Course Evaluations

 

 

I.  Undergraduate Courses 

 

2007
ENGL 4370: RESTORATION AND EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY LITERATURE

2007 Student Comments * See below for optional questions

 

  • She understood the subjects she taught backwards and forwards.  She presented material in an interesting manner.  She had funny lectures that would go off on semi-related tangents.  She leads discussions well and has lots of enthusiasm.

 

  • Mrs. Backscheider is the nicest, ablest, and liveliest teacher of literature I have had.  Anyone who gets excited about lewd heroic verse can be nothing short of the best in their field.

 

  • 1) Dr. Backscheider was by far the best teacher I have ever had the pleasure of working with.  She presented the material so that it was entertaining and never boring.  I always looked forward to coming to her class and I will definitely miss it!
  • 2) No, the organization of the course was just right

 

  • 1) Dr. Backscheider was very effective.  Occasionally discussion was slow, but that was always our own fault, and once it got going it was always interesting.
  • 2) No.  I always liked when we did group work.  If I had any suggestions, I would say incorporate more of that.

 

  • 1) Dr. Backscheider was a GREAT teacher.  I felt like she was always prepared for class and the questions that were asked.  She was likeable and easy-going.  She seemed to enjoy teaching us the material.
  • 2) The only thing I didn’t enjoy was the literature.  Hogarth was interesting but overall I was bored with the reading.  I guess it was just personal taste.

 

  • 1) Dr. Backscheider is extremely good at what she does.  She has been an immeasurable asset to my undergraduate education.  She makes learning fun and exciting and holds high standards (but is willing to help those who need it in order to reach that high standard).  A+
  • 2) I think Dr. Backscheider has it all under control

 

  • 1) Dr. Backscheider was a wonderful teacher who stimulated my thinking and presented a great course, though intimidating at times.  She motivated me to do my best work and be prepared for class
  • 2) No, I thoroughly enjoyed this course.

 

  • Dr. Backscheider has been amazing.  I knew that she set the bar high and it really motivated me to do my best.  She took a time period I had no interest in and made it fascinating.  She perfectly fused history and literature.  I loved this class.

 

  • 1) A wonderful job, as always.  Lively discussions, frank observations, and surprisingly good drawings always helped to liven up what could have been a deadly dull class.
  • 2) Perhaps include a small bit of Defoe?  I know he is a part of your “past,” but I would have liked to have read some of his work.

 

  • Dr. Backscheider was very effective.  I can’t honestly say that most professors at Auburn motivate me, but she does.  She leads discussion well; they are always logical, interesting, informative, and entertaining.  I also know that she really cared about this class and whether or not we understood the material.  My reading skills, especially poetry, have improved by a lot!  I think she manages her classroom very effectively and is overall an excellent teacher.

 

  • I am a history major and my focus is 18th C. Britain.  I thought this was a fantastic course, not just because of the excellent literature selection, but also because Pkrb :) does a phenomenal job providing historical context to the works we study.  I learned as much about the culture of 18th C. Britain as I did the authors and their works.  This is such an important period in history – it is relevant for modern U.S. (and modern civilization) and she did a great job teaching it.  Love her.

 

  • 1) Dr. B has a vast knowledge of the subject and explains her thought process in a very matter-of-fact meets dry humor way.
  • 2) I hate forced participation

 

  • 1) Dr. Backscheider is the best teacher I have encountered at Auburn.  She has shown me a new perspective of literature while challenging me.  I looked forward to each of her classes.  I originally took this because it fit into my time slot.  I am very glad I was able to take it.
  • 2) I think everything ran smoothly throughout the class.  No changes.

 

  • This is by far the best class I have ever taken at Auburn.  Dr. Backscheider is a wonderful professor.  Although the class was challenging it was also fun.  I would have never thought I would like 18th Century British Lit, but everything we read was very interesting and fun to discuss.  I never wanted to miss a day!  I will gladly take Dr. Backscheider again for anything else she teaches while I am still in school!

