Fall 2026

Manga

Surveys manga history from premodern precursors to contemporary subgenres using critical frameworks.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Adam Kern3.7/5

Summary

1 / 6

Reviews disagree on rigor; one finds it difficult to earn an A, while others describe it as the easiest course with minimal homework and simple quizzes.

Grade history

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

Prerequisites

Course map

None

  • None
LITTRANS 231

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

Prerequisite text tree
  • None

Professors

Fall 2026
/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.68/5 from 25 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: 5.0/5 raw quality · 2.0/5 difficulty · 3 reviews

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

Adam Kern is described as energetic, chill, and knowledgeable, with reviewers praising his willingness to help and foster critical thinking. Students find his classes engaging and enjoyable, noting thoughtful discussions and a supportive environment. However, opinions on difficulty vary significantly, with some finding the course challenging while others consider it exceptionally easy.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2019: 3.80 GPA, 90.0% A/AB (n=70 letter grades); Fall 2020: 3.22 GPA, 60.6% A/AB (n=71 letter grades); Spring 2024: 3.64 GPA, 85.2% A/AB (n=61 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

ADAM KERN is recorded teaching in Fall 2011, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2016, Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Spring 2024. 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 Instruction43 / 1000

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

Adam Kern teaches an engaging and highly rated course, though students report conflicting experiences regarding difficulty and content focus.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2019: 3.80 GPA, 90.0% A/AB (n=70 letter grades); Fall 2020: 3.22 GPA, 60.6% A/AB (n=71 letter grades); Spring 2024: 3.64 GPA, 85.2% A/AB (n=61 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Reviews disagree on rigor; one finds it difficult to earn an A, while others describe it as the easiest course with minimal homework and simple quizzes.

Students note the course focuses on Japanese pop culture rather than heavy literature, which may not suit those seeking traditional reading-intensive work.

Topics

  • History of manga and premodern precursors
  • Manga subgenres (gekiga, mecha, shonen, shojo)
  • Critical perspectives on popular and visual culture

Skills

  • Critical analysis of literature and visual culture

Grades

Latest available · Spring 2024— 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 2024

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2024 · 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

1241 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
LITTRANS 231 · Fall 2026

Manga

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": "1272:551:023429",
    "course_id": "LITTRANS 231",
    "course_uid": "course_4ab8d5f9278e6e777659167b",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "023429",
    "source_subject_id": "551",
    "title": "Manga",
    "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 1
Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "2b3dcdda19f5db07f72f5eaaa825bb88facbb237d17830010c8d6714fc8a42ee",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}