If you would like (for some inane or perhaps insane reason), here is the course syllabus for your reading pleasure. Of course, I reserve the right to amend it, so please treat this as a guideline.

For those of you that have taken courses from me, you will recall that we have had no textbooks, and in the present course we will also have no textbook. Class material will be available on both Dropbox and Google Drive, and feel free to download, save, print, or otherwise use it. I seldom make paper handouts, but if you prefer paper, please take care of printing files yourself.

You might be wondering about the course requirements. Not wanting to scare people away, I have wisely included them way, way, way down at the bottom of the page in 2-point font. Actually, you will find them hiding down below, but just not in 2-point font. Let's cover some admin things, just for fun.

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Hereafter you will find a reasonably detailed synopsis of the respective classes we will enjoy this term.

Thus, with no further ado, here are the four units with their total of 15 sessions.

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I refer here to the necessary background concepts that will underpin your understanding of the ensuing discussions. In a book such material is often called front matter, and we shall do the same. Our first two classes will deal with such front matter.

Session #1 (Tuesday, October 4) — Introduction 

As often happens on the first day of class, we'll be speaking in somewhat general terms about our course and some of the topics therein.

Homework:

Session #2 (October 11) — Intro to Corpus Linguistics 

In our class this morning, I'd like to provide a brief introduction to corpus linguistics. Because this is a large and growing area in our field, I've opted to add a separate page to only begin to scratch the surface. Follow this link to our resource page with some information on corpus linguistics.

we will be looking at the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA), which comes to use courtesy of Brigham Young University in the US. You will recall that I mentioned a series of very helpful YouTube videos on using this corpus, the first of which is at this link.

In the video to the right (click the ant), you'll find the first in a series of video clips on how to use AntConc. As you'll know from class, we will be looking at software developed by and available courtesty of Dr. Laurence Anthony of Waseda University. These various programs are available on the software page on his website.

Class Material & Homework:

Session #3 (October 18) — Corpus Linguistics Workshop 1 

Today we will be using some of Dr. Anthony's software to explore (possbly). However,

Quite a corpus webpage here.

Search tips for COCA:

Session #4 (October 25) — Corpus Linguistics Workshop 2 (Abstract Analysis) 

OK, Gentle Students, today we will look at language used in some abstracts from the academic world. As you will see, this is a very basic procedure that you will find provides some insight into the structure of abstracts. Incidentally, this will also provide you an opportunity to become more proficient in the use of Excel.

Homework:

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Session #5 (November 1) — Abstracts, Part 1 

In these next two sessions we will delve into the oh-so-necessary world of abstracts. This are short, concise statements that are often what determines if a reader will choose to actually read your article or come to watch your conference presentation. Thus, Gentle Students, these are crucial.

Abstracts, as you will see in the examples below, are relatively brief summaries that appear at the beginning of an article. Often they mirror the organization of the article or presentation yet must follow certain guidelines (e.g., number of words). Let's begin with a look at a how abstracts are often organized.

Class Material:

Homework:

Session #6 (November 8) —  Abstracts, Part 2 

In today's session we will spend much of our time working with the abstracts from last week or receiving feedback on your earlier homework.

Homework:

Recall that we will have no class on November 15 because I have to attend a meeting that morning.

Session #7 (November 22) —  Conference Proposals 

This class will be devoted to crafting proposals for conference presentations, which is a scenario you might well encounter in the future (and I hope you do so!). As you will remember from class, the keys here are to (a) very succinctly outline what your proposal will include and (b) state how the listener will benefit from attending your presentation.

Readings:

If we have time, we might watch this TED talk in which Dr. John McWhorter discusses four reasons to learn a new language.

Homework for December 6:

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Session #8 (December 6) —  Webpage Reviews 

In our class today we will be considering an area about which some other considerations are useful. The computer has, in the last 30 years or so, come to play vital roles in our everyday lives, and as such we spend countless hours peering at screens (my current one is a 27-inch monitor beside my laptop, but I also spend some time looking at the much smaller screen of my iPhone 6S). While screens are handy vehicles for conveying information, their composition is important, too; here, think of color, layout, links, font, and so forth.

Your homework is to review two webpages based on what we talk about in class today. You will hand in a webpage review in this form by Session #12 on January 17, so you have over one month to do a great job on this.

You may choose from among the following websites, but I encourage you to look elsewhere as well.

A sampling of webpages for your consideration:

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Session #9 (December 20) —  Peak Oil background 

As noted in the heading, this day we will spend wallowing in information about the Peak Oil situation we are facing. Although some folks disagree that there is actually such a situation, it seems quite clear that oil is a finite resource.

As you'll know from class, your task over the next three weeks is to become well informed about this issue. The culmination of this final unit includes two activities: (a) crafting a position paper (2-3 pages), and (b) making a presentation on February 7 about your particular area of interest.

In the video to the left (click the image), you'll find an interesting explanation of peak oil.

Finally, here you'll find an article published by the good people at Scientific American titled "The End of Cheap Oil?" that brought this issue more fully into the news.

Peak Oil Materials:

Session #10 (January 10) —  Politics and Peak Oil 

With the recent election of Donald Trump as the next president of the US, it would behoove us to consider the role that politics can and might very well play in the next few years in the energy arena.

From the Post Carbon Institute and then Resilience.com, we find this nicely written essay by Richard Heinberg on Peak Oil. If you scroll down about halfway, you'll find a photo of Mr. Trump, which is followed by some thoughts on his administration's possible effect on the oil industry. Mr. Trump, you should know, has nominated oil industry people for several key positions in his government.

However, Michael Lynch, an energy analyst, suggests in this essay that Trump's influence might very well be overstated given the size and international nature of the oil industry.

Session #12 (January 17) —  The Position Paper 

Today we will consider this Peak Oil topic in more detail and you will then (either individually or in groups) decide on one aspect that you would like to explore further. This exploration will culminate in a short position paper, which is a document that expresses one side of an issue that can be debated. A position paper can be, of course, any length; imagine a letter to an editor in a newpaper or magazine. Some, however, are considerably longer. Bearing in mind that our class is about short writing, your goal is to craft a position paper of two pages in addition to a title page.

Readings & Homework:

Session #12 (January 24) —  No Class Today 

Please remember that we will have no class on this day. I have some exam duties to take care of, so please enjoying sleeping in (for an extra 15 minutes) and then working hard on your English homework. Of course.

Session #13 (January 31) —  Response Letters 

This class will be devoted to the relatively easy task of writing position papers.

Readings & Homework:

Session #14 (Febuary 7) —  Final Presentation

For a change of pace, today we will enjoy oral presentations about some facet of the Peak Oil exercise we've been addressing the last few classes. The content is, as you know, the same as you'll have written in your (your group's) position paper. As always, I expect good preparation of your PowerPoint (and you may, of course, use such similar software as Keynote or Prezi).

Homework:

1. Regular and active participation in class. I expect you to be physically present and mentally engaged. Questions? Always good, as are opinions, comments, and even random thoughts you have. (15%)


2. Submissions:
• Summer vacation essays (10%)
• Summer revision with corpus explanation (10%)
• Abstracts (15%);
• Conference proposals (10%)
• Webpage review (10%)
• Peak Oil position paper (20%) and presentation (10%)

For other things (my procedure regarding late assignments, for example), please speak with me directly.

Please be aware that I have to submit grades by February 16, so please plan accordingly and submit everything in a timely fashion. I will not be pleased if I receive a mountain of late homework on that day.