Course Syllabus

UNCS 2245.02 First-Year Topic Seminar
Loaded Language: The History of English and How to Do Things with Words
Fall 2023

Monday 3:00-4:15
Stokes 145 North

Prof. Robert Stanton (stantoro@bc.edu)
Office Hours: TBA

The Big Idea:
The main goal of the Freshman Topic Seminars is to provide a focused inquiry into a specific topic in an intellectually rigorous but academically low-stress environment. It is also a way to get good academic advisement and meet some fellow first-year students. The course is pass/fail, ends before the Thanksgiving break, and requires minimal reading. We meet once a week for 75 minutes. Each week, we will have a discussion about BC, school generally, and whatever else comes up, we will discuss the week's topic, and two people will do a short report.

The seminar will help you to understand and use language more effectively by examining the hidden history behind the words we use. English words come from many languages: Primitive Germanic, Latin, Old Norse, French, Italian, Spanish, Irish, Yiddish, and many others. The force and effectiveness of every word we speak or write depends on where it came from and how it has been used in the past. Furthermore, a lot of English words and expressions are metaphors, which express one concept in terms of another.

Structure:
1. We will begin with an informal discussion of advisement issues and general BC stuff. (about 10 minutes)

2. 2 students will collaborate for a class presentation chosen from these topics. Note that you are very welcome (no, encouraged!) to come up with your own topics. Just be sure to check them with me first. (about 30 minutes including discussion)

3. 2 other students will each (individually) report on the history and current usage of one specific word. It's often helpful to research and examine a word that we think we all know well, because these are often the most difficult to agree on. I've provided a list of the words discussed by Raymond Williams in his Keywords, which gives a nicely historical perspective. You can get started with this list if you like, or choose words of your own. If you choose one of Williams' words, you can assume that everyone else has read the entry, but feel free to go through it briefly, highlighting things you found interesting or important. I want to hear from the presenters and from other students how the word strikes them, how the word is used today, how you and others use it, and what you think about how it's used. Google is a great way to check out current usage, and the Ngram viewer gives some good historical perspective. (about 10-15 minutes for each, including discussion) 

Resources:
When you are looking up individual words, here are some good resources. It's often fun, and always informative, to look up the same word in different places to compare how it's treated:

Oxford English Dictionary
This is the premier historical dictionary of the English language. Note that the meanings under each word are arranged from earliest meaning (which might now be obsolete) to most recent meaning. Here are lists of abbreviations,  symbols and other conventions, and pronunciation.

Merriam Webster
A big dictionary site, with a separate tab for "Thesaurus" (for finding synonyms and equivalents)

Dictionary.com Another big fun site, with language trivia, hints on common errors, a crossword, and more!

Wiktionary.com
Definitely check this out - a wiki dictionary definitely gives another perspective on language.

Urban Dictionary
A chaotic but useful collection of slang, buzzwords, joke words, and individuals' interpretations of well-known words. Many things exist here that exist nowhere else!

Google
Last but absolutely not least! Definitely Google your word, see if you can figure out how it's been used online, and whether it's changed in the last few years, months, or weeks! Be aware that you can filter Google searches by:

• News (link under the search bar)
• Books (in the "More" menu)
• Under the "Tools" menu, you can narrow your search to the past hour, day, week, month, year, or any custom range

You should also check out the Google Ngram Viewer for a bit of historical perspective.

Important BC dates:
(check the academic calendar and events calendar for more):

Schedule (subject to change)