Review:
Professor Litvak is great. He conveys clearly his thorough understanding of the evolution, breadth, and substance of Black Comedy. He demands class discussion and is tolerant of alternative views and interpretations provided that they're justified; he won't accept bullshit, especially in papers. He can be slightly cocky, but so is Black Comedy, which inspires his teaching style. He's still approachable and helpful outside of class. The Fall-05 T.A. was Ashley Sheldon, who is brilliant and a more than apt grader. Get to know her if she's your T.A.

Workload:
Class is a 75-minute block twice per week. For the first class you'll read half a novel or a play and for the second you'll view a movie or television show, plus the occasional critical/newspaper article (article packet from English department was about 80pp). Pop quizzes (5) to test whether you've done the reading can be hard to pass even if you have because questions are very specific. Two five-page papers that value style as much as content (these need to be really good) as well as the standard English course final exam.
The texts you study are awesome. The Fall-05 lineup consisted of Vladimir Nabokov/Edward Albee/Evelyn Waugh/Muriel Spark/"To Die For"/"Welcome to the Dollhouse"/"Fargo"/"Chris Rock: Bigger and Blacker"/"To Be Or Not To Be"/"The Sopranos"/"Kiki and Herb: Will Die For You"/etc. Huge variety, some challenging, all excellent.

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Joseph Litvak | ENG091E - BLACK COMEDY | English

2005-12-19

Review:
Professor Litvak was one of the worst professors I have ever had. He was arrogant, impatient, and totally unopen to any ideas other than his own. His comments on papers were entirely unhelpful and at times downright aggressive. He seemed to take joy in intimidating the whole classroom. I don't understand how this is conducive to learning.

Workload:
There is a large amount of reading involved and expect to spend a long time on each of the two papers if you want to even dream of getting a grade above a C. There are frequent pop quizzes and one final as well.

professor rating: | course rating: | major: Sociology

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Joseph Litvak | ENG083 - Un-American Activities | English

2005-01-16

Review:
Professor Litvak, though a fairly good lecturer, spent the first three weeks of class essentially discussing the same ideas over and over. He encouraged class involvement, but tended to want to stick to his own ideas and own views, rather than listen to the opinions of others. Professor was not readily available outside of class, as he traveled often, but it was possible to get a response by email in a couple of days. This is a class that would be more beneficial for History majors and American Studies majors than it is for English or Film Studies majors.

Workload:
Large reading assignments were often split in half, but still amounted to about 300-350 pages per week, including small articles and large novels. Additionally, at least once per week, there was a film screening--some films were interesting and engaging, like On The Waterfront, while others were grainy and difficult to understand documentaries about the McCarthy era.

professor rating: | course rating: | major: N/A

review a class you took with Joseph Litvak - help your classmates make informed decisions!