in a non-class setting too. I would definitely recommend this class for both English and non-English majors interested in the course topics.

Loved having Carruth!! She is a great professor and her lectures are very interesting and engaging

This class is one of my favorite classes I’ve taken. Professor Carruth was very engaging and a really pleasant lecturer. The topics and literature changed each week so it was not boring. All you have to do to do well in this class is go to lecture and section and have a decent understanding of the texts.

I absolutely LOVED this class. Professor Carruth is a really engaging, dynamic lecturer who not only puts a lot of care into curating the class' reading list, but also takes input from students to help them learn.
The topics covered in class are sometimes abstract but Professor Carruth makes her requirements for the class very clear and also does a really good job listening to what the students want in order to help them learn best. She posts the exact format of her midterm, examples for how the homework should be done, her slides before lecture, and also sends out videos that students send her that relate to the class material.
I really really enjoyed her class and I think it actually changed the way I think about the environment and the way the environment is imagined--if you have the chance/space in your schedule to take this class I totally would!!!!
Also if you can take discussion with Robin Kello, I would ! He's a really attentive TA who is very dedicated to everybody's success and also is really good at facilitating conversation with the class.

Amazing class, passionate professor, and great TAs. The concepts covered are really interesting, the readings are actually quite good, and the assignments are fair.

25% - Projects (3 group projects + 1 letter). They were not difficult but they were really enjoyable

10% - Midterm. Professor Carruth tells you exactly what to expect, no surprises, and not that difficult if you go to lecture and do readings.

25% - Short papers. Graded by TAs. This was probably the hardest part of the course but still not too bad. Only one of the papers was academic in nature, the other was more creative (creating a mission statement).

15% - Participation

25% - Final. Same as midterm, just longer.

Some extra credit is available during class too, randomly placed through the quarter. Overall, highly recommend. The topics covered in the class, while somewhat complex, are really interesting.

Professor Carruth is a great professor. She really cares about what she teaches and she frequently opens the class up for discussion about various topics. In my personal opinion, however, I was a little confused as to what the whole class was about. She centers the class around how the environment is portrayed through various mediums using keywords with nuanced definitions. It was hard for me to wrap my head around what was discussed in lecture because it seemed to me that the class veered into a lot of sidenotes rather than focusing on the main material that we needed to know.
Aside from that, however, the class was super easy. As a third-year I haven't wrote an essay since high school and I'm thankful I took this class because you only have to write two-750 word "essays". In addition, this class is also graded on section participation, some simple group assignments, a midterm and a final. With the exception of the group assignments (which require less than an hour of effort) I received a B-B+ on all assignments including participation!
At the end of the class I calculated my grade to be a B+, however it was curved up to an A. I think this is because of the extra credit pop quiz questions given at the end of random lectures that literally add 1% each (like 4% total) to your overall grade. Considering my effort anyone can get an A in this class!
TL;DR- Do the extra credit pop quiz questions to get great grades!

Loved this class and the professor! The class is extremely easy but also very interesting as a GE. Assignments and readings are fun and short. Tests are simple and straightforward if you've attended lectures and actually done the reading assignments. The professor is very kind and compassionate and actually cares about student learning and the overall enjoyability of the class!