Harper Towers from the Midway
Some classes that I have innovated:
I have taught a wide range of general linguistics courses since I moved to the University of Chicago in Winter 1992, including “Language” (now defunct), “Introduction to Linguistics,” “Introduction to Syntax,” “Lexical Semantics,” “Semantics-Pragmatics,” “Seminar on Grammaticization,” “Seminar on Time Reference,” and, recently, “Structure of Bantu Languages.” Most of these reflect my concentration areas in graduate school, in which I also conducted my earlier professional research, before I retooled myself to study the development of creoles and, for the past few years, language evolution. I have also coordinated a workshop in “Language and Society,” and, with Professor William Wimsatt (Dept. of Philosophy, a workshop in “Evolutionary Processes in Biology, Language, and Culture.” Either of these workshops can be revived once there is a critical mass of interested students who are ready to lead discussions. Below are some courses that I have innovated more recently, some of which the University of Chicago may be alone or the first to offer:
• Cultural Consequences of Colonization
• The Ecology of Language Evolution
• The Development of Creole Vernaculars and Cultures
• Dialect Voices in Literature