Meeting time. 12:30-2pm Tuesdays and Thursdays, KCB 106.

Professor. Paul Hagstrom, 718 Commonwealth Ave. (Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages & Literatures), Office 401B. Email: hagstrom@bu.edu (likely to get a quick response). Phone: 617-353-6220 (x3-6220). Office hours: M 11-12,T 3-4, R11-12pm.

Prerequisites. CAS LX 250 (a.k.a. CAS LX 253) ("Foundations of Language"–Intro to linguistics), EN 511, or equivalent.

Course goals. This is part one of a two-part syntax course. In the first semester, we will concentrate on introducing some fundamental concepts of the "Principles & Parameters" approach to syntax. We will be covering concepts from the Minimalist Program for linguist theory and Government and Binding, both central to most current work in theoretical syntax. We will make our way pretty much entirely through the course textbook, with some supplementary materials as well (to be be made available as the course progresses).

Course Requirements. Homework. Weekly homework assignments. Midterm exam. Tue, Oct. 19 (in class). Final exam. Sat, Dec 18, 9-11am (room KCB 106).

Homework. Whenever feasible, homework can be emailed to me at hagstrom@bu.edu. Text-only is preferred, but you may also send PDF, RTF, or Microsoft Word files. Postscript files are less welcome, and don’t even bother sending Word Perfect, TeX or LaTeX files. Wherever email won’t work for any reason (e.g., for tree diagrams), homework can be turned in at the beginning of class. Be aware that if you use any special fonts, I may not be able to read your homework–be sure you know how to "include" nonstandard fonts (or send it to me early, so I can let you know if I was unable to read it).

Late assignments. Late assignments will not be accepted without prior arrangement.

Textbook (required). Adger, David (2003). Core syntax: A minimalist approach . Oxford University Press. (Note: Shop around, it may be cheaper to get it through Amazon or Oxford if you can get it in time.).

Readings. Occasionally, supplemental readings may be assigned. These readings will be available in the hallway outside my office suite, in a folder labeled LX522. You may take the readings out for no more than an hour to make a personal photocopy, and then they should be returned to the folder so that others may photocopy them.

CAS Student Academic Conduct Code. As a member of a CAS course, it is essential that you read and adhere to the CAS Student Academic Conduct Code. In particular, several types of plagiarism (any attempt to represent the work of another as your own) are defined by this academic conduct code. A copy is available in CAS 105.