[BC1201] First-Year English

In light of the comments that Professor Massimilla (or Prof Mass, as you will be sure to call him) is condescending to Barnard women, I have to say that I did not find this at all. I don't think I heard him make a derogatory comment about Barnard throughout the entire semester.

With that cleared up, I enjoyed the class. He does tend to ramble on a bit, but what he has to say is usually quite interesting. His background with languages adds to the discussion, as he often talked about the differences in the connotations of language between the original text and the English translation. He definitely loves teaching this class. He does ask for people's opinions and encourage class discussion, but there will be times when he talks for an extended period of time about the book. You WILL need to do your reading; your essay grades will not hold up if you do not. You probably don't need to do all of it, but definitely enough to keep up in the discussions and be able to write knowledgeably about the book.

I think the best thing about this class, as someone not enamored with literature, is the feedback on your papers. Prof Mass actually does read your papers, and he is not afraid to mark them up quite a bit. It will definitely not be easy to get an A on a paper, but it is doable. He wants to make you into a better writer, and you will definitely learn a lot by the end of the semester.

Especially in light of what I have heard about some other FYE professors, I would recommend that you take Legacy of the Mediterranean with Prof Mass!

Shelly Fredman is a great professor. She's willing to change her syllabus to the student's needs and she's always willing to help you after class. About one essay per month, maybe two at most not a lot at all. She is very friendly, open minded, discusses her daughter who is a first year in college just like all of us in First Year English.

Here's why all his Columbia students love him and write rave reviews whereas Barnard students do NOT feel the same: he thinks Barnard is INFERIOR, and treats us as such. During class he constantly sang praises about the Lit Hum curriculum and his brilliant students "across the street," and would tear us apart and offend us whenever we finally spoke up about whatever we were discussing. Not that he gave us much of a chance; even though Legacy of the Mediterranean is supposed to be a discussion-driven seminar, he literally rambled 90% of the class time and would never stick to one "discussion point" for more than a second. He seemed more interested in showing off his knowledge of literature as opposed to encouraging us to speak our minds and offer our own opinions on the text. Every class was torture, and I don't speak for myself when I say we literally dreaded every Monday and Wednesday afternoon.

I had Prof Mass for First Year Writing at Barnard and I absolutely do not recommend it. Without a doubt he will make a comment about Barnard being inferior to Columbia in every single class. I am not easily offended but by the end of the semester his comments became out of control. If he has such a problem with Barnard he shouldn't be teaching here! The only good part about the class is that he loves to hear himself speak so you never have to do any of the reading for class since he'll do all the talking anyway. Overall, I highly recommend avoiding him at all costs.