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I. English.
B. A. COURSE.
The B. A. course in English is designed to lay a broad foundation
for the intelligent study of the language on both the historical (philological)
and the literary sides. The opportunity is seized from the beginning
to interest the student in the history and etymology of current
English words and phrases, to point him by a general course of Anglo-Saxon
(Old English) and Middle English to the gradual genesis and
evolution of Modern English as we have it now, and to furnish him
with ample material for the prosecution of further study and research
in one of the most delightful fields open to the modern student. A
carefully graded series of texts and text-books will lead the student
from the language of Alfred through Chaucer and the Elizabethans to
the English of Victoria; and practical weekly or fortnightly exercises
in English composition on assigned topics will, it is hoped, shape his
style and enlarge his knowledge of contemporary English. Three times
a week.
Text-Books—First Term: Harrison and Baskervill's Anglo-Saxon Reader;
Emerson's or Champneys' History of the English Language; Williams' Composition
and Rhetoric.
Second Term: Corson's Introduction to Chaucer; Harrison-Baskervill (completed);
Williams' Composition and Rhetoric (continued); Brooke's English Literature
(begun).
Third Term: Anglo-Saxon, Brooke, Corson and Williams, completed; Hales's
Longer English Poems; the Arden Shakspere.
Note: It is desirable that students entering this class should have studied at
least a standard English Grammar and a standard Rhetoric. No previous knowledge
of Old English is required.
GRADUATE COURSES.
M. A.
This course is a more specialized form of the B. A. course on the
same general lines; a knowledge of Anglo-Saxon is essential to its
profitable prosecution. The historical study of the language is pursued
in greater detail; the student's attention is concentrated on the history
and origins of English; lectures on the Poetry and Life of the
Anglo-Saxons are given; Fourteenth Century English receives detailed
attention, and selected works of the Elizabethan period will be examined
and studied critically.
The effort will constantly be made to make these courses in the English
Language run parallel on the linguistic side with the courses in
English Literature, so that the two may profitably be taken together.
Three times a week.
Text-Books.—First Term: Sweet's or Bright's Anglo-Saxon Reader; Sweet's
Short English Grammar; Morris and Skeat's Specimens, II.
Second Term: Skeat's Principles, I; the Student's Chaucer; Brooke's History
of Old English Literature; Professor's Lectures; Anglo-Saxon continued.
Third Term: Beowulf; Skeat's Principles, II; Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (completed);
Moulton's Literary Study of the Bible; Brooke (completed).
Note: In 1899 the M. A. class discussed once a week in the English Seminary,
second term, written reports on points connected with Chaucer's language, vocabulary,
proverbs, learning, versification, etc. During the third term the English Bible
formed the center of the Seminary work. (As in '98.)
A piece of technical work, such as the construction of a vocabulary,
the examination of particular points in syntax or grammar, or the discussion
of a particular author, may be required of the M. A. graduate.
PH. D.
Here only general hints and suggestions can be given, the course
adapting itself to the preferences of the student. The foundations will
be laid in a thorough knowledge of Gothic, Old and Middle High German,
and Old French to the Sixteenth Century; phonetics will be carefully
studied; and the principles of comparative grammar and syntax
will be duly explained.
Frequent conference, stated examination, and original research will
form essential parts of this course.
The Professor's large and choice collection of Anglo-Saxon, English,
German, and French philological works is open to the students.
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