 

  • Dr. Backscheider is one of the most enjoyable professors I have had an English class from here at Auburn.  She is an effective and engaging communicator, encouraging students to do their best work and to participate in classroom discussion.  Not only did we explore the texts themselves; we also explored the time within which they were produced.  Because of this, I now have a framework for looking at Eighteenth Century texts in general – not merely the ones we explored in class!  Even though Dr. B gave me the first B grade I have ever received on a paper, I wouldn’t trade this class for anything.  Overall, the class was an enjoyable and enlightening learning experience.

 

  • 1) She was well-versed in the subject matter and always able to answer most leftfield questions.
  • 2) The only problem with a course that focuses on Drama is that something is lost when one can’t see a performance inclusion of a film unit or collaboration with the Theater Department would help greatly.

 

  • 1) Professor Backscheider was incredibly effective.  Her knowledge of 18th Century literature is outstanding, and her teaching skills are very strong.
  • 2) I liked it.  It worked very well.

 

  • Very good at making us aware of the historical context of the literature and themes/ trends that effected the authors. – Very helpful on an individual basis.

 

 

2005

ENGL 4370: RESTORATION AND EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY LITERATURE  

* See below for optional questions

·        This was my favorite course this semester because of the variety of genres and types of literature that we studied.  There was never a boring class.

 

·        Very effective, very difficult.

 

·        I think Dr. B is highly effective.  She is always prepared and extremely helpful.  Plus she makes class fun which helps.

 

·        I really enjoyed this class.  Admittedly, I was not very excited about the time period at first because I always thought it was boring, but this class changed that.  I loved learning the quirky things – personality traits, physical characteristics, etc. about the authors we studied.  The unit on hymns was especially interesting because I took for granted that music has not always been part of church services.  I also liked the “no lecture” policy – it made class discussion much more interesting and motivated me to do my homework, knowing I might be called out!

 

·        Dr. B taught us things that were both subtle and interesting.  Although the reading assignments were often intense, she made sure you were prepared.  This was a good thing and of course it stimulated the class’ thinking.

 

·        Dr. Backscheider is the best teacher I have had at Auburn University ! She has taught me not only how to analyze literature but to view tv shows and movies as literature and evaluate them as well.  She taught me to better understand things through popular culture.  She also established my confidence in myself as a writer and as a scholar.  She deserves a raise!

 

·        Dr. Backscheider effectively organized the class through allowing the students to comment on the pieces of literature instead of just listening to a lecture.  She remained enthusiastic throughout the semester and stimulated my mind through debates and in class presentations.

 

·        Enjoyed the class.  I would have liked to engage more with the written texts in class, for example, by reading specific passages and discussing those thematic concepts instead of asking general questions about the works, and then discussing them.

 

·        I’ve never had so many reports/debates in one class, but they were fun (in the dorkiest way possible) and helpful.  I would take any class Dr. B taught.  Period.

 

·        Dr. Backscheider is an absolutely brilliant teacher.  She makes the time come alive and makes people genuinely interested in it.  She helps students out, and even when they get a wrong answer, she encourages them to try harder in the future.  She’s one of the best teachers at Auburn and I would love to be her student again.

 

·        Dr. Backscheider is a unique teacher.  Her understanding and knowledge of the subject matter challenged me to know more.  She has a wealth of information that she makes readily available for her students.  She also recognizes different abilities within her students, that student may have found or thought to be lacking within themselves.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time in this class. 

 

·        In this course, I especially enjoyed the wide area of subjects covered.  We read novels, poetry, plays, and observed art which truly helped to get a great idea of Restoration Lit.  Dr. B was always very positive which made me want to do my best.  Keep up the reports and debates – they keep students involved!  Overall, this class was fun.

 

·        Dr. Backscheider’s knowledge of 18th Century Literature is very thorough.  She not only knows about the literature, but also about what life was like and this helped to explain a lot of things better.

 

·        Classes were very interesting, even when the subject matter may have been difficult.  Dr. Backscheider did her best to vary the assignments so that they were fun and helpful.  This was a challenging class, but I learned a lot and really enjoyed myself.

