The Story of English: Medieval to Modern [***]

In this course, we will explore the history of the English language through the history of English literature. We will trace the development of English from its earliest written documentation in Old English to the flourishing of Middle English to its more familiar form of Early Modern English. We approach this language history through the focused study of literary texts representative of distinct linguistic stages of English, such as Old English prose writings and poems, selections from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Middle English lyrics, or Shakespeare’s sonnets. The goal is to use the linguistic changes in phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, lexicon, and graphics that occurred in the English language between ca. 500-ca. 1700 C.E. to better understand English literature. In addition, we will study the historical contexts and cultural forces that have conditioned and shaped the linguistic changes of English. Assignments will consist of homework exercises, exams, short essays, and a pedagogical project. 

PLEASE NOTE: This course was designed with high-school teachers in mind who wish to earn graduate-level credits. It is intended to encourage teachers to bring the course materials into their own classrooms and thus includes a significant pedagogical project as part of the course work.