Like many of the reviews say, I too have mixed feelings about Professor Little. His lectures offer unique and interesting perspectives about Shakespeare that I really enjoyed. Discussions were fun and workload was super manageable. The only assignments are one short-essay response midterm exam, one final essay, and an optional final exam. At the beginning of the course, he told us he would "reward" us if we participated regularly and made discussion engaging. It turns out the reward was making the final exam optional and adding a few points to our final grade as a "boost". We read about one play per week, which I could finish each reading in one sitting within about 3 hours. For how easy and engaging the class was, I was surprised to get a B. He graded the essays/exams very harshly in my opinion. His instructions were confusing and vague and it felt like there was no way to please him, and a lot of my classmates felt the same. His standards for the essays are very high and contradictory, he will tell you to "stretch" and "go deeper" than lecture, but then he will pick apart your argumentation and punish you for making interpretations that he doesn't agree with. Sometimes his feedback was very helpful and constructive but other times it just felt way too harsh. He absolutely plays favorites and I think he definitely graded the students accordingly. He is the kind of professor that wants you to write to ~his~ liking, so you have to figure out what ~he~ wants you to say and think. If you want to get an A: participate a lot in discussions, be a sycophant (flatter him and laugh at his jokes), and go to his office hours to discuss your essay prompt (he will shoot down all your ideas, but it will help you figure out a topic he will enjoy). Ultimately, I found this to be an easy and enjoyable class, but I was frustrated by his harsh and arbitrary grading style.

I have taken multiple classes with this professor. He is engaging and often expands the minds of his class. He is inspiring and enthusiastic. He assigns great and interesting works. His lectures are never boring. However, let's be clear: he does have favoritism. His favorites do receive perks like: exemption from the midterm and priority chances of participation. If you have your camera off or turn your camera off briefly you will automatically drop to the bottom of his list. Now this doesn't mean he is a bad person. He becomes passionate about some of connections he forms with particular students. This can lead to an unpleasant experience to anyone else in class who is trying very hard to connect with the class and him.