Wow did I love Prof De! I never thought that I would ever be given the opportunity to write an analytical essay about Harry Styles and K-Pop but here I am. Lets start with all the positives: Prof De brilliantly crafts homework that slowly writes your papers for you. She has you do small analytical assignments that end up serving as a "pre-write" to your papers (there are only three papers over the quarter 1st= 2-3 pages, 2nd= 4-5 pages, 3rd= 2-3 pages). The other plus is she chooses SUCH amazing content to analyze. Here are just a few examples: Beyonce music videos, Avengers, Encanto, K-Pop, Aladdin, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Modern Family, and more. This vibrant and entertaining content made writing papers so much more enjoyable than classes I've taken in the past. She is also soooo sweet! She actually offers her personal phone number to communicate with students and I remember that when, as a musical theater major, I had play performances coming up that were very overwhelming, she graciously granted an extension on my paper and expressed how proud and excited she was for me. SHE'S THE SWEETEST! Now I'll talk about some cons that don't really bug me cause they were mostly just zoom issues that won't last but I know other people were slightly frustrated. Prof De wasn't the best with technology and sometimes it was hard to hear her because of poor connection coupled with her having an accent and videos were sometimes hard to hear. BUT she posted them on canvas and you got the gist so it was really whatevaaa. She also uses class time to discuss and really encourages everyone to participate. I love this personally and it helped me engage and connect with the material but if you don't like discussing then you might see this as a con. AND AGAIN... she's coming back in person so none of this really even matters which leaves you with a lovely woman invested in your learning. Lastly, I did get an A in her class which did slightly shock me because she prefaced at the beginning of the year that class members have to fight for an A and that she only awards one or two per quarter... now I'm very proud of my papers BUT whether that comment is really true I don't know... it feels like it might have just been an empty promise to motivate students to work hard. If your a stem major I know that might seem scary but she still says that most students get either B+'s, A-'s, or an A. i love Prof De! She's my fave! Take this class if you need your Writing 1!

This class, while not too challenging, is not one I would recommend. While I think Dr. De is kind and charismatic, I think the structure of her class was somewhat disorganized.

Grades: I came into the class kind of apprehensive because her syllabus said she rarely gives A’s to students. You have to go above and beyond in order to receive an A. For example, if you complete all your work, participate in all class activities, come prepared to discuss, and turn in work that fulfills all requirements, you are only guaranteed a B. I really wanted to do well in this class, so I signed up for PLF sessions with AAP (which I HIGHLY recommend). She expects you to implement all of her comments and advice, even if it contradicts or differs from the topic you chose. I found that when I would explain my ideas during one-on-one sessions, she would come up with her own ideas based on my outline and simply tell me how SHE would do it. Although her advice was helpful, I sometimes felt discouraged to write about my ideas and pressured to write them her way.

Organization: I often found myself confused or underprepared because of how she handled the class. For example, she would write in the syllabus that we were going to watch a music video during class, then, when class started, she would ask how many of us had already watched it (thinking she had assigned it for homework). Or she would change the deadlines of papers without notifying the class. She also didn’t record her lectures, which was frustrating considering she would almost exclusively notify the class of new assignments and extended deadlines during class.

Course Load: The course load was light and definitely manageable. It was one of my favorite parts of the class. We got to watch music videos and movie clips to guide our discussions. We had to analyze popular media like clips from Marvel movies, Beyonce music videos, K-pop music videos, etc., and discuss how they related to gender dynamics. The homework roughly took less than half an hour to complete.

Papers: When I took this class, we had 4 papers. I believe they ranged from 3 to 5 pages in length. In my opinion, they were manageable. However, she is very particular about grammar and punctuation. She highly advises that we avoid colloquial language and try to sound more sophisticated. To accomplish this, I found it helpful to go to PLF sessions and read them over with them before turning them in. It gave me a chance to show my papers to someone who was experienced and able to provide me with constructive feedback.

Overall, I would say that this class is not impossible. If you write the way she wants you to, you should be fine. Also, I HIGHLY encourage you to go to her office hours at least twice, just so you can explain your ideas and let her get to know your writing style a bit better. She is understanding and accommodating if you just communicate with her.

I took this F21 which was online. I highly recommend Professor De—she is not only super accommodating, but she also intellectually challenges you and pushes you out of your comfort zone to become a better writer. The class is interesting: the readings/topics all on masculine/feminine/gendered characteristics in society. The class time is spent analyzing/discussing movies/music videos (Avengers, Jlo, bollywood dance videos, kpop videos,Beyonce, Spice girls, shaolin fight movies, etc.). There were 3 papers, the first one being the longest (approx 7-10 pages) and for this first one she meets with each of the students to discuss the topic and give guidance. Second one was 4-5 pages, and third paper was 2 pages. The final is a revision paper, where you choose a past paper that you want to substantially revise with her in a conference. During the conference she gives you a lot of notes which are super helpful. Overall, the work is light and very manageable and it really is "the more work you put in the class the more you get out of it". Through taking her class I've definitely grown a lot in my confidence as a writer and also in my critical analysis. Highly recommend.