I've taken two classes with Dr. Fawaz and I'd take more if I can. Few assignments but lots of reading and class is a big discussion. Midterm and final are group work but not hard. Just read assignments, bring original ideas to class, work with your group and participate and you'll get an A. He isn't obsessed with grades so you shouldn't be, either.

Ramzi is 1 of the most inspiring professors I've ever had. He's witty, fun, open-minded, and welcoming. Sometimes says inflammatory things to get ppl thinking. If u r not familiar with gay culture/history, you will struggle. His lectures are long & he reads from a script, but the class is 99% discussion anyway. A LOT of reading but few assignments.

its probably an overwhelming class if you arent exposed to lgbt literatire/history but its an informative course. it is reading INTENSIVE tho 100s of pages a week. but the discussion is fun enough that its worth it

Ramzi is the best professor I've ever taken. He may seem intimidating at first, but he respects hard work, asking questions, and respecting him. He knows what he is talking about, is passionate, kind, and so encouraging.

The class material was really difficult, but the class discussions are so helpful and professor Fawaz really explains things in a way that is relevant to the lives of his students. He's not afraid to call people out but it's done in a respectful way and it's obvious he wants his students to learn.

Professor Ramzi gives seriously in depth, unafraid lectures about film, race, gender, sexuality and society. He is incredible well-versed in his area of study, making for a well-rounded english and ethnic studies class. The course demands lots of out of class work, but if you put in the effort it is definitely worth it!

Professor Fawaz was a great lecturer. He made lectures interesting. This was a lit class, so the readings were usually books, but sometimes he included lots of heavy, scholarly readings. My TA graded my papers easily, as well. Professor makes you download an app to make sure youre at lecture though. Final was a group paper, which sucked, but was ok

He was honestly one of the most amazing lecturers I have ever had. He made you think. The class is hard overall, mostly graded on participation and 3 papers. TA's do most of the work so the grade depends more on the TA than Fawaz. But Fawaz was 10/10.

This class was a small group of students, so Professor Fawaz really got to let his personality shine through in his teaching. He genuinely cares about his students and graded papers very fair. He is very passionate about what he teaches and is amazing to listen to if you get the chance to hear his personal opinions.

Prof. Fawaz is literally the only reason I didn't drop out of school this semester. I've never had a more intriguing, dedicated, thought provoking professor ever. He challenges you into becoming a more precise, critical thinker. The course work and discussions had in class are more diverse than any other UW English course.

I loved having him as a professor for this class. He genuinely cares about every single one of his students and wants them to succeed and improve in his class. His lectures/discussions are incredible and he offers a fresh viewpoint on topics that are prevalent in society. If you have the chance, take the time to get to know him, he is fascinating.

He is an amazing professor and after taking Eng. 171, I cannot wait to have another class taught by him. He forces people to critically analyze the way that they think in such a powerful way. He also knows how to connect with his students in way that brings everyone together. I believe the negative comments come from those who are close minded.

Students complain about him because he genuinely challenges students, and because he's interested in queer theory, which terrifies students who aren't open to gay ideas. He doesn't pander to students and demands a high level of theoretical engagement. I've loved every class I've taken with him, even when I've struggled with the workload.

This class was probably my favorite I have ever taken, but also potentially the most difficult. Ramzi makes you think and challenges your ideas on everything, but is very respectful and understanding in how he does it. I left the class feeling like a real scholar and like I actually expanded my knowledge on a wide range of topics.

A lot of people leaving negative comments didn't take away from the class the way they should have. Ramzi opens up minds, is passionate, and really cares about his students. He makes you work for it, but it's worth it!

I think of a lot of the poor comments below are most likely from people that havn't been forced to think outside of their own experienceperspective... not everyone in the world interprets the Wizard of Oz the same way! Overall, Ramzi is intelligent, engaging, and inspirational... I would recommend him 110%!

Great Professor. Yes, the class is hard. Yes, you have to be willing to work. Yes, you will work with the material in a way you've never worked with before. Yes, your politics will be questioned. Yes, you will become a better reader and writer. If you're a homophobic bigot, you should avoid the class.

