<p>This course of 36 lectures surveys the history of the English language, from its origins as a dialect of Germanic-speaking peoples, through the literary and cultural documents of its 1,500-year history, to the state of American speech of the present day. The course is in three parts. Part I focuses on the development of English in its earliest forms. We begin with the study of Indo-European, the posited 5,000-year-old original from which the modern and classical European, Iranian, and Indian languages emerged. The lectures move to the Germanic branch of languages and to the Anglo-Saxons who settled the British Isles beginning in the fifth century. Old English emerges as the literary vernacular of the Anglo-Saxons and flourishes until the Norman Conquest in the mid-eleventh century. The interplay of English, French, and Latin from the eleventh to the fifteenth century generates the forms of Middle English in which Chaucer, among others, wrote, and gives us a sense of a trilingual medieval British culture. Part II begins with the emergence of English as an official language after the decline of French in the fifteenth century. This set of lectures charts the changes in pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary that distinguish Middle English from Modern English. It looks closely at the rise of an English literary vernacular, and it suggests some ways in which we can trace changes in word meanings by using the resources of historical dictionaries. Part III focuses on American English and the modes of studying the history of the language today. Professor Seth Lerer is Avalon Foundation Professor in Humanities and Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Stanford University. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.</p>

The History of the English Language DVDs: The Teaching Company (The Great Courses)

Seth Lerer

The Teaching Company Limited P

At the dawn of World War I, the United States was only a rising power. Our reputation was relatively benign among Middle Easterners, who saw no imperial ambitions in our presence and were grateful for the educational and philanthropic services Americans provided. Yet by September 11, 2001, everything had changed. The United States had now become the unquestioned target of those bent on attacking the West for its perceived offenses against Islam. How and why did this transformation come about? And how did each of the factors that make the Middle East so complex contribute to this transformation? This series of 24 lectures by an award-winning scholar is a narrative history of U.S. political involvement in the Middle East from World War I to the present day. Presented from a historian's balanced perspective, it will strengthen your ability to place today's headlines into historical context, evaluate what is most likely to happen next, and understand those oncoming events when they occur. Step by step, with attention to the viewpoints and motivations of each nation and leader involved, the lectures explore growing American involvement in the Middle East; the ongoing quest for political independence and self-mastery by Middle Easterners; the difficulty the United States has experienced in weighing diverse and conflicting objectives in the region, especially as the cold war against the Soviet Union intensified; and the increasing antagonism between Americans and Middle Easterners that came to such a shocking culmination on September 11, 2001.

The United States and the Middle East: 1914 to 9/11

Salim Yaqub

PARTS 1 & 2 IN 2 STURDY PLASTIC LIBRARY-TYPE CASES:12 CASSETTES2 COURSE GUIDEBOOKS,24 LECTURES (30 MINUTES EACH)

Philosophy as a Guide to Living

Politics & Social Sciences

Erickson, Stephen A. (Taught by)

Philosophy

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the The Teaching Company Limited P publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by The Teaching Company Limited P

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the The Teaching Company Limited P publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The History of the English Language DVDs: The Teaching Company (The Great Courses)

The United States and the Middle East: 1914 to 9/11

Philosophy as a Guide to Living