If you're a pre-med like me and care about you're GPA, do not take this professor for Writing II. I worked my ass off this quarter, but I just got a B. I was thinking I was in the A- to A range though. The grading is collective work between the professor and TA's, so I doubt there would be an easy/lenient TA. Otherwise, if you don't mind getting a B, go ahead and take her because the workload is normal and she is nice as well as the TA's. But damn... I'm pissed

Super dope class. Learned a lot about Kafka. Assignments is just one Kafka story per week plus two discussion questions, and you write your own Kafkaesque story at the end. Professor is very nice and funny!

Professor Komar is extremely knowledgeable in her field and is incredibly eloquently spoken. She cares deeply about not only the success of her students, but also that they improve. I like how she compared the class to university: “You’re here not to fulfill a requirement, but to improve your writing, the same way you’re at university not to earn your degree, but to get an education.” The texts were all very interesting and thought provoking, though the reading list was long and intensive. I think the class could do without the poetry section. The main critique I have is that the lecture is too large. I feel like such a large amount of students in a lecture hall is counterintuitive for an English class. I would have loved a smaller, more intimate class with 20ish people, to allow for discussion not only between peers, but also between the professor and students.

Loved this class. It was my first class at UCLA. Would definitely recommend you to take this class however it is not the easiest. You have to be on top of the readings, if not I would recommend listening to the audio books. You will need them. Go to office hours with your TA, it definitely helps improve not only your grade but it helps you learn what they are expecting. Although at first I thought it was really hard, I definitely enjoyed it.

STEM major here! This class is all about understanding what your TA wants from you in your essays. I didn't attend a single lecture but got A's on all my essays once I understood what my TA personally liked in essays (the rubric the professor gives is very vague) so ask your TA questions! Not all of the books are required to be written about either, out of 9 books I probably read 4 and got away with it. If you do choose to write about a book though make sure you have read it, unfortunately Sparknotes will not suffice for this class. Good luck!

It has been a year, and I finally realized I never reviewed this class. In a way, I think I can better contextualize my thoughts now that I have taken many more classes at UCLA. As far as a literature seminar, it's very self-explanatory. We sat in a circle and discussed for 50 minutes once a week. The Kafka stories were interesting, and we even got to write our own as the final assignment. If I'm being honest, I did not love this class very much. It is highly dependent on the enthusiasm of the students because of the seminar nature, but Professor Komar was not very good at facilitating discussion. She just lacked the ability to guide students toward their own answers by asking thought provoking questions. I brought up a point with another student and she kind of shut us down. I'm not sure if she was uncomfortable with the subject matter or just didn't have anything to add, but it rubbed me the wrong way. If you really like Kafka, I don't see why you necessarily shouldn't take this class, but I was a little disappointed with the approach to the readings and discussion.

I took this class as a freshman (in the classroom full of upperclassman and graduate students) for my comparative literature minor. The grading consists of attendance, one midterm paper, and one final paper. It's not a hard class and professor Komar makes the materials accessable

This class is a TON of reading, but lecture isn't mandatory. Listen to the audiobooks to prepare for tests. Interesting, but challenging.

Kafka Fiat Lux:

Take this class if you like Kafka and like talking about existential stuff and all the crazy things Kafka thought up. Komar is a great professor and knows a lot about Kafka, and chose good stories to read. The class is pretty simple and isn't a ton of reading a week, and the kafkaesque story at the end is fun. I recommend as a fun Fiat Lux.

For full review of the class and more description, see my doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15vILblHwWrnV7KnB-sOFzTRnQE2QPA7nmHxj4gdNKBU/edit?usp=sharing

Take this class if you like Kafka and like talking about existential stuff and all the crazy things Kafka thought up. Komar is a great professor and knows a lot about Kafka, and chose good stories to read. The class is pretty simple and isn't a ton of reading a week, and the kafkaesque story at the end is fun. I recommend as a fun Fiat Lux.

For full review of the class and more description, see my doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15vILblHwWrnV7KnB-sOFzTRnQE2QPA7nmHxj4gdNKBU/edit?usp=sharing