English 4600a: Beowulf (Spring 2021)
Posted: January 11, 2021 Filed under: spring-2021, Teaching Leave a comment »About this course
In this course we will read the poem Beowulf in the original Old English. The principal focus of the course will be reading the poem above all else: it can be difficult to read the entire poem in a semester, though every class I’ve taught has managed in the end.
Because we will be reading Beowulf in the original Old English, the course has a mandatory prerequisite: English 3450 (Introduction to Old English) or an equivalent course or preparation. You must already know how to read Old English in order to take this course.
Learning goals
The goal of the course is to read Beowulf. By the end of the course you should be
- familiar with this early medieval poem
- an accomplished and quick reader of Old English poetry Read the rest of this entry »
English 3901a: History of the English Language (Spring 2021)
Posted: January 10, 2021 Filed under: Current-Interest, spring-2021 | Tags: history of english, Teaching Leave a comment »About this course
Why don’t we spell knight n – i – t – e?
Where does ‘silent e’ come from?
Why is it book and books but not sheep and sheeps?
Do we say somebody is six foot or six feet tall?
All of us have asked questions like these about the English language. This course will teach you how to find the answers. Read the rest of this entry »
