Meeting time: MWF 11-12, CAS 221
Instructor: Peter Alrenga
Email: palrenga@bu.edu (preferred)
Phone: (617) 353-6221
Office: 621 Commonwealth Ave., Rm. 110
Office Hours: Tu 4-6pm, F 12-1pm (and by appointment)
Prerequisite: None
Course Description: This course surveys the modern foundations of linguistics as a cognitive science. The cognitive sciences include psychology, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, linguistics, philosophy, and anthropology—these different fields are united by their shared concern with the mind and its architecture. Simultaneous developments in these fields during the mid-1950s led to a genuinely new way of understanding our mental lives. Central to the emergence of this new interdisciplinary endeavor was the approach to the study of language advocated by Noam Chomsky. We will review the central tenets of Chomsky’s approach, and then go on to explore some of the numerous ways in which the study of language informs, and is informed by, the other cognitive sciences.
Textbooks & Supplementary Readings: Our primary textbooks (available at the BU Bookstore) will be:
1. Jackendoff, Ray. 1994. Patterns in the Mind. New York: Basic Books.
2. Baker, Mark C. 2001. The Atoms of Language. New York: Basic Books.
In addition, a variety of other readings will be distributed to students as PDFs available from the course website. Wherever possible, readings have been chosen that presume little or no background knowledge. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, all readings are required, and should be completed by the beginning of class.
Attendance & Participation: Regular attendance is required for a passing grade in this course, and participation in class discussions is expected. Together, attendance and participation will account for 5% of your overall grade.
Quizzes: Throughout the semester, there will be four in-class quizzes. These will serve to test your understanding of our recent course readings and class discussions. The quizzes will consist of both short-answer questions that target specific portions of our course content, as well as longer, essay-style questions which ask you to reflect upon and synthesize the larger themes of our course. Each quiz will constitute 17.5% of your overall grade.
Final Exam: There will be a cumulative final exam on Wednesday, December 19 from 12:30pm-2:30pm. The questions posed on the final exam will resemble those from the quizzes. The final exam will constitute 25% of your overall grade.
Academic Conduct: You are expected to abide by Boston University’s Academic Conduct Code (accessible at http://www.bu.edu/academics/resources/academic-conduct-code/). Academic misconduct in any form (including, but not limited to, cheating on exams) will not be tolerated.
Make-up Policy: It is your responsibility to bring any potential scheduling conflicts to my attention as soon as they arise, so that alternative arrangements can be made. In the absence of any prior arrangements, no make-up exams will be given. Also, it is expected that you will complete the final exam during its regularly scheduled time—please make your winter travel plans accordingly.