English 409 - University of Southern California



English 409 Professor T. Cervone

MW 2:00-3:15 pm THH 440

WPH 107 Theacervone@

THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE or, The Bible in English—It’s Not Just for Heretics Anymore!

This course will trace the history of the English language from the Anglo-Saxon era to the present day by using a single source text: The Bible. We will use this compelling and timeless text to study the structure of the English language, and we will also focus on how England’s social, religious, and political history has affected its development and translation. From excerpts of Anglo-Saxon Gospels to Middle English Psalters, students will learn how to conjugate, decline, and translate Anglo-Saxon and Early Middle English. Later dialects of Middle English and Early Modern English will include an intensive study of vocabulary and colloquialisms. The course will also feature the immense changes of the Reformation period, with a focus on translation theory as it relates to the development of Early Modern English. The King James Version will be featured as a phenomenon of this period. Finally, contemporary language will be examined, as students will read comic book and manga versions of Biblical books, along with a version of the Bible expressly for American teens, and various colloquial versions. These contemporary examples will emphasize the emerging and important role of youth culture, ethnic identity and popular culture in Biblical text—something which was considered taboo for centuries.

This is not a course in linguistics, although we will discuss linguistic principles from time to time. This is also not a course in theology. Although we will discuss the ideas, principles and beliefs behind the various methods of bible translation, the point of the course is to trace the development of the English language by way of its most influential text, and not to discuss the validity, tenets, or doctrines of English Christianity in terms of their theological value. All students, regardless of their belief systems, are expected to behave in a mature and tactful manner.

ASSIGNMENTS: Students will take two vocabulary quizzes and a midterm exam in the first half of the course. Students will take two short answer quizzes and write a 12-15 page research paper in the second half of the course. The midterm and paper are each worth 25% of a student’s grade. The four quizzes are each worth 12.5%, totaling the remaining 50%. Papers must be based on course material, but students can choose their own topics. Papers must be written in MLA style. MLA guidelines are available via the MLA handbook or online via the MLA website. Some other writing handbooks also feature MLA guidelines. Research papers must cite at least five secondary sources, at least three of which must be books and scholarly articles. Students may cite other sources, such as websites, films, television, works of art, and other multimedia sources, but these are extra and must be presented in addition to the minimum three secondary print sources in the bibliography. Extensions for papers will only be given in emergency cases. I do not accept rewrites, and I do not review or change grades once they have been issued.

ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION POLICIES: This is a 400-level course and students are expected to attend and participate diligently. After three unexcused absences a student’s grade will be penalized. An excused absence implies that I have advanced notice and that I have given permission. If you become ill or injured, let me know as soon as possible so I can make sure you don’t fall behind. Keep a copy record of your doctors’ notes as well. If you are on a sports team, etc, please let me know in advance of dates you will be absent. Lateness disrupts the course and disturbs your fellow students, and so it will not be tolerated. If you are late by 10 minutes or more you will be counted absent. If you are consistently late within those ten minutes your grade will be penalized.

NOTE: I expect a student’s undivided attention. Students must silence and put away all smartphones, blackberries and other communications devices. Any student texting in class will be counted absent. If you bring a laptop or tablet computer to class I expect you to take notes and not surf the Internet or send and receive emails and text messages. Any student surfing the Internet or messaging (and I can tell) will be counted absent. The only time students will be allowed to go on the Internet is if, in the course of class discussion, we agree to look up a source together. Any student who gets up in the middle of class and leaves for any reason that does not involve an emergency will be counted absent. If you have a pressing appointment or pending family issue just speak to me in advance and you will be allowed to leave if you need to. The same thing goes if you need to come very late because of something important.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: The University guidelines for academic integrity are outlined in Scampus, and I cannot help you if you violate them. Violations include, but are not limited to, plagiarism of passages, quotes, or sources, or the purchase of, theft of, or otherwise illegitimate means of obtaining a paper, or research materials for a paper.

WEEK 1 1/9-1/11: Anglo-Saxon

M: Introduction and background

W: HBE, Chapter 1; English before 1000AD. Handout: Word list

WEEK 2 1/16-1/18: Anglo-Saxon

M: MLK HOLIDAY. NO CLASSES.

W: Basic syntax and grammar. Anglo-Saxon Riddles, Paraphrases and Glosses

WEEK 3 1/23-1/25: Anglo-Saxon

M: Examples from the Lindisfarne Gospels

W: Examples from the Wessex Gospels and Caedmon’s Paraphrase

WEEK 4 1/30-2/1: Middle English

M: Quiz. Intro to Middle English. The Norman Conquest. Handout: Word list

W: Examples from the Ormulum; Maidstone’s Psalms

WEEK 5 2/6-2/8: Middle English

M: Middle English Psalms

W: HBE, Chapter 2; Wycliffe and Lollardy; the 14th century

WEEK 6 2/13-2/15: Middle English

M: Examples from the Wycliffite Bible

W: Quiz. Introduction to the Reformation period

WEEK 7 2/20-2/22: Early Modern English--The Reformation and 16th Century

M: PRESIDENTS’ DAY. NO CLASSES.

W: HBE, Chapter 3; the Reformation

WEEK 8 2/27-2/29: Early Modern English--The Reformation and 16th Century

M: HBE, Chapter 4; the Reformation

W: Sir Thomas Wyatt, from The Penitential Psalms

WEEK 9 3/5-3/7: Early Modern English—The Reformation and 16th century

M: HBE, Chapter 5; Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey

W: MIDTERM EXAM

SPRING BREAK 3/12-3/16. NO CLASSES.

WEEK 10 3/19-3/21: Early Modern English--The Elizabethan Period

M: HBE, Chapter 6; Mary Sidney, Psalms

W: Shakespeare and the Bible; HBE, Chapter 7; Psalms by Milton, Herbert, and

others.

WEEK 11 3/26-3/28: The Seventeenth Century

M: HBE, Chapter 8; The reign of James I and the KJV

W: HBE, Chapter 9; Examples from the KJV

WEEK 12 4/2-4/4: Eighteenth through Twentieth Centuries

M: Quiz. HBE, Chapter 10; The Bible, Americanized: The Jefferson Bible: “Th

Life And Morals Of Jesus Of Nazareth.”

W: The Bible for Teens and the phenomenon of the American adolescent

WEEK 13 4/9-4/11: The Twentieth Century: Alternatives and Innovations

M: R. Crumb, The Book of Genesis

W: Siku, The Manga Bible

WEEK 14 4/16-4/18: Contemporary English: Ethnic Identity

M: Cockney and Regional Anglo-Scottish colloquial versions; The Ozzie

Bible—Australian slang version

W: Hawaiian Pidgin; Jamaican Bible; The Cameroon Pidgin Bible, by Rev. Dr.

Ekoka A. Molindo; The Bible Across America project and Twitter

WEEK 15 4/23-4/25: The Future of the Bible in English

M: Technical Jargon and LOLCat; The Muppets; and Trekkies

F: Quiz.

PAPERS ARE DUE WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 2012 via email. Emails must be posted as received by 5:00pm. Papers arriving with a post time after 5:00pm will be counted as late and given a half grade deduction. Papers received after 9:00pm will receive a full grade deduction. Extensions can only be made in cases of medical or legal emergency.

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