Western Culture: Literature and the Arts II

ILS 204 covers the development of Western literature and arts from the Renaissance to the modern period, examining works by figures like Shakespeare, Michelangelo, T.S. Eliot, and Picasso within their societal and intellectual contexts.

no offering record for this termCredits unavailable
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 No instructors listed

Summary

1 / 5

Historical reviews of Karen Britland: Workload is generally light with minimal homework, consisting mainly of four short essays and out-of-class readings. Reviewers note confusing grading criteria and delayed essay feedback, while others found keeping up with Com-B requirements required some effort but remained reasonable.

Grade history

average GPA
letter grades
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All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

None

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ILS 204

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

Prerequisite text tree
  • None

Professors

Fall 2026

No instructors recorded for this selection.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Historical reviews for Karen Britland describe her as an enthusiastic and engaging lecturer who uses media and personal anecdotes to synthesize art and culture. Students praise her British accent and humor, noting that her lectures are insightful and go beyond simple facts. However, some reviewers mention that grading criteria can be confusing and feedback on essays is often delayed until the end of the term.

KAREN BRITLAND is recorded teaching in Spring 2023, Spring 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

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SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist

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

Meeting source records

No records available.

Student experience

the class

Historical reviews of Karen Britland: Karen Britland is praised for her engaging, enthusiastic lectures and British accent, making the course a viable Com-B option. Reviewers highlight her passion and the insightful nature of her teaching, though some note minor issues with grading clarity or discussion quality.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.65 GPA, 82.9% A/AB (n=117 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.31 GPA, 66.0% A/AB (n=103 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.70 GPA, 95.1% A/AB (n=81 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Historical reviews of Karen Britland: Workload is generally light with minimal homework, consisting mainly of four short essays and out-of-class readings. Reviewers note confusing grading criteria and delayed essay feedback, while others found keeping up with Com-B requirements required some effort but remained reasonable.

Historical reviews of Karen Britland: Students appreciate Britland's engaging style, use of media, and personal anecdotes, which make lectures fun and insightful. However, one reviewer found the discussion sections lacking, and another suggested the course might be better suited for those interested in art and literature history.

Topics

  • Development of literature and the arts from the Renaissance to the modern period
  • Key figures: Shakespeare, Michelangelo, T.S. Eliot, Picasso
  • Literature and art in the context of society and ideas

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.

Selected offering source records

No offering records for the selected term.

Raw records
[]
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Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Model outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Model & dataset provenance
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  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "4262c6148809046348305858d44c88bdd64788c5405476aa6209b894ddb46522",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}