ENGL 482/550 (Section 901, Schedule #34692/34702)
Virginia Commonwealth University
Spring 2017
MW 4-5:15pm :: Hibbs 440
Prof. David Golumbia
Office: 324D Hibbs Hall
Spr 2017 Office Hours: MW 1:30-2, 2:50-4pm

Theories of Language

Despite its centrality of language to every part of human life, and to many parts of academic research, there is and has always been very little agreement among scholars and other thinkers about just what "language" is. This class surveys major works from a number of traditions that attempt to address that question, primarily including philosophy of language, linguistics, and literary theory. We’ll read work by and about figures including Plato, Locke, Humboldt, Chomsky, Saussure, Wittgenstein, Heidegger, Kripke, and Taylor. Students will write two medium-length papers or one longer paper, and offer one brief presentation in class. The class will be taught mostly by discussion with some lecture. Students will benefit from having had some prior exposure to one or more of the approaches, disciplines, or lines of thought to be covered in the class.

Books

• Mark C. Baker, The Atoms of Language: The Mind's Hidden Rules of Grammar (Basic Books, 2002)
• Noam Chomsky, Aspects of the Theory of Syntax (MIT Press, 1965)
• Noam Chomsky, The Science of Language: Interviews with James McGilvray (Cambridge University Press, 2012)
• Saul Kripke, Wittgenstein on Rules and Private Language (Havard University Press, 1982)
• John McWhorter, What Language Is (And What It Isn't, and What It Could Be) (Gotham Books, 2012)
• Plato, Cratylus (Translated by C. D. Reeve, Hackett, 1998) (Note: important to get this edition of the Cratylus; all others use a different translation and do not have the introduction and footnotes in this version, all of which we'll be reading)
• Charles Taylor, The Language Animal: The Full Shape of the Human Linguistic Capacity (Harvard University Press, 2016)

IMPORTANT NOTICES

• This syllabus contains all of the official information about how the class will be conducted. When in doubt, consult the syllabus first. The answer is almost always here.
• Especially for graduate students: note that all evaluation for this course happens at the end of the term. If you are concerned about getting feedback about your grade earlier than this, (a) participate in and attend class, and (b) consult with the instructor about your research project relatively early in the term.

Assignments and Evaluation

Evaluation will be based on written exercises and course participation as follows:

• Papers (undergrad: 2 papers of 35% each, for 70% total; graduate: one paper, 70%). Undergraduate students will write 2 papers of approximately 10 pages (2500 words) each, and graduate students will write 1 paper of approximately 20 pages (5000 words) on topics related to the class; some prompts will be offered, but I will generally accept papers on any topic related to the questions we study in class. These are expected to be analytical papers that make a strong argument, supported with properly-cited sources where necessary. The papers are due at the beginning of class period on each of the assigned days. Papers can be submitted in hardcopy or via email to dgolumbia-at-vcu.edu.
  
• Course Participation (30%): the instructor will assign a letter grade to each student reflecting their engaged participation in class, both online and offline, during the term. The main part of the intellectual work of this class occurs in the classroom and cannot be made up through other methods, so missing more than a few classes will seriously detract from your ability to benefit from the course. I take attendance in this class and attendance is included in your participation grade (see attendance policy below).

Course-Specific Policies

• Attendance. This course is taught primarily via discussion. Your attendance and participation are vital to its success. A significant portion of your grade (30%) depends on your class participation. "Class participation" does not necessarily mean that you have said what everyone thinks is the smartest thing in the world, but has much more to do with whether other students know your name by mid-semester because you contribute to discussion regularly. More than 3 unexcused absences will count against your final course grade. 5 unexcused absences results in automatic failure of the course. An "excused" absence is one where you have a verifiable illness, or important commitment of which you notify the instructor beforehand, and does not count against the unexcused absence policy. An "unexcused" absence is when you do not show up for class, without verifiable explanation or approval beforehand.
• No Late Work. No late work is accepted in this class. Work handed in late is automatically marked down one-third grade (e.g., a B becomes a B-) for each day it is late, and after one week becomes a failing grade for the assignment.
• Class Preparation. You are expected to have done the primary reading and any other primary course assignments before the beginning of course each week.
• Honor System. All work in this course is subject to the University's Honor System. You may work in teams for some assignments, but all written work must be solely your own, and any reliance on published work must be properly cited.
• Evaluations. Final grades for the course will not be released until the entire class has submitted online course evaluations.

