[ENGL W3034] Chaucer

Wow! Sort of a lame way to begin a review, but I wasn't sure how else to convey just how enthusiastic Professor Johnson is, not to mention insightful.

I've always been an English lit type, but even I was more than a little apprehensive about taking a course in which the class would be reading every single one of the Canterbury Tales. Professor Johnson, however, immediately drew us into the text, both with her eye-opening dissections of individual tales and, even more importantly, with her ability to weave the storylnes of the Tales together while also connecting them to the Medieval milieu from which they sprung. This made the class not only one of the better lit courses I've taken, but also a fascinating historical review of Chaucer's England.

Professor Johnson is really wonderful. As much as we enjoyed this class, she always seemed to be enjoying it more, even when expounidng on less interesting tales. Yet even her comprehensive lecturing style left plently of room for class discussion, only adding to the pleasantness of the atmosphere.

Highly recommended.

Professor Johnson is one of those professors at Columbia that you actually get excited about seeing twice a week. Quirky, brilliant, and engaging, she has the capacity to make an entire course in Middle English both fun and intellectually stimulating. She managed to dissect every single one of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, and produce truly compelling and thought-provoking lectures for each. I initially thought the class would be utterly boring and recondite, but Professor Johnson is one of those rare individuals who has not only the immeasurable intelligence necessary to teach a difficult course, but also the down to earth personality and patience to make it manageable and enjoyable. While I can only assuredly speak for myself, I'm more than certain that everyone in my class enjoyed it [seeing as how everyone participated at least once over the course of the semester without being forced to do so]. What I also love about Professor Johnson is that she is passionate and dedicated to her subject matter [she tried coming to class the day she was told that she may be having an aneurysm] and she is incredibly open [in fact excited] to work with students. Every time I spoke to her outside of class, she was very open to discussing anything in general, and even gave me some advice on one of my Shakespeare essays. She is by far one of the best English professors I've had at Columbia, and I would highly recommend that you seize the opportunity to have at least one course with her [even if you absolutely detest Medieval literature].

I can't possibly hope to beat the eloquence of the previous review, but let me add my own two cents:

a) the above review is 100% correct.
b) this is my third chance at taking a chaucer/middle english class at this school and i've dropped the other two because they sucked. i stayed in for Johnson. Not only that, but I think I actually love the Canterbury tales now...
c) this might be the best english class i've ever taken at this school. (i am a senior english major)

i have no doubt that any class she teaches will be informative, curiosity-inspiring and loads of fun. Don't be afraid of the whole medieval thing--she'll help you out when she thinks things are too hard and will totally make you as passionate for the material as she is.

in summary: TAKE HER!!!

Professor Johnson just started this year at Columbia. Before I signed up to take her class on Chaucer, I contemplated taking a Barnard class also on the Canterbury Tales because her class was all the way in Knox Hall and honestly, that's just a far way to walk in the winter. When I tried to sign up for the Barnard class, the professor emailed me to take the class with Professor Johnson and said, "Trust me, she is one of the geniuses of our age." He was right!

Professor Johnson is by far the best English professor I have had at Columbia. I think anyone, majoring in absolutely any subject, will end up liking the material she teaches because she is just so damn funny and intelligent and insightful. I'm pretty sure that everyone in our class adores her. What I like so much about her is that she doesn't take herself too seriously-- she doesn't show that she is this stuffy professor but rather admits that her insane amount of knowledge about the Middle Ages is, actually, pretty funny and dorky. Her openness about the subject allows for us to want to speak in class instead of feel intimidated that we'll get something wrong (as I've often felt with the professors in the English Department).

Whether it is making us fascinated by even the most boring of Canterbury Tales or answering any of our questions (and we have a lot) with extreme patience and enthusiasm, Professor Johnson seems to have really found her calling in education. Whether it is offering advice on her office hours about how to read Middle English or even telling us that she is always available to talk to us about our career paths or even excitedly informing us about Medieval plays she likes in New York (and trust me, there actually are a few), Columbia and the English Department are lucky to have her.