Date: Tue, 9 May 1995 07:57:32 -0500

From: Natalie Maynor maynor[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]RA.MSSTATE.EDU

Subject: Re: Linguistics in the Core Curriculum



Is linguistics an option in your core curriculum? Specifically, is it an

option in the social science selections (with psychology, sociology,

economics, anthropology)? If so, is it an option for all students or just

students in certain majors?



Our core curriculum situation is too complicated to explain in detail when

I've got to go give an exam five minutes from now, but the simple answer to

your question is that there are no linguistics courses that count as

university core requirements (but usually students have no trouble getting

the university requirements out of the way, with courses to spare). Certain

linguistics courses will count, however, in the social sciences section of

the Arts & Sciences core. The courses that will count are cross-listed

courses taken as AN or SO instead of as EN. English majors have caught on

that they can get rid of a social sciences core requirement by taking

another English course if they choose a cross-listed course and take it

as anthro or socio instead of as English.



I've got a similar question. All of our linguistics courses (except

Descriptive English Grammar, which is taken primarily by English-Ed

majors as a certification requirement) are upper-level courses: junior-

senior-graduate. But a course like Intro to Linguistics "feels" like

a sophomore level course. Do any of you have similar situations? Trying

to make it more like an upper-level course doesn't make sense to me since

juniors and seniors and even grad students who haven't had any earlier

linguistics training aren't necessarily any readier for more depth than

sophomores are. Another question: Do those of you who offer intro at

the sophomore level have any kind of introductory linguistics course for

graduate students? If so, does that course include some who had the

lower level course and some who have had no exposure to the subject?

If yes, how do you handle it? (I'm asking because I've thought about

proposing a sophomore level course here and am trying to think through

the ramifications.)



I hope this makes sense. No time to read back over it. Am almost late

for exam.

--Natalie (maynor[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ra.msstate.edu)