incredibly passionate, but reading/participation is necessary for productive lectures (she asks questions frequently). lots of readings but decent understanding of most will get you through midterm/final. readings are interesting, she really analyzes them in the context of general, applicable themes for the average person.

Very disappointing. Her lectures are mostly making sure you read rather than presenting new ideas. She struggles to hold open conversations around race relations while teaching emotionally heavy stories of color. Not the strongest teacher for the non-white student. Still, some good mental-health related topics covered. Too many papers/projects.

Organization/grading is kind of confusing. Papers were graded a bit harshly, but she gives detailed feedback and you have the opportunity to revise. Participation/group presentations were easy. If you understand the general ideas of the authors/texts, you should be good for the final and the class.

Amazing professor, really cares about her students, and the format of the class was engaging. Do all the readings, they're interesting and help you participate in class discussions. I'm a stem major and writing is not my forte, but she gave great feedback that helped me improve on my papers and do well in the class.

This class was very enjoyable, although it did take a bit of time to get into the swing of her teaching style. The class was centered almost entirely on poetry and framed around social issues, which was interesting, though I did feel like I was missing something without any novels. The organization of the class is a bit odd, but I learned a lot.

I loved having Professor Carlson! She is super sweet and knowledgeable. There was a lot of reading to do and even though I only read about 70% of the material, I was able to secure an A . The readings are pretty short and I recommend focusing more on the poetry than the prose texts. You definitely need to work hard for an A but it is worse it.