 

·        Dr. Backscheider seemed extremely knowledgeable about every subject we covered in class.  She managed to make each class interesting.  She seems to have a great concern for the students and their education/ understanding of the subjects.  Worked very well with us and showed a lot of enthusiasm for teaching.

 

·        Dr. B was wonderful.  She knew more background information about the 18th Cen. that helped so much in understanding the material.  She helped me formulate my thoughts on my paper, which would have been a puzzle without her.

 

·        I have never learned more or thought more in any of my classes at Auburn so far.  I loved every day in class and the experiences and knowledge that I will take with me for the rest of my life.

 

·        Dr. B was AMAZING!  I wish that I would have taken her courses a long time ago.  She goes above and beyond her duties to make certain that ALL of her students succeed!!  She was always so helpful whenever a problem arose, and her class is one of the only ones that I have been in where there was so much class participation!

 



2003

ENGL 4370: RESTORATION AND EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY LITERATURE

 

  See below for optional questions

·        Dr. B is brilliant and has a passion for teaching that was blatantly evident.  She taught interesting material and was very flexible with her lessons to accommodate our interests.  Learned much and enjoyed it thoroughly.

 

·        This was absolutely one of the best classes I have taken at Auburn University and it was because of Dr. Backscheider.  I really enjoyed the debates and I think they should be kept in the syllabus for the course.  I loved this class and the teacher.

 

·        Dr. Backscheider was a great teacher.  I thought it was great how she brought in other elements like prints and hymns.

 

·        1) Very effective instructor.  Good insight, especially in grounding things/literature to make them approachable and understandable.

2)   Less poetry- more fiction (my personal preference).

 

·        1) She was very effective, I learned a ton from her class and enjoyed it so much.  She is the best teacher ever!

2)  Keep doing an amazing job. J

 

·        Amazing!  She’s perfect!

 

·        Dr. Backscheider is an excellent professor, because she genially cares for each of her students.  I am thankful that I had the opportunity to learn under her.  She expanded my mind!  Thank you Backscheider.

 

·        Dr. Backscheider was an effective instructor because of the constant interaction with her students.  She makes learning a treat.

 

·        Dr. Backscheider was a very effective professor.  She made a subject with strong potential to be very boring into one that is very interesting.  I am very glad I took this class!

 

·        Enjoyed this course so much more than I ever thought I would.  Backscheider was a very supportive and encouraging teacher.  Wish I could take this course again.

 

·        Dr. Backscheider is great!  This is one of my favorite classes at AU.  She is very knowledgeable and approachable.  I wish I could take more of her classes.

 

·        Hands down, best class I’ve ever taken.  The material was presented in ways I have never seen a teacher do before.  I am leaving this class with more knowledge than I have ever retained.  Keep up the awesome work, Dr. B!

 

·        Great class; challenging but great.  Expectation for papers could be made clearer.

 

·        1) She was a REALLY GREAT teacher.

2) No suggestions for improvement.

 

·        1) Great teacher thoroughly enjoyed the class.

2) No suggestions for improvement.

 

·        I feel I have a much greater understanding of 18th century literature because of Dr. Backscheider.  I have thoroughly enjoyed this class.

 

·        On a side note, I have enjoyed this class very much.  As a graduating senior I much appreciate the new ideas and authors this class has exposed us to.  Thank you!

 

·        She was a very effective teacher and the best teacher I have had at Auburn in the past three years I’ve been here.  She’s inspiring, supportive, and wonderful.  We love her, and I hope I have her again!

 

 

 

 

2001

ENGL 4370: RESTORATION AND EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY LITERATURE

 

 

·        Dr. Backscheider is a breath of fresh air– allowing me to think out loud, encouraging those thoughts, educating me with 18th century history, and forcing me to do my best work. Hats off!

 

·        She was very effective.

 

·        She is the formula-fiction model of a professor. She is actually intelligent, witty, grounded, entertaining, attractive, and worth the money I spent to take the class. She is the mistress of the 18th century and I am her humble servant.

 

·        The course really improved my understanding of the literature of the period– I happen to love discussion classes, so this was fun. I got a lot more feedback in here than in most classes– very helpful. I would have preferred to do a paper (maybe just one big paper) with outside criticism. 

