Reinventing English: The Troubled Future of Reading, Writing, and Thinking
Overview
The English language is changing at a faster rate than almost everย before. Not only are new words and new expressions entering popularย expression, but the language is becoming more evocative and idiomatic.ย Digital technologies have changed the way we write and read. Globalย media has helped make English into a world language โ but a worldย language with many different social, regional, and culturalย variations.
Should English be an official language; what standards do we use inย public discourse; what happens when cultures come together andย introduce new words; what role does technology have in languageย change? These are all questions that, in one form or another, haveย been asked for a thousand years โ ever since the Anglo-Saxons firstย committed โEnglishโ into writing and created poetry and prose of powerย and imagination. English has always been reinvented by everyone whoย speaks and writes it. In this course, led by literature professor and award-winning writer Seth Lerer, we will search for ways ofย anticipating future changes to the language and prepare for a world inย which English will be reinvented before our eyes and ears.
Reviews
Most of your lecturers are excellent, but Seth Lerner is in a class by himself. Makes me want to go back to college and enroll at UCSD to get him as a teacher. He is so knowledgeable and an eloquent speaker. As a former English major, I feel relatively qualified to judge him.
This was my introduction to One Day UniversityโI am hooked! Great lecture! Thank you.