IAH 231C THEMES AND ISSUES: LANGUAGE AND THE BRAIN

Fall 2014 Syllabus

Course:
Days:
Professor:
Office Hours:

IAH 231C, 4 credits

T,Th; Times: 10.20 11.40; Room: B117 Wells Hall
Alan Beretta, Dept of Linguistics, B465 Wells Hall
Th, 2.00 4.00 p.m.

Recitations:
All recitation sessions meet on Fridays
Group Leader:
Office Hours:
Section 001
Section 002
Section 003
Section 004

Patrick Kelley B-320 Wells Hall

Tu, 9:00 10:00; M, 1:00 2:00
9.10
10.00 A303 Wells
10.20 11.10 A303 Wells
11.30 12.20 A303 Wells
12.40 1.30
A302 Wells

Group Leader:
Office Hours:
Section 005
Section 006
Section 007
Section 008

Tyler Roberts B-320 Wells Hall

Th, 9:00 10:00, W, 1:00 2:00
9.10
10.00 C105 Wonders
10.20 11.10 C105 Wonders
11.30 12.20 C105 Wonders
12.40 1.30
C105 Wonders

Aims of the Course

Language is one of the wonders of the natural world, and for the first time in history there
is something to say about it which begins to appreciate its true nature. Fifty years ago, a
revolution in our understanding of language occurred, and spectacular advances have
been made in the years since. There is an air of great excitement in linguistics, and this
course aims to communicate what the excitement is all about by introducing a view of
language as an innate genetic endowment, as natural to us as having hearts. We examine
this view of language by considering such questions as: How does language work? How
is it structured? How do children acquire it so effortlessly? Is language separate from
other faculties of the mind/brain? Why is it that certain kinds of brain damage leave
victims able to understand some kinds of sentences but unable to understand others?
What do we know from neuroimaging and electrophysiology about how language is
instantiated in the brain? By addressing questions such as these, we obtain a clearer view
of what language is really like.

Plan of the Course

August
28 Syllabus; Explanations; Survey of Course
September
02 Film # 1
04 Film # 2
09 Is language innate or learned?
11 Syntax 1
16 Syntax 2
18 Syntax 3
23 Syntax 4
25 Syntax 5
30 EXAM # 1
October
02 Syntax & Language Acquisition 1
07 Syntax & LA 2
09 Syntax & LA 3
14 Syntax & LA 4
16 Syntax & LA 5
21 Syntax & LA 6
23 EXAM # 2
28 Term Paper Discussion: Platos problem applied to language
30 Unifying linguistic theory and brain theory
November
04 Brain anatomy
06 Neuronal communication
1st draft of Term Paper due
11 Neuronal communication
13 Aphasia
18 Aphasia
20 Electrophysiology
Final version of Term Paper may be turned in at any time between now and Dec 12.
25 EEG responses to enriched meaning
27 THANKSGIVING
December
02 Nicaraguan Sign Language: the birth of a language
04 EXAM # 3
10
Last opportunity to turn in Final version of Term Paper

Course Requirements
1.

Attendance at Lectures:
Attendance will not be taken at lectures or recitations. However, the exams will include a large amount
of information that is not in the course book and which is only treated in the lectures. Finally,
announcements concerning rescheduling if any of the syllabus will be made in the lectures. If you
miss any lectures for whatever reason, it is your responsibility to get notes for the classes missed.
Office hours are not to go through whole lectures one-on-one.

2.

Examinations:
Three sit-down examinations will be given during the semester. These exams involve drawing
syntactic trees, making inferences, and answering multiple-choice and true-false questions. No student
will be admitted to these exams after the first person has completed his or her examination. There will
also be a Term Paper. The 1 st draft of the term paper (typed, double-spaced, stapled) is due by
November 6, no exceptions, so plan ahead in case you are ill (you can always turn in any time after Oct
28, so there is no reason to risk leaving it until the last minute). The final version of the term paper is
due any time between November 20 and December 10, no exceptions (so, dont leave it until the last
minute).

3.

Make-Up Exams:
Make-up exams for the Three Examinations are given ONLY in the case of documented illnesses and
emergencies which fit the Universitys definition of such cases. You must contact the professor or your
TA within two days of the exam to arrange a make-up, if you qualify.

4.

Evaluation:
*Term Paper
10%
*Examinations
Exam # 1
30%
Exam # 2
30%
Exam # 3
30%
_____________________________________
Total
100%

Evaluation Calculation: Grades will be assigned as follows:

90100%
4.0
8589%
3.5
8084%
3.0
7579%
2.5
7074%
2.0
6569%
1.5
6064%
1.0
0059%
0.0
You will be able to calculate your grade easily, because all you need to do is add up your score on the
exams and term paper. The result will be a percentage, which will correspond to one of the grades above.
6. E-mail
The class is large (200), so it will not be possible for the TAs or myself to deal with e-mails except for
emergencies. Emergencies are whatever causes you to miss an exam, which has to be fully documented, as
noted above. I will not respond to other e-mails. For all other issues, there are ample daily opportunities in

classes, recitations, and any one of a wide range of office hours (either office hours, recitations, or classes
are on every single week day).