Prof. Colacurcio is really knowledgable about his field, doubtless, but unless you have an insatiable passion for hundreds of pages of Puritan thoughts on religion, do not take his class. He is one of the driest lecturers I have ever listened to and despite his protests that he has never mumbled a day in his life, there are many things that he says for only his podium to hear. His dry sense of humor does alleviate some of the boredom, though.

If, however, you find yourself stuck taking his class (as I was), it's nothing to be concerned about. You can easily get an A without doing any of the reading if you take thorough notes in lecture. I did. Write down even the random things he says that seem irrelevant, because they sometimes pop up as trick questions on quizzes. His quizzes are fairly easy as long as you write down what he says in class and go to his review sessions. He's a pretty easy grader on the papers and the final.

Professor Colacurcio is an outstanding professor. This man is a GRADUATE level professor. The students complaining on this page are just upset that he is not holding their hands every single day. He is very clear and helpful. He is teaching undergraduate level with the excellency of his graduate level knowledge. These 22 year old students just want to be guided because they do not know how to be independent.

Colacurcio is the best professor I have ever taken at UCLA. He covers so much material in this class and goes through each text thoroughly. If I could take every single class with this man I would. I went to almost all his office hours and learned about Emerson and Thoreau and how to navigate through their difficult writing. Anything I had difficulty with, it was immediately resolved when asking questions during his office hours or class. His lectures are very interesting, but only if you are actually listening and not zoning out (or else you won't know what he's talking about). The quizzes are mostly take home T/F quizzes that are impossible to do unless you listen in class, so I suggest you take notes and there were two papers and a midterm/final where you identify and analyze passages. He is okay with computers and isn't too strict on tardiness but does take roll every class. Overall, he's a very knowledgable professor and there hasn't been a question that was asked in class/review sessions/ office hours that he couldn't thoroughly answer. If you take this class you should take advantage of how much you can learn from him.

Professor Colacurcio is an outstanding professor. This man is a GRADUATE level professor. The students complaining on this page are just upset that he is not holding their hands every single day. He is very clear and helpful. He is teaching undergraduate level with the excellency of his graduate level knowledge. These 22 year old students just want to be guided because they do not know how to be independent.

I strongly recommend that only 4th year/seniors take Colacurcio. He has dry wit and biting humor; he cusses in class and makes fun of himself, the authors, the students and anyone else under the sun. He does care about his students and he loves his job please be warned: THIS IS NOT AN EASY CLASS. He gives out "shitty little quizzes" (his term), essays, midterm, final and extra reading essay. The reading load is so overwhelming, you will feel like you're back in the 10-series. It's VERY DIFFICULT TO PULL OFF AN A.
I think everyone should take at least professor like Cola before they graduate (especially if ENGL is your major/minor) but I can't imagine a first/second year surviving through his course without wrecking his/her GPA.
Enjoy! He's a blast :)

This class was Sem 1 (Emerson). I thought this class was going to be very hard because of how much I had struggled with Emerson's writing before, but Colacurcio explained in such an elaborate way that I was able to finally understand his writing. Colacurcio is extremely knowledgable in this subject and this seminar highlighted all the information he possessed about Emerson's works. The reading is pretty heavy content-wise, but he analyzes and gives background info about it to help understand the text. Honestly the most intelligent professor I have ever had. He holds very accessible office hours and is always responsive over email. Also, he's pretty funny.

This class was Sem 1 (Emerson). I thought this class was going to be very hard because of how much I had struggled with Emerson's writing before, but Colacurcio explained in such an elaborate way that I was able to finally understand his writing. Colacurcio is extremely knowledgable in this subject and this seminar highlighted all the information he possessed about Emerson's works. The reading is pretty heavy content-wise, but he analyzes and gives background info about it to help understand the text. Honestly the most intelligent professor I have ever had. He holds very accessible office hours and is always responsive over email. Also, he's pretty funny.

Professor Colacurcio is fantastic. I feel so lucky to have taken classes from him. He's the national (world?) authority on the subjects he teaches. The key to taking his class is to do the reading he's assigned before the accompanying lecture. He has incredible knowledge of the historical context of all of the material.
It's just been such a privledge to study with him. Really, we're very fortunate to have him at UCLA. I wish I could take more classes from him.
Classes taken:
ENGL 166B
ENGL 171A (now 166C)
ENGL 254