Fall 2026

Special Topics in German and World Literature/s

GERMAN/LITTRANS 276 explores diverse world literary traditions with an emphasis on German and German speaking cultures.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 B. Venkat Mani4.2/5Sunny Yudkoff3.9/5Matthew Johnson3.7/5 +2 more

Summary

1 / 6

The course requires readings, films, and music. Exams consist of open-note mini-essays, and students emphasize that attending lectures is essential for preparation.

Grade history

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

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

Satisfied Communications A

  • Satisfied Communications A
GERMAN/LITTRANS 276

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

Prerequisite text tree
  • Satisfied Communications A

Professors

Fall 2026

B. Venkat Mani

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

Raw average: 4.73/5 from 22 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: 4.6/5 raw quality · 2.3/5 difficulty · 8 reviews

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

B. Venkat Mani is praised for his passion, kindness, and care for students, with reviewers noting that his lectures and discussions prepare them well for exams. Students appreciate the engaging topics and open-note assessments. Conversely, an earlier review criticizes his teaching style as condescending and limiting in reading comprehension expectations.

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

Raw average: 4.03/5 from 29 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.

No course-specific feedback yet.

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

Raw average: 5.00/5 from 1 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.

No course-specific feedback yet.

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

Raw average: 3.75/5 from 8 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: 3.75 GPA, 88.9% A/AB (n=54 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.62 GPA, 78.6% A/AB (n=42 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.92 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=50 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Historical reviews for Melissa Sheedy describe her as sweet, caring, and passionate, with clear grading and manageable workloads. Some students found the easy grading and short readings made discussions boring or reduced motivation, though most highly recommended the course for its fun content and low difficulty.

MELISSA SHEEDY is recorded teaching in Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

NALAN ERBIL ERKAN is recorded teaching in Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SABINE MOEDERSHEIM is recorded teaching in 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.

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 Instruction16 / 500
LEC 003Classroom Instruction0 / 00
LEC 004Classroom Instruction12 / 251
LEC 005Classroom Instruction29 / 500
LEC 006Classroom Instruction12 / 200
LEC 007Classroom Instruction4 / 240
LEC 001Classroom Instruction22 / 500
LEC 003Classroom Instruction0 / 00
LEC 004Classroom Instruction14 / 250
LEC 005Classroom Instruction19 / 500
LEC 006Classroom Instruction7 / 200
LEC 007Classroom Instruction2 / 240

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

Meeting source records
Download part 1

Student experience

the class

Reviewers describe the course as highly engaging, with valuable discussions on topics like migration and trauma. One reviewer reports a frustrating experience, describing the instructor as condescending.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.72 GPA, 88.3% A/AB (n=103 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.63 GPA, 79.6% A/AB (n=54 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.95 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=76 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

The course requires readings, films, and music. Exams consist of open-note mini-essays, and students emphasize that attending lectures is essential for preparation.

Students value the discussions and the importance of attending lectures. Frequent participation is noted as a key way to succeed in the class.

Topics

  • Diverse world literary traditions
  • German and German speaking cultures

Grades

Latest available · Spring 2026— not enough history to project Fall 2026.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

Grades over time

Through Spring 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
GERMAN/LITTRANS 276 · Fall 2026

Special Topics in German and World Literature/s

Recorded 2026-09-07
GERMAN/LITTRANS 276 · Fall 2026

Global Readers, Digital Age

Recorded 2026-09-07
GERMAN/LITTRANS 276 · Fall 2026

Berlin - Istanbul Connections

Recorded 2026-09-07
GERMAN/LITTRANS 276 · Fall 2026

Ten Poems to Change Your Life

Recorded 2026-09-07
GERMAN/LITTRANS 276 · Fall 2026

Writing the Jewish Body

Recorded 2026-09-07
GERMAN/LITTRANS 276 · Fall 2026

Global Migrants & Refugees

Recorded 2026-09-07
GERMAN/LITTRANS 276 · Fall 2026

Reading the Barbarians

Recorded 2026-09-07
GERMAN/LITTRANS 276 · Fall 2026

Climate Fiction

Recorded 2026-09-07
GERMAN/LITTRANS 276 · Fall 2026

Special Topics in German and World Literature/s

Recorded 2026-09-07
GERMAN/LITTRANS 276 · Fall 2026

Global Readers, Digital Age

Recorded 2026-09-07
GERMAN/LITTRANS 276 · Fall 2026

Berlin - Istanbul Connections

Recorded 2026-09-07
GERMAN/LITTRANS 276 · Fall 2026

Ten Poems to Change Your Life

Recorded 2026-09-07
GERMAN/LITTRANS 276 · Fall 2026

Writing the Jewish Body

Recorded 2026-09-07
GERMAN/LITTRANS 276 · Fall 2026

Global Migrants & Refugees

Recorded 2026-09-07
GERMAN/LITTRANS 276 · Fall 2026

Reading the Barbarians

Recorded 2026-09-07
GERMAN/LITTRANS 276 · Fall 2026

Climate Fiction

Recorded 2026-09-07
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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": "14a9562178186e16fd510c1b2a11ff38c4e2b340d554b87d26b8620c7f8ce7d8",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}