Professor Sturm,An excellent teacher,Author of 13 books, Expert on Satre, Chevalier of Legion of Honor (France). Attend his lectures, interact, use your brain, and you will be rewarded with his insights and one of the most original thinkers on French Literature, especially Post Modernism. Not an especially difficult class but you'll have to think.
He's a great professor, just sit in the front of the class, takes notes, pay attention and regurgitate what he says. Major brain on this guy, has written a ton of books and lives part of the year in France. Kind of a wild card, I would say.
Lectures boring, feel asleep a few times. Golden tip: you dont have to read any of the books if you go to lecture. Just make sure you write down what he says about the books and then put that in the essay. Overall a pretty easy class.
This class was an absolute joke. He doesn't even tell you how long your final essay is supposed to be, but, it's worth 100% of your grade. He said "not too long, not too short." HA! The class is called "negative thinking." Now I know why! There is no grading system for this course. The reader does ALL of the grading, but NEVER went to lecture.?????
I agree with the previous comments about the philosophical nature of Prof. Sturm's classes. He goes over biographical info and abstract stuff more than he goes over the actual texts. Class is a bit boring, but it's worth it to show up cause you'll have a better idea of what'll be on the exams. However, very arbitrary grading system.
Prof. Sturm seems to really know a lot about these authors and a lot in general, but this is not a French course, it should be taught through the philosophy department. with no prior philosophical analysis, I had a difficult time interpreting these books in a unique way. but sturms explanations were very helpful.
agree with comment below. terrible teacher. i feel i've learned close to nothing the entire quarter. he just speaks vague nonsense about the books. doesnt really seem like he's an expert in the philosophy conveyed in the books. should be in philosophy department. material itself is very interesting and had great potential. however Strum ruins it.
so hard to pay attention in class. he talks so slowly and seems to forget what he was saying about every five seconds. the material had great potential; another teacher could make the class very interesting. sturm is one of the worst teachers i've ever had. like the other guy said, AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
what an aweful lecturer, but what an easy grader...i went to most of the lectures and zoned out and read the Nexus all class, did about half of the reading, and got an A-. he's boring, unclear, and thinks he's a genious...just regurgitate everything in your notes on the final paper and you'll be set.
A real goofball, kind of nerdy and strange, but in the end I did ok. HIs grading system is so convoluted and illogical, get some help please!
Yes he is a bit weird and somewhat creepy, however the whole grade is based on attendance and a final paper. Show up and take some time on the paper and you are set, it was the easiest A of my life. He only knew 2 people's names in the whole class out of 20 people so he wasn't grading on participation, and best of all there was no real homework.
This class, with its witty title (Power of Negative Thinking) & terrific reading list, was full of possibilities. In the end, it was a HUGE disappointment. I was not alone in feeling let down. The grading was erratic, & apparently done by a reader. Those who regurgitated lectures were rewarded. If you think for yourself, prepare for negativity.
HORRIBLE TEACHER!!! Final 100% of Grade, refuses to help you, no indication of how he will grade beforehand. AVOID HIM AT ALL COSTS!!!