Herbert C.V. Feinstein

Not a good one. He was not much of a teacher. he wasn't there for 5 out of the 15 class meetings we had. he disrepected the student, talked down to you, was rude, forgets things, asks you to run errands for him and he took forever to grade our midterms. He was lost and confused most of the semester and you always felt intimidated to meet with him. It's just sad to say that I didn't really get anything from him throughout this whole semester. Our sub helped us more than he did.

I agree with all of what has been said about Feinstein's bad side, but his good side is quite good. The semester I took a class with him, he seemed to be making a conscious effort to be nicer to people, which is obviously hard for him. There are unpredictable outbursts, but if you are in the right just stand your ground. He has a real pet peeve of people using pronouns when it is unclear who people are referring to, especially the use of "they." Use proper nouns. Make sure to ask what the subject of the next class will be so you know what to read, often he doesn't tell you but it won't hurt to ask. I did notice he seemed to be a lot harder on the women in the class (I'm a guy).

I had an overall good experience with him, and I think other people in the class were could tell you that one day he would be a big jerk, but the next would be very nice and docile, and most of the time he was okay. Finally, he does really know his stuff, he seems to like it (Poe Hawthorne and Melville, anyway), and that comes through in his lectures.

I only have one anecdote that perfectly explains my experience with Dr. Feinstein. Many days when he hasn't prepared lecture notes, he will make an unwilling student read aloud some antiquated and random literary criticism or background history on the author/work in question. I can't remember what I was reading aloud to the class (it was so dull I hardly think I remember what it was I read the next day), but I came upon a passage in French. Rather than face Feinstein's wrath, I began to translate the passage (I don't think he realized there was a passage in French since he never seemed to bring in any material germane to the works in question). However, my French is somewhat rusty so I hesitated over the more complicated phrases. From across the room, he bellowed at me, "YOU SHOULD HAVE LEARNED HOW TO READ IN KINDERGARTEN. WHEN YOU GET TO THE 'BIG WORDS' SOOOOOUND THEM OOOOUT!" I showed him the passage and barked, "It's in FRENCH." "Oh," he replied, "Carry on." Not even an apology. Yeah, he's a nutball but this is what tenure can do to some profs, unfortunately.

I am in agreement that his squeeky shoes and mummbling were a consistant problem. He seemed to favor tangents rather than the course material. In a Melville, Hawthorne, Poe class we talked about Mary Shelly. Do Not CHEW GUM in his class! He is of the old school tenured track. An easy grader. Midterms and Finals were easy, but I couldn't find it in my heart to connect with him or hold him up as a respectable (maybe effective is a better term) prof.

Well, Dr. Feinstein is definitely an old crank, but he never really bothered me. However, DO NOT chew gum in his class or read the newspaper or you will be on his s**t list. He's not a great teacher, but if you follow his rules you'll do fine and may even learn a few things. And hey, it's hard for me to be too hard on a teacher who gives me an "A." But be forewarned that his tests (essay questions) are rather hard.

If you can decifer his mumbles, and hear over his squeeking shoes, you might get something out of this class -- but you'll have to really WANT to get something out of it. That is, he's a nice enough guy with quite a lot of info about Mark Twain (and many other areas), but he is also quite difficult to stand. Be prepared to run errands for him (retrieving stuff from his office, making copies-at your own expense!, moving his double-parked car, etc). I rcvd' an A, but I don't think I deserved it...most likely a careless grader.

Two essay exams, lots of movies, several novels and some poetry and music. Minimal group work (good). Discussions focus on plots as well as the personalities of the author. Prepare to be called on at random. Feinstein is a wild character but it makes the class and his teaching style more fun.