uwloo

ENGL 108AThe Superhero

Units
0.50
Faculty
Arts
Subject
English

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 1 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

An examination of hero figures, ranging broadly from ancient characters such as Gilgamesh to the modern comic book superhero. Literary as well as non-literary materials (e.g., film, comics, games) will be considered.

Prerequisites

None listed.

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

No course lists it as a requisite.

Reviewed on UW Flow

73% liked it82% easy54% useful

From 51 ratings and 18 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • It's a great course for both English majors and just people looking for a fun elective! It was pretty fun but also educational, and I recommend it to others all the time.

    May 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • My professor wasn't even from UW, he was a Laurier prof. He exclusively had us read the very first versions of a lot of classic comics, as well as things like Beowulf, which I didn't expect nor enjoy reading. He frequently went on tangents that were not relevant to the course and spent the entire class talking about non-course content. Nothing he said was testable. Mostly essay-based, and he was a fine marker. Zero effort got me a mid 80.

    Jul 2024 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • This class was so boring. You only discuss Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, and the professor just yaps for an hour and a half. It's really dull, and the insights could have been written by an eighth grader. Also, don't ever connect superheros to WW2, because it's literally his favourite thing ever to say, "Um, actually, superheros pre-date the second world war", like we don't already know this (he says this like almost every class). It was just poorly done and super boring. Easy marks, but I wouldn't subject yourself to it tbh

    Apr 2024 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • This was an amazing course! If you love superheroes, you will love this course! The content was diverse and we had a lot of interesting discussions. For graded work there were only 3 assignments, weekly discussion posts, and a final portfolio. Dakota was a great teacher who helped me with my writing and very engaging. Even if you aren't the best writer there are plenty of resources provided to help you out. Dakota also communicated through discord which was fun.

    Dec 2022 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • 35% of the class is give me marks. The professor tells you exactly what he wants to see in his essays, so he's a little strict about that. But if you ask for help he will take the time out of his day to personally assist you. Tip: book time with the TA to help you with your essay, they are the ones marking it and will give you the best advice. For the lectures take notes you will need them, they don't need to be super detailed but do take notes.

    Jul 2022 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

27 posts and comments in 26 threads mention ENGL 108A, July 2014 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Spring 2024

How to enjoy coming here?? 14 points, 19 comments

“I posted earlier about kinda being forced to go here. In turn with that, how do I enjoy this school? Every time I think about coming here I start crying (which I’m doing as I type this :’o ). …”

u/Jarydo: “… I’ve taken MUSIC140 (pop music), ENGL108A (superheroes), VCULT100 (world cinema), and more. …”

View on RedditRemove this

Winter 2024

1B arts bird courses 1 point, 5 comments

“I'm in a Non-degree term, going into arts for sociology. Im looking for something easy to boost my grades since I got hit with a conditional may be required to withdraw standing. …”

u/ixecli: “are you looking for just arts courses or bird courses that aren't STEM? also UWFLOW is a good starting point”

u/Late_Sweet5437: “CLAS 104 & CLAS 202 are bird but no seats open so gotta stalk QUEST and pray someone drops it, ENGL108A looks interesting if your into superheroes, ENGL108P if your into Harry Potter books, ENGL275 has good reviews.”

View on RedditRemove this

Winter 2023

Winter 2022

Fall 2021

Any English courses you really liked or didn't like? 4 points, 19 comments

“Hey all! Just wondering if there are any ENGL courses that are particularly worth taking, maybe because of the prof or content, and any courses that should be avoided! …”

u/capp256: “I am an English minor and in my experience ENGL 108A was amazing content and good prof ENGL 309C was interesting content bad online ENGL 200A was decent content mediocre online ENGL 200B was interesting content good prof in person (had Kate Lawson as prof) ENGL 109 was easy …”

View on RedditRemove this

Winter 2021

Fall 2020

Admissions / High School Megathread (Fall 2020) 316 points, 7,386 comments

“I think we lost track of the old one somewhere, and this is to also help reset the expiry date (these threads archive after six months) Engineering Admissions Blog: https://theroadtoengineering.com/ …”

u/abababbb: “Not really about admissions but the frosh megathread is gone so I'll just post here: &x200B; for CS breadth/depth, if I take ENGL 208B (comms list 2) ENGL 108A (humanities) ENGL 306A (humanities) Would I be able to satisfy communications, humanities (breadth), and humanities …”

View on RedditRemove this

Spring 2020

ENGL 108F, ENGL 108A, ENGL 140R 4 points, 4 comments

u/crystal-waters: “I'm an incoming first year planning to major in English RMPC! Any input on profs or how engaging/fun the courses (The Rebel, The Superhero, The Use of English) are would be great! I'm most likely taking ENGL 101B already so I'm only going to take one or two of the above courses.”

View on RedditRemove this

Winter 2020

Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar