Medieval Literature

I am a big fan of Medieval literature (didn't even take this class to fulfill a requirement), but Professor Crane is one of the most disappointing professor I have had in my 4 years at Columbia. She's not a stupid woman, but she is certainly not one of Columbia's finest (and there are some very excellent professors in the English Department here). She's very nice and friendly. She reminded me of a kindergarten teacher, which is great, except we're not in kindergarten. She gives very topical lectures, which leave much wanting, and provide little illumination of the many interesting texts. She tries to familiarize you with Medieval culture, but all you really get are fragmented ideas and less than insightful discussions on the texts. There is a required discussion section that they don't tell you about until you get to the class, too (it's not one that you register for). The discussion sections are inane. The TA was nice, but I thought the sections were a waste of time - we never worked on reading Middle English. Sometimes we had paper workshops, which is good if you're a freshman, I guess - but isn't University Writing supposed to cover that? We're in college.

There are far better ways to fulfill the pre-1600 requirement for the English majors, and far better courses on Chaucer and other Medieval writers. This course is a waste of time.