Fall 2026

Literature and Popular Culture

ENGL 177 studies the intersection of literature and popular culture across various forms and media.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Joshua Calhoun4.0/5Frederic Neyrat3.5/5Aparna Dharwadker3.1/5 +8 more

Summary

1 / 7

Students report high workload, including reading 10-20+ pages or watching films before every class, managing group projects, and extensive mandatory note-taking. One reviewer described assignments as deliberately designed to consume time, requiring library visits for participation.

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

None

  • None
ENGL 177

This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • None

Professors

Fall 2026

Joshua Calhoun

/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.15/5 from 74 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: 2.4/5 raw quality · 2.4/5 difficulty · 7 reviews

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

Joshua Calhoun is described as caring and nice, though his teaching style is viewed as unorthodox and his lectures as either captivating or random. Reviewers consistently criticize the course's subjective grading, lack of feedback, and excessive workload, including mandatory note-taking and library visits.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.75 GPA, 90.6% A/AB (n=202 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.69 GPA, 86.7% A/AB (n=248 letter grades).

/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.41/5 from 41 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 2024: 3.74 GPA, 73.9% A/AB (n=23 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.79 GPA, 93.1% A/AB (n=58 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.59 GPA, 80.0% A/AB (n=185 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 2.85/5 from 34 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 — Fall 2021: 3.69 GPA, 87.5% A/AB (n=16 letter grades); Fall 2023: 3.86 GPA, 95.5% A/AB (n=22 letter grades); Spring 2024: 3.72 GPA, 96.0% A/AB (n=25 letter grades).

No course-specific feedback yet.

Oscar Useche receives mixed reviews regarding workload and support. One student found the course excessively demanding with insufficient instruction on major assignments, while others praised his personable nature, thorough explanations, and helpful feedback on papers.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.53 GPA, 89.7% A/AB (n=29 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.66 GPA, 96.0% A/AB (n=25 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.64 GPA, 84.8% A/AB (n=46 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

No current instructor reviews are available. Historical reviews for Sunny Chan highlight effective discussion sections, while Ramzi Fawaz is described as a dynamic but fast-paced lecturer with high expectations.

APARNA DHARWADKER is recorded teaching in Fall 2017, Spring 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2023, Spring 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

FREDERIC NEYRAT is recorded teaching in Spring 2022, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JOSHUA CALHOUN is recorded teaching in Spring 2025, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MARTIN FOYS is recorded teaching in Fall 2014, Fall 2015, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2024, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

OSCAR USECHE is recorded teaching in Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

RAMZI FAWAZ is recorded teaching in Fall 2021. 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

Fall 2026

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 002Classroom Instruction260 / 2640
LEC 003Classroom Instruction29 / 300
LEC 001Classroom Instruction192 / 1980
DIS 305Classroom Instruction21 / 220
DIS 306Classroom Instruction18 / 220
DIS 308Classroom Instruction0 / 00
DIS 309Classroom Instruction21 / 220
DIS 310Classroom Instruction22 / 220
DIS 311Classroom Instruction22 / 220
DIS 312Classroom Instruction0 / 00
DIS 313Classroom Instruction0 / 00
DIS 314Classroom Instruction0 / 00
DIS 302Classroom Instruction22 / 220
DIS 303Classroom Instruction22 / 220
DIS 304Classroom Instruction22 / 220
DIS 307Classroom Instruction0 / 00
DIS 315Classroom Instruction22 / 220
DIS 317Classroom Instruction20 / 220
DIS 318Classroom Instruction22 / 220
DIS 319Classroom Instruction22 / 220
DIS 320Classroom Instruction22 / 220
DIS 321Classroom Instruction22 / 220
DIS 322Classroom Instruction22 / 220
DIS 323Classroom Instruction0 / 00
DIS 324Classroom Instruction21 / 220
DIS 325Classroom Instruction21 / 220
DIS 326Classroom Instruction22 / 220
DIS 327Classroom Instruction22 / 220
DIS 328Classroom Instruction22 / 220
DIS 329Classroom Instruction22 / 220
DIS 330Classroom Instruction0 / 00
DIS 301Classroom Instruction0 / 00
DIS 316Classroom Instruction0 / 00
LEC 004Classroom Instruction25 / 300

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

Current reviews for Oscar Useche and Joshua Calhoun highlight a course with significant workload and mixed instructional clarity. Useche is praised for feedback but criticized for heavy demands, while Calhoun is noted for engaging lectures but unclear grading and excessive note-taking requirements.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.77 GPA, 90.8% A/AB (n=381 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.65 GPA, 84.5% A/AB (n=458 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.43 GPA, 72.7% A/AB (n=143 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Students report high workload, including reading 10-20+ pages or watching films before every class, managing group projects, and extensive mandatory note-taking. One reviewer described assignments as deliberately designed to consume time, requiring library visits for participation.

Experiences vary regarding clarity and engagement. Some find Calhoun’s lectures captivating but grading subjective and feedback absent. Others find Useche’s discussions uninteresting or tangential, while others value his personable nature and helpful feedback on papers.

Topics

  • Literature and popular culture
  • Various forms and media

Grades

Historical instructor

Fall 2026 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

6 earlier forecasts · 0.14 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Fall 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

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

1283 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.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records
ENGL 177 · Fall 2026

Literature and Popular Culture

Recorded 2026-09-07
ENGL 177 · Fall 2026

Literary Bollywood

Recorded 2026-09-07
ENGL 177 · Fall 2026

Narco-Narratives

Recorded 2026-09-07
ENGL 177 · Fall 2026

Weird Literature

Recorded 2026-09-07
ENGL 177 · Fall 2026

How We Remember: Plato-ChatGPT

Recorded 2026-09-07
Raw records
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    "title": "Literature and Popular Culture",
    "credits_min": 3,
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    "title": "Literary Bollywood",
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    "title": "Narco-Narratives",
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    "source_course_id": "021423.25",
    "source_subject_id": "352",
    "title": "Weird Literature",
    "credits_min": 3,
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  },
  {
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    "course_uid": "course_9a5a5105a30e4752bff193b1",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "021423.26",
    "source_subject_id": "352",
    "title": "How We Remember: Plato-ChatGPT",
    "credits_min": 3,
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    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring, Summer"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Download part 1
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-09-07

Download the original dataset
Model outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "79ffff194b98fdb7f7d0a05c1c02186f0dacd30edd4f7e8263259a138b57717d",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}