If you are lazy, hate being held accountable for your education, or are otherwise unopen to unique perspectives within the classroom, you should probably avoid a class with Ramzi Fawaz. (Also, why are you in college?) If not, Ramzi will prove to be the most supportive, engaging, and positively transformative professor you could ever hope for.

Prof. Fawaz is a great professor. No the class is not easy, its not supposed to be. He wants you to be challenged and really engage with the text. He is extremely passionate about the subject he teaches. Though some concepts are difficult, he is always willing to help you understand if you seek him out.

Worst Teacher ever. Avoid and save yourself or see the movies and read books with his LGBT views. Though this course is described as comic book course, it isn't. Only two books were comic book. This man is the worst literature teacher I have ever seen. Useless pop up quiz from some random line, which is hard to remember.

I enrolled in this class because I thought it was going to be about how the fantasy genre has affected society but instead it was about looking at each text through a gay perspective. I really enjoyed the books we read and movies we watched but after the lectures not so much. I would avoid taking this class if you want an easy A if I were you.

I don't understand why others don't like him so much. Yes. there is a lot of work. Yes, maybe the material is hard. But I don't think it's useless. Ramzi just want to challenge each student to think harder. You won't learn anything if you don't challenge yourself. If you do the thing he said, you will be fine in this class and even learn a bunch

Ok,i think those 2 positive responses are from the TA's. No student will give him more than 1 star. Workload: 6 Books, 8 Movies (Acc. to him each movie should be seen more than 8 times), 400+ pages of scholarly articles. Even Wonderful wizard of Oz is a gay movie according to him. Word limit reached else i have more to say. AVOID. SUPER HARD 3 Cr

worst literature class ever, he sees every movie and book in the world in a homosexual perspective, and he forced us to think the same way. Too much stuff to read, but little is useful. Boring and useless lectures too. Never take this course, if you do, remember to bring a pillow to the lecture.

If you are looking for a lit class just to fulfill a requirement. AVOID THIS CLASS. For starters, this is hardly a lit class as much as it is an inquiry into queer and gender studies. Lecture will go in one ear and out the other extremely easily. Not to mention the obscene work load for a 3 credit, 100 level class.

Well, I think professor Ramzi is a really great professor. I am an international students and Eng 177 is the first lit class I am taking but this is the first non-science class that I truly enjoy. I agree with him that "you should work hard to get an A."If you can't pay the effort and just be lazy, then he is not the professor that suits you.

Never would recommend this class to anyone. All he does is read an essay he wrote at you for 50 minutes. Worst class I have taken. A class that was suppose to be about American Fantasy literature became a class about gay/lesbian readings of every single story. Also gives pop quizzes on the smallest details ever and then blames us for not reading

The class you think you are signing up for is not the class you will be taking. The rest of the comments on here are accurate and if you read them and take the course anyway you will regret it. His class ruined my final semester.

Oh Ramzi, I wish you the best of luck in your future because I doubt it is in teaching. Every lecture was a preacher conducting a sermon, he never actually taught us anything. He spewed out his thoughts and then asked students to produce different thoughts. Doesn't understand what quantity of work is appropriate for a 100 level, 3-credit course.

Professor Fawaz is quick to blame his class for not doing well and is less than understanding when a student's ideas do not match his own.

WOULD NOT RECOMEND THIS PROFESSOR FOR ANYONE LOOKING TO TAKE A LIT CLASS TO SIMPLY GET IT OVER WITH. Incredibly difficult professor who expects a lot, even though his lectures dumbs us down. He is very snarky and smug. I know he will look at these comments and merely ignore them and laugh it off when in reality he should take these seriously.

I feel that for a 100 level course this course has very high standards. The reading is extensive and hard to get done on a full credit load of other classes. He also throws in pop quizzes on minor details expecting you studied the reading and read it more than three times, while most people rarely get through it once because of the length.

DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE!! This is the work of a 5credit class and then some! the reading is unmanageable and not only do you take quizzes and write papers, but you also have hard exams! unheard of for a literature class. also Fawaz interprets everything in a LGBT eye! Even the wizard of oz was interpreted as gay! He's also Very condescending.