 

·        Dr. Backscheider is an exceptional teacher and scholar. I feel lucky to have taken a class under such a person. She really provoked my thinking with her extreme intellect.

 

·        The number one quality I look for in a teacher is passion, Dr. Backscheider really had a passion for 18th century literature and it motivated me and made the class thoroughly enjoyable.  She is one of the best teachers I’ve had. One of two actually and the impact is awesome.  I really liked the selections. Especially Love Intrigues.  Thanks!   

 

    

   

    II.  Graduate Seminar

 

2007

ENGL 7800: SEMINAR IN CRITICAL THEORY

 

2007 student comments 7800 See below for optional questions

1. Dr. Backscheider is perhaps one of the most effective professors I have ever had – her standards and expectations are higher than most but still well within what is reasonable.

-Excellent planning/execution of collaborative and individual activities
-Fostered group camaraderie and competition
-Inspired effort
-Needed and enjoyed theory materials
-Enjoyed literature

A. Dr. Backscheider is an exceptionally effective professor.  She is thoroughly versed in all aspects of her field and expresses genuine interest in helping her students to become the same.
B. It is still unclear what percentage of our grade comes from which assignment.  This would have been helpful.

A. Another amazing Backscheider course! Her ability to retain and recall information is mind boggling.
B. The assigned perspectives for readings was especially helpful in determining the multiple readings of a text.

She is a superb teacher whose deep learning and understanding is evident in her teaching.
Her comments during class as to her rationales for her teaching methods with both undergraduate and graduate students were extremely helpful.
Reading the Storey chapter on literature earlier in the semester might have been helpful for me.
Fabulous seminar overall!

I found the professor very effective.  I had had an intro to theory class before, but this class made everything I didn’t understand in the previous class understandable.  The activities and examples made the theory “come alive.”
The only question is how much each assignment is worth, but I feel we were given great instruction re: each assignment.
Thank you for a great course.
The comments on assignments & in conferences were useful and the classroom was certainly an “intellectual community.”

A wonderful seminar – the best Theory class I have taken.  Dr. Backscheider did all of the things that a good graduate instructor should do & matched that w/ an effective course design.  –Good discussion, stimulating readings.-
I would like to see some consideration of tradition outside of 18th Century Britain. –India, Latin America, for instance.

A.  I love Dr. Backscheider. She is awesome!

I was scared of this class due to an intense aversion to any kind of literary theory.  But, I think that this class made it more accessible (and dare I say enjoyable?) for me.  I really appreciated the leeway we had in choosing a topic for our semester project – that made applying these theories/concepts more interesting.  I wish I could bring Dr. Backscheider with me when I change schools next year – I will really miss her enthusiasm and how she motivates me to do my best work!

Extremely beneficial instructor to my education.  She was, however, against active assistance, not to be draconian but to assist our learning.  If a problem occurred, outside of challenging us to be better students of literature, she was very helpful.

 

 

2005

ENGL 7800: SEMINAR IN CRITICAL THEORY

 

See below for optional questions

 

·        Dr. Backscheider, again, proved to be an incredibly effective instructor. She is challenging and motivating.

 

·        This was a very informative class and I feel like Dr. Backscheider encouraged me to do my best work. No suggestions.

 

·        I’m really glad I took this course. Dr. Backscheider met all my (high) expectations, both as a scholar, a professor, and as a human being. I’m happy I could have her as a professor before I leave Auburn.

 

·        The instructor was the most knowledgeable professor I have had at Auburn University. If it were not for this class and the enthusiasm w/ which Dr. Backscheider communicated the material, my semester would have been only mediocre at best.  The course should have roundtables about works other than Clarissa. It was the best day of the course and I think the other works could benefit from this method of discussion.

 

·        Enjoyed the class! Learned so much!

 

·        Dr. Backscheider’s command of the field is indisputable; I felt, however, that many classes were overstructured. The readings were on the whole carefully selected and useful.

 

·        It has been fun. Lots of work, lots of learning. I’d do it again!

