ENGL256 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Christopher Crane ENGL256 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/14/2025	Overall a good professor that is passionate about the books he taught and excited to nerd out. Do have some issues with his organization/lecturing. During the class, we spent the first few weeks reading LOTR, which went well for the most parat, but the pace could be brutal at times and as a student with heavy STEM workload, I found it difficult to keep up with most of the books discussed in class. He was very clear about what he wanted us to take away from the reading each week and class was usually very discussion based. There was one pop quiz (evil) and a second in-class on paper quiz, but most other grades came in from discussion baords (and one online quiz). The man was an incredibly generous grader, and save for some final assignments (a paper and a project, the final and pariticpation points) in, I'm sitting at a solid 99% having bullshat my way through some of the work. It is definitely not a difficult class to get through if you're comfortable thinking a little about the things you have read and sharing out in class. I am a little miffed at his disroganization. Frequently would come into class late and held almsot every single class at least a minute or two over, once inviting a student to promote his club and go more than 5 minutes past the class endtime. We had a few weeks of student presentations too, and he frequently forgot which days had students signed up to present and never gave them the opportunity. These presentations then had to be moved later, which shifted other things and yada yada. He also liked to ask dicussion questions in class that I found really useless, since we didn't have the context to answer them. For example, he would show short video clips of movie adapations of the book we were reading and want us to analyze them, which I found incredibly difficult without the context fo the full movie adaptation. No I can't do much of an analysi of the fantasy of KPOP Demon Hunters from just the first five minutes. I can do it because I've seen the full movie, yeah, but not from just one little scene? I have virtually none of the information to actually analyze this well? Not that deep but it annoyed me. Also why would you waste my day by having me watching a bajillion trailers in class one day and pretend there's meaningful analysis to do there. Again, we don't get any worldbuiling from the trailer alone to really do a good analysis of the fantasy!! I will also say that the reading syllabus for 256 was a little disappointing. We read: LOTR, The Lion, Witch and the Wardobe, A Wizard of Earthsea, Harry Potter 1, Equal Rites, Emperor's Soul, and Incarceron. Maybe I forgot something. Too lazy to indlude authors, but all fairly big names save for Catherine Fischer with Incarceron? We also watched the Ghibli animation of Howl's Moving Castle. I found it annoying that we were supposed to have discussions about eastern vs western fantasy, when for eastern examples we only had 1. a white american writing a vaguely asian fantasy 2. an asian studio adapting a western story/novel. Girl what about trying to actually diversify the curriculum for realsies if you want to make that comparison. Overall chill guy, I liked him and the class was easy. Not too many grades total, but there's many points you can earn from discussion posts and only 2 papers. He DOES do a final exam, which consists of identification questions + a final essay
Elizabeth Dinneny ENGL256 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/12/2024	Elizabeth is great for ENGL256. She uses a labor-based grading system, which means there are three fairly simple assignments throughout the semester, and you have to do twelve 200 word reading journals throughout the semester, and go to class, and you'll automatically get a B as long as you do the assignments. If you want to boost your grade to an A, you have to do 3 extra assignments, again just have to complete them, and you're good to go. They care a lot about giving students feedback on their writing rather than grading it, and the assignments are never more than 4 pages of writing (of the required assignments, this is only one and the rest are way shorter). Attendance and participation are mandatory (with 5 free passes), but I genuinely enjoy her class and discussing the reading. There is a lot of reading you have to do, though I'm sure you could sparknotes some of it (I've read all of it so I don't know), but most of the stories are very good, and this obviously allows for a better ability to participate in discussions. Class is always just discussing the reading, maybe with a few minutes of her presenting on the background information. They're super receptive to student feedback, and always willing to be flexible on deadlines for anyone that needs it. Overall, this class is my favorite of the semester and I always look forward to going.
Melanie Rio ENGL256 Expecting an A fiftyseven 05/21/2023	Ms. Rio is a fantastic teacher. Tragically, this is her last semester at UMD - though if she comes back, I'd highly recommend taking a class with her. She's super chill, the workload was literally just reading for 98% of the semester - couldn't get any easier really, and the content she teaches is fun. The reading themselves were all well selected, with even Beowulf being a super modern translation that made it super fun. The class itself was basically just come to class with the reading done, talk about it for a bit over an hour, leave. The discussions were actually enjoyable too, which is something I didn't expect honestly. All in all, Dr. Rio is a fantastic professor!
Emilee Durand ENGL256 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/19/2022	I had a blast in this class! It felt very much like a book club, and the atmosphere was so relaxed that these meetings were what I looked forward to! Dr. Durand is one of the kindest and most thoughtful professors you'll encounter, and is accommodating when situations arise. The texts you read for this class are absolutely delightful and it is evident that Dr. Durand enjoys the texts too. The class is flexible and is easily adapted to both in-persona and virtual settings. The class heavily uses small-group discussions, which makes it incredibly unique. About half the time was dedicated to group discussion, with the other half dedicated to whole group discussion. I found this helped get classmates engaged and involved with others that they may not normally get engaged with. There are two papers, but they are not too bad and you get to write about what you choose. Overall, I have only good things to say about this class, and I am so glad that I got to have a class like this with Dr. Durand at least once in my time at college. If you get the chance, absolutely take this class with Dr. Durand!
Emilee Durand ENGL256 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/29/2021	Dr. Durand is engaging and genuinely excited about the texts she teaches. She is a thorough grader, offering students many opportunities to improve and refine their writing.

