English Language and Culture 3301-JF2660-1ST
The course explores selected aspects of the English language within the context of cultural, literary, and societal changes. The analysis focuses on the key historical events, social movements, and cultural phenomena that have shaped the development of English over time. The curriculum includes the study of selected fragments of literary works, historical figures, cultural landmarks, and material artefacts that have contributed to the socio-historical evolution of the language, its contemporary form, and its prominent role in the modern global landscape.
Topics:
1. The English language as part of the Indo-European heritage
2. Roman Britain
3. The times of King Alfred: the literary boom and the Vikings
4. Harold II and William the Conqueror – faint figures on the Bayeux Tapestry
5. Gunhild – the forgotten princess and her relations with the Netherlands
6. Was Middle English a Creole language? The mosaic of dialects and languages of late medieval England
7. The printing revolution, language standard and writing: the impact of early publishers and printers
8. The Great Vowel Shift – a myth or the greatest change in English history?
9. The English Bible: Wycliff, King James, and the English language in the shadow of the Reformation
10. Great English libraries, collectors and readers
11. How did Hamlet speak? On the language of Shakespeare
12. Words, words, words.... – the age of lexicons, dictionaries and encyclopaedias
13. From RP to SBB – the changing fortunes of the language standard
14. English as the lingua franca of the modern world: from colonial imperium to pop culture superpower
Type of course
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
Knowledge
K_W10 The student acquires the knowledge of the historical development of the English language in the context of historical, cultural and social processes.
K_W09 The student learns how to use research tools and research techniques of phonology, especially as they are applied in historical phonology.
Abilities
K_U01 The student acquires the expertise to use linguistic terminology in the area of English philology.
Social competences
K-K02 The student acquires the understanding of professional standards, especially the understanding of the ever changing environment in research and as well as the understanding of the importance of continuous education.
Education at language level B2+
Assessment criteria
Facultative course for the first-level (BA) students.
Grading: midterm test, final test
Up to three absences are allowed.
Bibliography
Blake, N. F. 1996. A History of the English Language. Macmillan (selected fragments)
Knowles, G. 2014. (9th ed.) A Cultural History of the English Language. Routledge.
The Cambridge History of the English language. 1992-2001. General Editor: R. Hogg. Vol. 1-6. CUP. (selected fragments)
Selected articles or study chapters resulting from the current course programme.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: