Fall 2026

Literature and Culture I: to the 18th Century

ENGL 241 explores the origins of English literature and culture from ancient myths to the 18th century, developing critical reading and writing skills.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Lisa Cooper3.8/5Andrew Buchheim-DietzNoah Terrell

Summary

1 / 7

Exams are largely lecture-based, making detailed notes essential. The course relies on only four assignments, making each one critical, and offers extra credit.

Grade history

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average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
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F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

Sophomore standing

  • Sophomore standing
ENGL 241

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

Prerequisite text tree
  • Sophomore standing

Professors

Fall 2026

Lisa Cooper

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

Raw average: 3.90/5 from 51 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: 3.3/5 raw quality · 3.7/5 difficulty · 6 reviews

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

Lisa Cooper is praised as an engaging lecturer who makes Middle English literature accessible and fun. Reviewers note her friendly nature and effective teaching style, though some find her initially intimidating or unapproachable.

Other reviewers criticize Cooper for creating a difficult environment where exams rely on specific lecture details not available online. They describe the atmosphere as dismal and grading as unforgiving, warning the course suits only those deeply interested in Chaucer.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2021: 3.50 GPA, 72.1% A/AB (n=104 letter grades); Spring 2022: 3.21 GPA, 58.5% A/AB (n=118 letter grades); Fall 2023: 3.15 GPA, 61.0% A/AB (n=105 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Historical reviews for Jordan Zweck describe her as an amazing lecturer who makes readings accessible and captivating, though attendance is important for exam preparation. Reviewers appreciated her ability to make connections and provide strong online accommodations.

JORDAN ZWECK is recorded teaching in Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JOSEPH BOWLING is recorded teaching in Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

LISA COOPER is recorded teaching in Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2023. 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 001Classroom Instruction91 / 950
DIS 302Classroom Instruction0 / 00
DIS 303Classroom Instruction19 / 190
DIS 307Classroom Instruction19 / 190
DIS 308Classroom Instruction18 / 190
DIS 306Classroom Instruction18 / 190
DIS 304Classroom Instruction17 / 190
DIS 301Classroom Instruction0 / 00
DIS 305Classroom Instruction0 / 00

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

Reviewers describe Lisa Cooper as a passionate and engaging lecturer, though some note she can come off as intimidating or unapproachable.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.73 GPA, 87.2% A/AB (n=109 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.59 GPA, 81.9% A/AB (n=105 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.71 GPA, 87.1% A/AB (n=139 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Exams are largely lecture-based, making detailed notes essential. The course relies on only four assignments, making each one critical, and offers extra credit.

Students find her lectures fun, though some report a dismal atmosphere and feel she prioritizes grading over helping students succeed.

Topics

  • Mythology and cosmology in early literature
  • History of writing technologies
  • Literary genres: epic, romance, drama, sonnet

Skills

  • Critical reading and writing skills

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.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.16 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.

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Selected offering source records
ENGL 241 · Fall 2026

Literature and Culture I: to the 18th Century

Recorded 2026-09-07
Raw records
[
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:352:023847",
    "course_id": "ENGL 241",
    "course_uid": "course_00825210f2e0cc8154955d31",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "023847",
    "source_subject_id": "352",
    "title": "Literature and Culture I: to the 18th Century",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]
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
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 1Download part 2
Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "930187962a9d5aca22e5e36af82081da0b0afe90c35b3dd98d31bbd038d0d7c9",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}