US Latino Literature

Professor Negron is one of the best professors I've had at Columbia. She is intelligent and witty. She is also very knowledgeable in her subject area. I really enjoyed the readings, and the way she presents her lectures. She is very open to ideas and thoughts from her students, and she will challenge you to make sure you have a clear understanding of the materials. Though the reading load was quite heavy, it was also very interesting. Make sure you do the reading and you'll do fine.

Prof. Negron is very, very good at what she does. Her readings are very informative and varied, and they offer a wide range of analysis on the different social circumstances surrounding the different Latino ethnic groups in the United States. That said, I have to add that even as a gay man, this class was SO overwhemlingly focused on homosexuality that it ended up seeming one-
sided, even though we read lot's of works by straight authors as well. This was my first English class at Columbia, and it was enjoyable because she had so much insight to offer. Honestly I thought it was way too gay, but it also
gave me a better understanding of how identity is constructed in this country. Overall, a thumbs up.

Prof. Negrón is a joy in class. She is passionate, knowledgeable, and fun. She integrates current events with classical literary theory, and she is accessible, fair and interesting. Take advantage of her office hours, and go to the events she sponsors - they are never boring academic affairs but interesting and often lively (read: there is a heated debate and/or argument between panelists) events.

Prof. Negrón-Muntaner is fun and brilliant. She is passionate about her subject matter and that passion is contagious. As a documentary filmmaker, she incoroporates multimedia into the class, including film adaptations of some of the readings. She encourages class discussion, but keeps it focused. I highly reccommend this class and any other she may be teaching. Give this woman tenure!!!

Prof. Perez-Firmat has a lot of positive qualities, but students should know that most of the readings he assigns portray women in a sexist way. While this kind of literature is valid for a class, gender issues are not dicussed, which results, in my opinion, in an exclusion of female students, because the male protagonists are being sympathized with despite their misogyny and ignorance of women. This is too bad, because the class is generally a good exploration of Latino culture through lit.