Spring 2027

Modern American Literature

Introduction to Modern American Literature covering selected fiction, prose, drama, and poetry written by Americans from the early twentieth century to the present.

offering recorded3 credits

Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Anja Jovic-Humphrey4.6/5 Sarah Wood3.9/5

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Anja Jovic-Humphrey

In past feedback, one student reported a light classload, mostly reading plus three easy writings/projects.

What you’ll be able to do

Identify key issues and themes in selected fiction, prose, drama and poetry written by Americans from the early twentieth century to the present day.
Identify key critical and theoretical concerns within these literary texts.
Identify and apply methods and approaches for analysis of literary and cultural texts to demonstrate literature's contemporary and historical relevance.
Analyze relationships among society, literature, and language that underlie the construction of beliefs.

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

↗

average GPA
letter grades

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Professors

Spring 2027

Anja Jovic-Humphrey

Adjusted rating

RMP difficulty

captured reviews

About this rating

Raw average: 4.89/5 from 61 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 4.9/5 raw quality · 1.3/5 difficulty · 20 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Past student reviews · Anja Jovic-Humphrey

Students described Anja Jovic-Humphrey’s lectures as engaging and helpful for understanding difficult readings, with one noting that attending class helped them keep up despite falling behind on books. The reported workload was light, consisting mostly of reading and three easy writing projects, with one student stating that attendance in discussion counted toward the grade. The final exam was straightforward with basic comprehension questions, though another student found the class somewhat disorganized with cancelled lectures.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.84 GPA, 93.8% A/AB (n=211 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.81 GPA, 91.6% A/AB (n=262 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.84 GPA, 92.8% A/AB (n=237 letter grades).

Sarah Wood

Adjusted rating

RMP difficulty

captured reviews

About this rating

Raw average: 4.40/5 from 10 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.42 GPA, 68.0% A/AB (n=25 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Past student reviews · Timothy YU

Past students described the course as manageable with a midterm, final, and two papers. Timothy Yu covered material in lectures, allowing students to rely on class notes rather than reading all nine novels. Reviewers noted the class was fairly easy, particularly for those skilled in writing, though it required a heavy reading load.

ANJA JOVIC-HUMPHREY is recorded teaching in Spring 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

LYNN KELLER is recorded teaching in Fall 2014, Fall 2016. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

PORTER SHREVE is recorded teaching in Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SARAH WOOD is recorded teaching in Spring 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

TIMOTHY YU is recorded teaching in Fall 2014. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

Section	Mode	Enrolled / capacity
LEC 001	Classroom Instruction	0 / 352
DIS 302	Classroom Instruction	0 / 22
DIS 303	Classroom Instruction	0 / 22
DIS 304	Classroom Instruction	0 / 22
DIS 305	Classroom Instruction	0 / 22
DIS 306	Classroom Instruction	0 / 22
DIS 309	Classroom Instruction	0 / 22
DIS 310	Classroom Instruction	0 / 22
DIS 311	Classroom Instruction	0 / 22
DIS 312	Classroom Instruction	0 / 22
DIS 313	Classroom Instruction	0 / 22
DIS 314	Classroom Instruction	0 / 22
DIS 316	Classroom Instruction	0 / 22
DIS 315	Classroom Instruction	0 / 22
LEC 002	Online Only	0 / 30
DIS 301	Classroom Instruction	0 / 22
DIS 307	Classroom Instruction	0 / 22
DIS 308	Classroom Instruction	0 / 22

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records

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Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Anja Jovic-Humphrey

Students described Anja Jovic-Humphrey's lectures as engaging and her as caring and insightful, and one student said they would remember the class.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.80 GPA, 91.0% A/AB (n=266 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.81 GPA, 89.8% A/AB (n=412 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.83 GPA, 92.1% A/AB (n=265 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Anja Jovic-Humphrey

In past feedback, one student reported a light classload, mostly reading plus three easy writings/projects.

Past student reviews · Anja Jovic-Humphrey

In past feedback, one student found the assignments offered creative freedom, while another found the class somewhat disorganized at times and noted multiple cancelled lectures.

Topics

American fiction, prose, drama, and poetry (early 20th century-present)
Relationships among society, literature, and language

Skills

Identifying key issues and themes in American literature
Identifying critical and theoretical concerns in literary texts
Analyzing relationships between society, literature, and language

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1280 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

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Selected offering source records

ENGL 169 · Spring 2027

Modern American Literature

Recorded 2026-10-14

ENGL 169 · Spring 2027

Lit as Equipment for Living

Recorded 2026-10-14

Raw records

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    "credits_min": 3,
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    "title": "Lit as Equipment for Living",
    "credits_min": 3,
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]

Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews

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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades

Model outputs & technical records

Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B

LLM outputs across runs

Download part 1

Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

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Model & dataset provenance

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}

Modern American Literature

Summary

What you’ll be able to do

Grade history

Prerequisites

Professors

Anja Jovic-Humphrey

Sarah Wood

Calendar & sections

Student experience

the class

difficulty & workload

Topics

Skills

Grades

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

Grades over time

Where this course fits relative to

Sources & history

Catalog & offerings

Student reviews

Grade history

Modern American Literature

Summary

What you’ll be able to do

Grade history

Prerequisites

Professors

Anja Jovic-Humphrey

Sarah Wood

Calendar & sections

Student experience

the class

difficulty & workload

Topics

Skills

Grades

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

Grades over time

Where this course fits relative to UW–Madison

Sources & history

Catalog & offerings

Student reviews

Grade history

Where this course fits relative to