a bully. stay away. I had been warned by many to avoid her. I thought they were wrong. they were not. the single worst experience of my education. had to call for help

I've read other peoples comments and i'm curious now if there are two Susan Derwins at UCSB. I've taken her classes twice and considering a 3rd time. If you do what she asks, your guaranteed an A. I know it sounds very generic to say that but the requirements are as clear as daylight. Lots of reading, but if you TRY - your getting a good grade.

Professor Derwin was really knowledgable and passionate about teaching. The subject matter, PTSD and veterans returning home, was fascinating and relevant. Definitely would recommend the class. As long as you keep up with the readings it's not too difficult.

Professor Derwin was really passionate about the topic (coming home from war) and the subject matter was relevant/interesting. Readings were all useful to the topic and fun reads, and she does a great job clarifying the material in her lectures. Would definitely recommend the class and the midterm/final were pretty straight forward.

Topic was on Aftermath of War, so interesting! Her passion was palpable and her work with the IHC made the class complex and interactive. Only negative was her lack of openness towards differing opinions and need to win arguments. Speak up in class but be prepared to defend your opinion. Midterms/essays were straightforward, got an A in the class.

Horrible class. I took this course as a graduating senior and hated it. Derwin spews nonsense gobbledygook for the entire lecture, completely disconnected from the students. She looks into the air like she is saying something profound and philosophical when really it is her attempt at using as many big words as possible in one sentence.

T/Fx10+6 short answer midterm, similar final. The quotes cited in class and the comments made by her/students in the class on those quotes are what to study. You do that, and understand the reading, and you get an A. She is an expert on the subject, provides good feedback on required papers, and if you're not going to put in the work, don't whine!

7 novels, 2 midterms, 2 papers and a final in 10 weeks. The workload was ridiculous sometimes, but I learned a good deal. Her lectures were just sort of "meh". I'm not too sure what it is, but the way she speaks seems really disconnected from her audience. I think it's just a constant authoritative tone and it comes off and condescending.

Good professor. Snazzy dresser. She obviously has passion for the subject and knows her stuff. She is easy to talk to. Essay question and True/False midterm and final. One paper. I don't think a lot of people got As but it's not that hard to get one (I think, anyway. I got an A-) If you're into lit and the Holocaust, take it.

She's great. Her lectures are always interesting and she really cares if students understand the material. She's an animated lecturer and brings life to the texts. One of my favorite professors. Despite how busy she is, she makes time to meet with students if you cannot make it to her office hours.

She is extremely closed-minded, annoyed by questions (even during office hours) and expects students to read her mind about what she wants from an essay assignment. Her tests are basically just a chance for you to flatter her by regurgitating everything she says in lecture. I thought I liked Psychoanalytic Theory until I took this class. Beware.

Prof Derwin was the best lecturer I've encountered here at UCSB. I am not a literature or english major, yet I was fully engaged and felt compelled to do my best. She gives insightful lectures that are worth your time. Easy midterm and final. Great teacher!

When a student asked if he could write an essay comparing two of the books we?ve read, Derwin responded with a long, rambling statement and concluded: ?If you want to compare two books, and I didn?t say you could, I?m saying you can.?

Great Professor with high standards for her students. She is intelligent and presents the material well, and somehow she makes you want to do well in the class just to win her approval.

The rater below this rating doesn't know what he's talking about. Derwin was terrible. And my distaste for her doesn't speak to my intellectual low, I got A's on pretty much everything. The class is boring, not stimulating, and Derwin is only interested in discussing her personal opinion of the works. She's not hard. She's just bad.

I have attended nonUCSB lectures by Derwin. Most students comments made about her speak more about the lack of intellectual compacity and laziness of raters then they do about teaching and learning. Sad to see the student body of UCSB has sunk to such an intellectual low.

Professor Derwin was an awful teacher.She never used slides just straight talking which made her lectures REALLY hard to follow She didn't really give any guidance for the books we read no idea of what we needed to know until it was time to write a paper or take a test which made those all the more hard She really talks down to students

Professor Derwin is not a particularly good instructor. If you have to take her, don't worry too much about it (the class is really easy) However, I took her honors section, and I would avoid taking that if at all possible. She's really pretentious and uninterested in student opinions. She also grades you based on how much she agrees with you.

Professor Derwin is probably the worst teacher I've had at UCSB. She is arrogant, dismissive of student's opinions in regard to the books, and is often just wrong about "facts" she provides. She does not like opinions that differ from her own, and told our class that she expected us to "repeat what I said about the books." in our final essays.

This teacher is kind of give and take. Her tests aren't too hard but her lectures are INCREDIBLY boring. She analyzes all books through a psychoanalytic Freudian approach, and sometimes makes claims that are somewhat far-stretched. I think she is a smart woman, but she makes books very boring. I would recommend not taking her classes.

Professor Derwin is an amazing teacher. Though on the first lecture I came away thinking that she was somewhat militant, I eventually realized that she is one of those teachers of a superior make. I learned a lot from her; different modes of thinking etc. I also took her honors class which was difficult, but definitely worth it.

Possibly the worst instructor I've ever had in my life. Half of what she says involves condescension and arrogance. She enjoys singling out students that challenge her or that she feels aren't sucking up to her enough. She's completely unfair and self-absorbed, and has generally ruined the subject for me.

This woman is insane. I'm sure in her head she knows what she wants to say but she goes on tangents and tangents and tangents....you get the picture. Her book list is not something I was really down for but I tried to stick it out and it didn't end well. If you really wanna do well go to class and pay attention, if you can.

Derwin is a very passionate professor. you don't have to be a lit major to do well in this class. It is a lot of reading but if you do all of the reading and attend class and write down all the points she brings up you can get an A on your tests and essays. The class was very eye opening and influential.