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Fall 2004
ENGL
4124 CRN
95666 Office
Hours:
10:30-12MW& by appt. Office:
Shanks 229 (540)
231-7753 Class
time: 2:30-3:45 MW Classroom:
TORG 2060
This syllabus is located online at:
http://wiz.cath.vt.edu/exper/mosser/classes/4124.04/4124.html
It will be updated as warranted.
Learn to speak, read, and write the ancient language of Tolkien's Riders of Rohan: Old English. Learn the secrets of harnessing the magic of the Mandrake root (eat your heart out, Harry Potter!). Read all about the Apocryphal adventures of Matthew and Andrew in the City of the Cannibals!
This course has both literary and linguistic objectives. Students will gain sufficient proficiency in reading Old English to be able to read literary texts; they will acquire an understanding of the sounds and structures of Old English and how it relates to succeeding developments in the language; and they will see Old English in its proper perspective: not as an extinct foreign language but as a stage in the development of our own speech.
Students will be evaluated through quizzes, daily in-class translation, a midterm, and a final exam. (Graduate students will write an 8-10 pp. paper in addition to the above.)
Bruce Mitchell and Fred C. Robinson. A Guide to Old English, 6th ed. (Blackwell)Suggested but optional: Hall, Concise Anglo-Saxon DictionaryOnline Text Daniel W. Mosser, The Evolution of Present-Day English
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Quizzes (7, lowest grade dropped, 5 points each)
30%
Midterm Exam
15%
Participation (in-class translation, questions, discussion)
30%
Final Exam
25%
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[Tentative]
Monday, August 23 |
Introduction to Course |
Wednesday, August 25 |
"Brief Overview"; Chapter 1: "Preliminary Remarks on the Language"; Chapter 2 ("Orthography and Pronunciation"); Practice sentences, Part 2.1, pp. 171-172 |
Monday, August 30 |
"The Beginnings of English in England"; "The Fall of Man (Genesis 3:1-19)" (174-176) |
Wed., September 1 |
"Outside Influences"; Pronouns (Ch. 3); |
Monday, September 6 |
Quiz 1; "Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22: 1-19)" (178-180) |
Wed., September 8 |
"Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22: 1-19)" (handout) |
Monday, September 13 |
Strong Nouns, pp. 20-30; "The Mandrake" (handout) |
Wed.,September 15 |
Quiz 2; pp. 35-41, verbs; "The Mandrake" |
Monday, September 20 |
"A Colloquy on Occupations" |
Wed., September 22 |
"A Colloquy on Occupations" |
Monday, September 27 |
Quiz 3; Conjugation of Strong Verbs, pp. 43-45; "A Colloquy on Occupations" |
Wed., September 29 |
Weak Verbs, pp. 46-50; "A Colloquy on Occupations" |
Monday, October 4 |
Quiz 4; Anomalous Verbs, pp. 51-53; "Cynewulf and Cyneheard," pp. 208-211 |
Wednesday, October 6 |
"Cynewulf and Cyneheard" |
Monday, October 11 |
Midterm Exam |
Wed., October 13 |
Adjectives; pp. 30-35; "Cynewulf and Cyneheard" |
Monday, October 18 |
"Selections from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle," pp. 212-215 |
Wed., October 20 |
Quiz 5; "Selections from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle," pp. 212-215 |
Monday, October 25 |
"Grimm's Law and Verner's Law," pp. 41-43; "Selections from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle," pp. 212-215 |
Wed., October 27 |
Syntax: Word-Order, pp. 61-65; " Bede's Account of the Poet Cædmon," pp. 220-225 |
Monday, November 1 |
Syntax: Sentence Structure, pp. 66-70; " Bede's Account of the Poet Cædmon," pp. 220-225 |
Wed., November 3 |
Quiz 6 ; Syntax: Noun Clauses, pp. 71-75; " Bede's Account of the Poet Cædmon," pp. 220-225 |
Monday, November 8 |
Syntax: Adjective Clauses, pp. 75-81; " Bede's Account of the Poet Cædmon," pp. 220-225 |
Wed., November 10 |
Syntax: Adverb Clauses, pp. 81-88; "Riddles," pp. 231-234 |
Monday, November 15 |
Syntax: Adverb Clauses, pp. 88-96; "The Seafarer," pp. 276-282 |
Wed., November 17 |
NO CLASS (I will be at a conference--Happy Thanksgiving) |
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Monday, November 29 |
Syntax: Adverb Clauses, Partaxis pp. 96-103; Syntax: Concord, pp. 103-108; "The Seafarer," pp. 276-282 |
Wed., December 2 |
Quiz 7 ; Syntax: Verbs, pp. 108-116; "Beowulf's Fight with Grendel," pp. 283-290 |
Monday, December 6 |
Syntax: Prepositions, pp. 116-117; "Beowulf's Fight with Grendel" |
Wed., December 8 |
Classes End |
Wed. , Dec. 15 |
4:25-6:25PM Final Exam (NOTE CORRECTION!) |
Panel from the Ruthwell Cross with a runic text of the Dream of the Rood carved at the edge. [back] For more on the Ruthwell Cross, click here.