Core Texts of Europe

The class moves chronologically from the Hebrew Bible through Homer, Plato, Virgil, the New Testament, Beowulf, the Crusades-era sources, and Dante, and Bleich keeps the pace demanding but manageable by pairing every reading with specific passages rather than assigning whole books blind. His discussion-based teaching style works well for this material. Weekly quizzes keep everyone honest about doing the reading before class, and the student-led discussions built around circulated study questions force you to actually engage with the texts instead of coasting on secondhand summaries. He’s clearly put real thought into sequencing the syllabus so each text builds context for the next, and the journal assignments give you space to connect the readings to broader questions about Europe, identity, and your own thinking. Overall, it’s a rigorous but fair class for anyone wanting a real grounding in these texts rather than a surface-level survey.

The class moves chronologically from the Hebrew Bible through Homer, Plato, Virgil, the New Testament, Beowulf, the Crusades-era sources, and Dante, and Bleich keeps the pace demanding but manageable by pairing every reading with specific passages rather than assigning whole books blind. His discussion-based teaching style works well …Read more

This course is designed for students who are interested in reading major books but never have had the time to do so. I found myself in that group of people and took this course. We read around one book a week but they're super interesting so it doesn't really feel like homework. You definitely have to work to stay on top of readings though.

I loved this course with Prof. Bleich! He was clearly very interested in the subject matter, even though literature is not his main focus as a political scientist. We read about a book/text per week, which was sometimes difficult to keep up with, but if you skim some it's definitely doable. There were no papers outside of the midterm and final exams, which were both given outside of class time with ample time allowed. He also gave weekly reading comprehension quizzes at the start of each class which were easy enough if you did the reading. Ultimately, take this class if you can motivate yourself enough to finish the readings each week because without them, you won't get much out of the course.

I loved this course with Prof. Bleich! He was clearly very interested in the subject matter, even though literature is not his main focus as a political scientist. We read about a book/text per week, which was sometimes difficult to keep up with, but if you skim some it's definitely doable. There were no papers outside of the midterm …Read more

Bleich is great. He is very interactive and fun, and even brought his dog into a few classes. The discussion is the main part of the class, and it can be a little dry sometimes, but will ramp up at times. He can stifle it sometimes by trying to bring quieter people in, which slows or pivots the conversation, but thats alright. This class has a TON of reading and homework. About a book a week, although some weeks are much worse than others. The book selection is wonderful, but be prepared to read a bunch. If you are interested in influential books, take the course, but be prepared for a lot of reading.

Bleich is great. He is very interactive and fun, and even brought his dog into a few classes. The discussion is the main part of the class, and it can be a little dry sometimes, but will ramp up at times. He can stifle it sometimes by trying to bring quieter people in, which slows or pivots the conversation, but thats alright. This c …Read more

The class was very reading heavy which set the class up well for discussion. The readings were also very interesting and a great mix of historical texts from Europe. The reading quizzes felt a little unnecessary and too specific that it felt like I had to memorize everything I read in order to get a 10/10 on the quiz. Either than that, I loved the class.

This is first and foremost a reading course. The majority of course work that you would be engaged with is outside of class with the books. With that in mind, the 5 books are not cheap and so this can be a costly course. But if you are able to fork over that money and are fine with the extensive reading, this would be a great class to take. The discussions are engaging and Professor Bleich is clearly interested in the course material.

This is first and foremost a reading course. The majority of course work that you would be engaged with is outside of class with the books. With that in mind, the 5 books are not cheap and so this can be a costly course. But if you are able to fork over that money and are fine with the extensive reading, this would be a great class t …Read more

This course was difficult in the amount of reading we had to do each week. For example, some of the heaviest weeks were when a lot of genesis and exodus were assigned, or when the entire book of the Odyssey was assigned. The good part is that exams (written in class essays) were graded fairly and not too bad if you at least skimmed the readings each week (which is the best way to go for this course).

This course was difficult in the amount of reading we had to do each week. For example, some of the heaviest weeks were when a lot of genesis and exodus were assigned, or when the entire book of the Odyssey was assigned. The good part is that exams (written in class essays) were graded fairly and not too bad if you at least skimmed t …Read more

This class and its contents were very valuable but the timeline made it very difficult to thoroughly enjoy. We were required to basically read a whole book every week which made comprehension harder.

I didn't know much about Dante's Inferno or other works that we read previous to class but I found the readings to be engaging. I did like the style of discussion within the class and the professor was very friendly and approachable.

Great course for learning about the ancient texts of Europe. Most of the time spent outside of class is simply done on the readings that are assigned. Professor was very engaging and the discussions we engaged in were insightful.

Core Texts of Europe offered a captivating exploration of timeless literature. Delving into renowned books, the course enriched my understanding of European culture. A truly enjoyable journey through literary masterpieces.