 

·        I think I’ve learned a lot about the 18th century that I would have not ventured outside this class. Dr. B was always very helpful and nice when I went to her office for help.

 

 

 

 

2003

ENGL 7800: SEMINAR IN CRITICAL THEORY

 

See below for optional questions

 

·      Dr. Backscheider is definitely one of the most challenging professors I have ever had. As this is not my area, I was exposed to so much new material that I was constantly swimming in new information. But I welcomed that! I ultimately am in grad school to be challenged-- it's good to be nervous before coming to class for a change. She's the most knowledgeable professor I've worked with, and I hope to establish a working relationship with her in the future. No suggestions-- a lot of work but worth the effort.

 

·        Dr. Backscheider is very well-read & professional; she expects & inspires the best work from her students. I definitely feel my skills as a critic & reader of literature have increased as a result of this course & I look forward to applying my new found knowledge in other venues. No suggestions.

 

·        Dr. Backscheider, again, taught a professional, stimulating, and exciting course. I enjoy her insights and benefit immensely from her guidance.

 

·        Overall, this course was very well put together. The emphasis on reception & representation theory helped me to address some shortcomings in my ongoing education. However, I wish we could spend a little more time on some of the primary texts, such as Persuasion and some others, like The Beggar's Opera.

 

·        All incredible class, interesting discussions, I really enjoyed it and I had a lot to learn. No suggestions.

 

·        Dr. Backscheider was a tremendous teacher. I felt that she, though very demanding, made every effort to help us succeed in both this class & in our other academic interests. Her enthusiasm was contagious. Her expertise intimidating. The overwhelming amount of reading & mini assignments made it tough to apply time to the project weighted most heavily. It would have helped had some of the mini projects eased off in the last 4-6 weeks.

 

·       I feel like I have learned more in this course than in any other graduate course I have. Dr. Backscheider clearly explained the theories we learned and led in productive discussion of how to apply the theories in our readings. Her enthusiasm for and knowledge of the material contributed to the positive atmosphere of the seminar. Her concern for her students was evident to me in individual conferences we had. Written comments on work were very detailed and helpful. The only other observation I have is that the workload for this class was about twice that of my other classes. Though I feel I benefitted from everything we did, I also at times felt I had to neglect my other classes to meet the demands of this class.

 

 

 

 

2006

ENGL 7170: BRITISH LITERATURE, 1660-1880

 

See below for optional questions

 

·        Dr. Backscheider is an excellent instructor. I especially appreciated that her syllabus was so well-constructed-- there was absolutely not one wasted reading.

 

·        Dr. B was always willing to meet with me about questions I had, and she was always very helpful. Excellent job overall.

 

·        Dr. Backscheider is obviously extremely familiar with the subject matter and presented the material in terms that were interesting, insightful, and helpful. She shows immense concern for her students. Her teaching through questioning is very effective.

 

·        Excellent-- tough.

 

·        I definitely know I learned in this course; I think performance studies theories were harder for me to understand, but I feel that I am beginning to get it. I enjoyed this course; it was challenging in a good way! Thank you.

 

·        Dr. Backscheider is one of the few grad-level professors who is actually a good teacher, as well-- she always made very clear how to complete any assignment. Made me a better student!

 

·        Dr. B was very effective. All of the readings and assignments for the class greatly improved my understanding of performance studies. No suggestions.

 

·        Dr. Backscheider's class is rigorous but I loved every minute of it! She is a wonderful teacher.

 

 

 

* The "Optional" questions are as follows. Students could respond five ways:
A: Strongly Agree, B: Agree, C: Neither agree nor diagree, D: Disagree, or E: Strongly Disagree:
Optional 1: My reading skills improved as a result of this course.
Optional 2: My instructor increased my understanding of literature.
Optional 3: My instructor increased my appreciation of literature.
Optional 4: My instructor's comments on my written work were helpful.
Optional 5: My instructor established reasonable office hours and was usually available during those hours.
Optional 6: Overall, my instructor was an effective teacher.

These "Optional" questions are the same for all of the evaluation grids on this page.