AVOID! Easily one of the worst professors I've ever had. Do not take English 177 if it is with him. All the lectures are hard to follow and he goes extremely fast.

Absolutely terrible. Avoid at all costs. The man is condescending and has ridiculous expectations for a 100 level class. On top of that, his lectures are very messy and hard to follow and he never teaches students how to analyze literature for themselves. It's all him at the podium blabbering about one opinion or another. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

Fawaz brings a lot of energy to his lecture. BUT he is condescending and the reading load and work load for this class is way to much. There are better 3 credit LIT classes than this one. Fawaz is new so maybe he will be able to improve, right now though avoid.

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. He blames students for problems that are the result of his own bad teaching! Exams are on literally all of the material he has covered. No study guide. Also there is a ten page group paper that has no guidelines at all. All group members get the same grade no matter what, so no group member evaluations. Just an overall bad.

Blames students for not understanding material & doing poorly on exams rather than his MESSY unstructured "lectures" & overly DIFFICULT exams. Do not take! Instead spend 50 min twice a week listening to a hobo ramble on the street. Same result. They feel important, and you're all confused and just want to leave. A 3CR CLASS WITH A 5CR WORKLOAD!!!!!

AVOID THIS PROFESSOR. If you do not have interests in his classes, it will be hell. He will over elaborate on everything, making your head spin. As a senior, this course is absurdly difficult for a 100 class. And FAWAZ is absurdly bad for a lit professor. He'd be more fitting for Gender studies. AVOID THIS PROFESSOR. TAKE NOTE FRESHMEN.

Fawaz has high expectations, for a lvl 100 clas...with freshmen who are taking their first college lit class. He is very demanding with the readings and midterms. He makes midterms/pop quizes seem easy, when in reality hes just making you feel bad about yourself if you dont grasp the content at hand. 0/10 WOULD NOT TAKE FAWAZ AS A PROF AGAI

Where do i even begin..If you're looking for an easy english class, this is not the class for you. The reading alone makes it miserable. You read over 200 pages a week - books and articles- and then, no matter what it is, he analyzes it thru and LGBT eye. Also, lecture consist of a pop quiz, him rapidly reading a 16 page essay with hard words.

I would rather saw off my arm than take another class with Fawaz. I'm doing relatively well in the class and I still find him to be condescending, useless, and rude. Stay away from him unless you like being bored to death all the time.

I wouldnt consider this a literature class. I wouldnt even consider this a class. This is just Fawaz reading his subjective arguments off of his paper/essay and expecting us to be mindblown. Its more of a presentation, a 50 min long presentation twice a week by Fawaz. The readings are rather lengthy as well. And Fawaz gives off an arrogant vibe.

Fawaz is passionate about this topic, but too passionate. He lets his deep interest in LGBT studies dictate the class. Most text or film is interpreted in terms of gender and sexuality. This class should be labeled a Gender and Womens studies class rather than Literature. It is very difficult for a 100 lvl class. Fawaz can be condescending as well

Professor Fawaz is a very dynamic speaker and very passionate about his lectures. His personality is energetic and he makes interesting and valid points when discussing literature. However, his expectations seem rather high for students in a 100 level class. His lectures are really fast paced and unstructured but he articulates his argument well.

Avoid! It's a 100 level course (I'm a junior) and he's teaching it like at least a 300. So much reading (~200 pgs a week) and tests are long and difficult. He's a genius about his subject but this is students first time attacking fantasy from this angle so very hard to do well.

I really enjoy him as a teacher, one of the most interesting classes I've taken. He is so intelligent. Pop quizzes are really stupid and tests test you to see if you did the readings, not if you took away larger concepts. I'm a senior and I thought the class was too high of expectations for 100 level.

AVOID LIKE PLAGUE! This professor gives out pop tests on course readings with questions that were not covered in the readings themselves. Lectures are a mess with few slides and short note taking opportunities. Very strict on test time limit even with high amount of writing to accomplish in 50 minute time allotment. Personality is abrasive.

He's okay. His tests are difficult to get done in the time he allows. In my opinion his expectations are a bit too high. He has a great sense of humor though.