Official VCU Policy Statements

Please consult the Provost's official page on topics such as classroom conduct, email, the Honor System, and other important policy issues.

Week-by-Week Syllabus

Week One. Introduction

• Weds Jan 18

Week Two. Introduction; McWhorter

• Mon Jan 23. No readng.
• Weds Jan 25. McWhorter, Introduction and Chapter 1

Week Three. McWhorter, What Language Is

• Mon Jan 30. McWhorter, Chapters 2 through 4
• Weds Feb 1. McWhorter, Chapter 5 and Epilogue

Week Four. Cratylus

• Mon Feb 6. Cratylus (entire dialogue); C. D. Reeve, Introduction to Cratylus
• Weds Feb 8. Nicholas White, "The Cratylus: Language and Reality"; Morris Henry Partee, "Plato's Theory of Language" (both on Blackboard)

Week Five. Cratylus

• Mon Feb 13. Mary Margaret MacKenzie, "Putting the Cratylus in Its Place"; Imogen Smith, "Fake Names, Demonstratives, and the Refutation of Lingustic Naturalism in Plato's Cratylus 427d1-431c3" (both on Blackboard)
• Weds Feb 15 (no class, instructor away)

Week Six. Kripke, Wittgenstein on Rules and Private Language

• Mon Feb 20. Kripke, Introduction, Chapters 1 and 2
• Weds Feb 22. Kripke, Postscript

Week Seven. Kripke, Wittgenstein on Rules and Private Language

• Mon Feb 27. Miller, "Introduction"; Forbes, “Skepticism and Semantic Knowledge”; Goldfarb, “Kripke on Wittgenstein on Rules” (all in Miller and Wright, eds., Rule-Following and Meaning, on Blackboard); Jónsson, "Quine and Kripke's Wittgenstein" (on Blackboard)
• Weds Mar 1. Boghossian, “The Rule-Following Considerations”; Zalabardo, “Kripke’s Normativity Argument” (both in Miller and Wright, eds., Rule-Following and Meaning, on Blackboard)

Spring Break. No classes.

• Mon Mar 6 (Spring Break)
• Weds Mar 8 (Spring Break)

Week Eight. Chomsky, Aspects of the Theory of Syntax

• Mon Mar 13. Complete text except Chapter 4.
• Weds Mar 15. Chapter 4. First paper due for those writing two shorter papers (turn in paper using Blackboard assignment tool).

Week Nine. Baker, Atoms of Language

• Mon Mar 20. Complete text except Chapter 7.
• Weds Mar 22. Chapter 7.

Week Ten. Chomsky, Science of Language

• Mon Mar 27. Parts I and II
• Weds Mar 29. Appendices

Week Eleven. Essays by Martin Heidegger, Walter Benjamin

• Mon Apr 3. Martin Heidegger, "The Way to Language" (Chapter X of Basic Writings), "Traditional Language and Technological Language" (both on Blackboard)
• Weds Apr 5. Walter Benjamin, "On Language as Such and the Language of Man" (on Blackboard)

Week Twelve. Taylor, The Language Animal

• Mon Apr 10. Chapters 1-4
• Weds Apr 12. Chapter 5

Week Thirteen. Taylor, The Language Animal

• Mon Apr 17. Chapters 6-8
• Weds Apr 19. Chapters 9 & 10

Week Fourteen. John Joseph, Jacques Derrida

• Mon Apr 24. John Joseph, Limiting the Arbitrary: Linguistic Naturalism and Its Opposites in Plato's Cratylus and Modern Theories of Language (complete text on Blackboard)
  • Selections: Introduction; Summary of Plato chapters (pages 83-89); Saussure/Chomsky/Pinker sections of Chapter 4 (pages 126-140); Chapter 5; Afterword
• Weds Apr 26. Derrida, Of Grammatology, Chapter 1: "The End of the Book and the Beginning of Writing" (complete book on Blackboard)

Week Fifteen. Derrida

• Mon May 1. Derrida,"The Linguistic Circle of Geneva," "Signature Event Context" (on Blackboard)

Final paper is due via email to the professor by the final exam period for this course, Monday May 8, 4pm. There is no final exam for this course.

Last updated April 20, 2017.