English 4600a: Beowulf (Spring 2021)
Posted: January 11, 2021 Filed under: Current-Interest, spring-2021 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 »
English 3450a: Old English (Fall 2020)
Posted: May 20, 2020 Filed under: Current-Interest, fall-2020 Leave a comment »Contents
English 1900g: Introduction to English Language and Literature (Spring 2017)
Posted: December 14, 2016 Filed under: Current-Interest, spring-2017 Leave a comment »Note: This is a draft syllabus based on Fall 2014, which I am providing for planning purposes. The readings will be the same in Spring 2017. Assessment and precise scheduling are subject to change before the last day of add/drop.
About this course
English 1900 is the introductory course in our department. It is a prerequisite for all higher level courses. The purpose of English 1900 is to introduce students to the study of literature and to provide opportunity to practice analytical reading, thinking, writing about texts, and writing about metaphor examples. This section of English 1900 will focus particularly on discovery and communication: uncovering our (often unrealised) critical responses to texts and developing these into compelling and interesting arguments. Read the rest of this entry »English 3450a: Old English (Spring 2017)
Posted: December 14, 2016 Filed under: Current-Interest, spring-2017 Leave a comment »Note: This is draft syllabus based on the Fall 2015 offering. It is subject to revision before the last day of the add/drop period. The reading order and pace is subject to change throughout the semester.
Contents
English 3401a: Medieval Literature (Fall 2016)
Posted: June 21, 2016 Filed under: Current-Interest, fall-2016 Leave a comment »This is a preliminary syllabus based on Spring 2015. While it provides an indication of how the course will be assessed and the scheduling of readings, details of both will change before the beginning of class. The required reading list is accurate and complete for Fall 2016, however.
English 3401 introduces students to the study of Middle English literature (i.e. literature from roughly the twelfth through the end of the fifteenth centuries). The course is a companion to English 3601 Chaucer, and so this course concentrates on literature by authors other than Chaucer.
Contents
Advanced Old English (Spring 2016)
Posted: January 3, 2016 Filed under: Current-Interest, spring-2016 Leave a comment »About this course
Advanced Old English is a reading course in Old English focussing on Beowulf. A necessary prerequisite is previous experience reading Old English, the language of Anglo-Saxon England (c. 450-1200 CE). At the U of L, this experience is acquired through English 3450.
Important note: This course is being offered in the form of Independent Studies. The Dean’s office has agreed to waive restrictions on Independent Studies that affect degree requirements for students taking this course. These include the maximum number of Independent Studies you can count towards your degree and restrictions on the use of Independent Studies courses to satisfy distribution requirements at fourth year for English majors. Please see me if you want to take this course but cannot because of some restriction on Independent Studies in your programme.
Read the rest of this entry »English 3601a: Chaucer (Spring 2016)
Posted: January 3, 2016 Filed under: Current-Interest, spring-2016 | Tags: chaucer, middle english Leave a comment »About this course
English 3601 introduces students to the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, the best known English poet of the high middle ages. This course is a companion to English 3401, Medieval Literature, and English 3450, Old English.
This section takes a constructionist and collaborative approach to student learning. Students will be expected to take responsibility for the direction of their learning under the mentorship of the instructor.
Contents
English 3450a: Old English (Fall 2015)
Posted: September 9, 2015 Filed under: Current-Interest, fall-2015 | Tags: old english, pedagogy, syllabus, Teaching Leave a comment »Note: This is a draft syllabus and is subject to revision before the last day of the add/drop period.
Contents
English 4400n/5500n: Digital Humanities (Fall 2015)
Posted: August 17, 2015 Filed under: Current-Interest, fall-2015 Leave a comment »About the course
English 4400n: Digital Humanities is a senior seminar on the digital revolution and the effect it is having on the way we communicate, research, and teach. Most of the course will be concerned with the mechanisms and effects of what we might describe as the second Internet revolution—the growth of cloud-based, often socially-network-oriented, services, applications, and repositories that are radically changing economic, social, and research culture and practices.
By the end of the course, students should have
- A grounded historical knowledge of the history of personal and networked computing as it applies to the humanities.
- Hands on experience with basic technological practices in the field
- Extensive experience reviewing existing Digital Humanities projects
- An understanding of what the Digital Humanities is and where it may and may not be helpful in the pursuit of their other research interests. Read the rest of this entry »
About posters
Posted: January 4, 2015 Filed under: Current-Interest, Teaching Leave a comment »I increasingly use posters in my classes as a way of encouraging collaboration and the development of a research community.
Although posters have long been used in the Natural Sciences, some Social Sciences, and the Digital Humanities, they are only beginning to appear in more traditional humanities disciplines.
This post provides some resources for discovering how to design posters and explains my general policies.
How to make posters
Although students make posters throughout Grade School, Middle School, and High School, research posters of the kind used at University are slightly different in format and design. Read the rest of this entry »
About blogs
Posted: January 4, 2015 Filed under: Current-Interest, Teaching Leave a comment »In many of my courses you will be expected to maintain a blog. Postings will be required from you most weeks. And every so often you may be asked to review and/or comment on your blog postings and those of your class mates.
The following are some general notes on how I use blogs in my classes and what you will be expected to do. These notes are to be read on conjunction with the class syllabus, which may include additional instructions, rules, expectations, or limitations.
English 3901a: History of English (Spring 2015)
Posted: January 4, 2015 Filed under: Current-Interest, spring-2015 Leave a comment »This is the syllabus for English 3901: History of the English Language.
Contents
Grading methods
Posted: January 4, 2015 Filed under: Current-Interest, Teaching Leave a comment »I use several different types of grading in my courses. This post explains what they are and how they work.
A+ through F (Grade Point)
This is the traditional grading system used at North American Universities. I use this system primarily for grading summative exercises (i.e. Read the rest of this entry »
English 3401a: Medieval Literature (Spring 2015)
Posted: January 4, 2015 Filed under: Current-Interest, spring-2015 Leave a comment »English 3401 introduces students to the study of Middle English literature (i.e. literature from roughly the twelfth through the end of the fifteenth centuries). The course is a companion to English 3601 Chaucer, and so this course concentrates on literature by authors other than Chaucer.
