Double-Ivy PhD in Comparative Literature teaches all things Humanities! Specialties include essay writing, literary analysis, and reading comprehension, in English, Latin, Spanish, and German.

I was really struggling with my writing before I met RJ. They then sat me down and really walked through my writing to help me understand how to edit for clarity, precision, and tone. They’ve been instrumental in my own intellectual development and have opened my mind up to new ways of thinking. You’re not just getting a tutor with RJ - you’re getting a thought partner who will leave you with the right tools to forge ahead independently after.

RJ (or Bergmann, as I know them) is a deeply insightful, unswervingly compassionate teacher, musician, artisan, artist, and friend. They are a person of enormous wit and humor. Bergmann helped me with the assignment of reading George Eliot’s book Felix Holt, the Radical. I was woefully unprepared for this book. What was going on in Regency period England during the time this book is set? What are all these big, strange words and turns-of-phrase? Did I interpret this scene correctly? Who was that character again? Why are they important? Bergmann had the answer to my questions, but perhaps more importantly, didn’t lecture or hand those answers to me but drew the answers out of me by asking more questions. In the past it has often felt to me like a nuisance to be given a 150+ year-old book and asked to interpret and comprehend words and thoughts which I entirely lack the context needed to understand. It’s a relief to then learn the skills to understand such a book. It is thrilling to realize part of the way through that not only do I understand this book, but I love it. None of that was possible without Bergmann. So, sure, have them teach you if you want to sharpen academic skills, but for goodness sake, have them teach you if you want to enrich your life and appreciation of literature!