Christopher Crane
ENGL256

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/14/2025

Overall a good professor that is passionate about the books he taught and excited to nerd out. Do have some issues with his organization/lecturing. During the class, we spent the first few weeks reading LOTR, which went well for the most parat, but the pace could be brutal at times and as a student with heavy STEM workload, I found it difficult to keep up with most of the books discussed in class. He was very clear about what he wanted us to take away from the reading each week and class was usually very discussion based. There was one pop quiz (evil) and a second in-class on paper quiz, but most other grades came in from discussion baords (and one online quiz). The man was an incredibly generous grader, and save for some final assignments (a paper and a project, the final and pariticpation points) in, I'm sitting at a solid 99% having bullshat my way through some of the work. It is definitely not a difficult class to get through if you're comfortable thinking a little about the things you have read and sharing out in class. I am a little miffed at his disroganization. Frequently would come into class late and held almsot every single class at least a minute or two over, once inviting a student to promote his club and go more than 5 minutes past the class endtime. We had a few weeks of student presentations too, and he frequently forgot which days had students signed up to present and never gave them the opportunity. These presentations then had to be moved later, which shifted other things and yada yada. He also liked to ask dicussion questions in class that I found really useless, since we didn't have the context to answer them. For example, he would show short video clips of movie adapations of the book we were reading and want us to analyze them, which I found incredibly difficult without the context fo the full movie adaptation. No I can't do much of an analysi of the fantasy of KPOP Demon Hunters from just the first five minutes. I can do it because I've seen the full movie, yeah, but not from just one little scene? I have virtually none of the information to actually analyze this well? Not that deep but it annoyed me. Also why would you waste my day by having me watching a bajillion trailers in class one day and pretend there's meaningful analysis to do there. Again, we don't get any worldbuiling from the trailer alone to really do a good analysis of the fantasy!! I will also say that the reading syllabus for 256 was a little disappointing. We read: LOTR, The Lion, Witch and the Wardobe, A Wizard of Earthsea, Harry Potter 1, Equal Rites, Emperor's Soul, and Incarceron. Maybe I forgot something. Too lazy to indlude authors, but all fairly big names save for Catherine Fischer with Incarceron? We also watched the Ghibli animation of Howl's Moving Castle. I found it annoying that we were supposed to have discussions about eastern vs western fantasy, when for eastern examples we only had 1. a white american writing a vaguely asian fantasy 2. an asian studio adapting a *western* story/novel. Girl what about trying to actually diversify the curriculum for realsies if you want to make that comparison. Overall chill guy, I liked him and the class was easy. Not too many grades total, but there's many points you can earn from discussion posts and only 2 papers. He DOES do a final exam, which consists of identification questions + a final essay

Elizabeth Dinneny
ENGL256

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/12/2024

Elizabeth is great for ENGL256. She uses a labor-based grading system, which means there are three fairly simple assignments throughout the semester, and you have to do twelve 200 word reading journals throughout the semester, and go to class, and you'll automatically get a B as long as you do the assignments. If you want to boost your grade to an A, you have to do 3 extra assignments, again just have to complete them, and you're good to go. They care a lot about giving students feedback on their writing rather than grading it, and the assignments are never more than 4 pages of writing (of the required assignments, this is only one and the rest are way shorter). Attendance and participation are mandatory (with 5 free passes), but I genuinely enjoy her class and discussing the reading. There is a lot of reading you have to do, though I'm sure you could sparknotes some of it (I've read all of it so I don't know), but most of the stories are very good, and this obviously allows for a better ability to participate in discussions. Class is always just discussing the reading, maybe with a few minutes of her presenting on the background information. They're super receptive to student feedback, and always willing to be flexible on deadlines for anyone that needs it. Overall, this class is my favorite of the semester and I always look forward to going.

Melanie Rio
ENGL256

Expecting an A
fiftyseven
05/21/2023

Ms. Rio is a *fantastic* teacher. Tragically, this is her last semester at UMD - though if she comes back, I'd highly recommend taking a class with her. She's super chill, the workload was literally just reading for 98% of the semester - couldn't get any easier really, and the content she teaches is fun. The reading themselves were all well selected, with even Beowulf being a super modern translation that made it super fun. The class itself was basically just come to class with the reading done, talk about it for a bit over an hour, leave. The discussions were actually enjoyable too, which is something I didn't expect honestly. All in all, Dr. Rio is a fantastic professor!

Emilee Durand
ENGL256

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
05/19/2022

I had a blast in this class! It felt very much like a book club, and the atmosphere was so relaxed that these meetings were what I looked forward to! Dr. Durand is one of the kindest and most thoughtful professors you'll encounter, and is accommodating when situations arise. The texts you read for this class are absolutely delightful and it is evident that Dr. Durand enjoys the texts too. The class is flexible and is easily adapted to both in-persona and virtual settings. The class heavily uses small-group discussions, which makes it incredibly unique. About half the time was dedicated to group discussion, with the other half dedicated to whole group discussion. I found this helped get classmates engaged and involved with others that they may not normally get engaged with. There are two papers, but they are not too bad and you get to write about what you choose. Overall, I have only good things to say about this class, and I am so glad that I got to have a class like this with Dr. Durand at least once in my time at college. If you get the chance, absolutely take this class with Dr. Durand!

Emilee Durand
ENGL256

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/29/2021

Dr. Durand is engaging and genuinely excited about the texts she teaches. She is a thorough grader, offering students many opportunities to improve and refine their writing.

Reviews for ENGL256