Courses:

This course is the second of the three parts of our graduate introduction to semantics. The others are 24.970 "Introduction to Semantics" and 24.954 "Pragmatics in Linguistic Theory". Like the other courses, this one is not meant as an overview of the field and its current developments. Our aim is to help you develop the ability for semantic analysis, and we think that exploring a few topics in detail together with hands-on practical work is more effective than offering a bird's-eye view of everything. Once you have gained some experience in doing semantic analysis, reading around in the many recent handbooks and in current issues of major journals and attending our seminars and colloquia will give you all you need to prosper. Because we want to focus, we need to make difficult choices as to which topics to cover. We tend to rotate topics from year to year to keep the course fresh. Eventually, we hope to have a text book that would allow you to work through some additional topics not covered in a particular instantiation of the course. Until then, our apologies. This time around, we will work on two sets of topics: (1) modality, conditionals, scope in modal contexts, (2) tense, events, time adverbials.

24.970 "Introduction to Semantics" or permission of instructor. I will presuppose the material in chapters 1-8 of Heim & Kratzer, basic familiarity with Predicate Logic and some syntax (wh-movement, raising and control, Binding Theory).

1. Class Attendance
   
   Attending class meetings is an obligatory component of the class. Think of this as a regularly scheduled appointment with a group of friendly people with similar interests to yours. If you cannot make it to a class meeting, courtesy requires that you give prior notification (email or phone would be fine). There are of course acceptable excuses such as illness or family emergencies. Hangovers, disorganization, bad time management are not acceptable reasons to miss a class meeting. If there's a pattern of missing class, we will need to address the problem.
   
   
2. Class Participation
   
   You are expected to participate vigorously in class discussions. When I lecture, I expect you to listen for understanding, ask questions, raise problems, answer questions, etc. When another student asks a question or raises a problem or answers a question, you should listen for understanding and be engaged in the ensuing conversation.
   
   
3. Reading Assignments
   
   Required readings will be mostly from lecture notes, textbooks, handbook articles, and similar sources, plus a few original research papers. In terms of number of pages, this will be relatively little compared to our other graduate courses in linguistics, but don't be fooled: the material tends to be technical and therefore time-consuming. You will also have to select and read a few additional articles or book chapters on your own to write about in your term paper (more on which below).
   
   
4. Written Homework Assignments, with Presentation and Discussion
   
   Problems will be assigned almost every week, especially in the first two thirds of the semester. They will usually be due one week after they are assigned. Late submissions will not be accepted under any circumstances (since we will discuss the problems in class).
   
   Homework problems will usually be discussed in class shortly after they are due. You should come to these classes prepared to present and explain your answers to your classmates, and to articulate difficulties and questions that you have run into while working on it.
   
   Collaboration on the written submissions is okay (and I definitely would rather correct joint submissions than duplicates). Two restrictions apply: 1. No more than 2 people should do an assignment together. 2. Each collaborator has to take part in the written presentation of their joint results, and each should do some of the technical parts (writing up calculations) as well as some prose commentary. Each collaborator should be prepared to discuss the entire submission in class.
   
   
5. A Short Paper Related to the Topics Covered in 24.970 and/or 24.973
   
   Preferably, this will be a didactic exposition and critical discussion of points made in one or more publications which are not among the assigned readings, but are pertinent to the topics covered in class. This is not a summary or "book report!" The focus is on laying out an argument in such a way that it can be understood and evaluated by someone who has not read the papers you are commenting on, and on making explicit connections with the concepts and arguments we have employed in class. Many suitable references will be provided in the handouts and lectures through the course. This paper is due two days after lecture 23 (note that the 2nd semester term papers have staggered due dates). A 1-page proposal (a brief description of the topic you have chosen and a list of titles read and to be read) is due on lecture 19. Appointments to discuss ideas for paper topics or your work in progress can be arranged throughout the semester and are highly encouraged.