A Little Music Before We Begin
Lingua Franca 2018-11-12
Summary:
The class listened to Aretha when they discussed propers.
When students walk into my 8:30 a.m. linguistics class this semester, the room is no longer silent. They may hear a little jazz by John Coltrane or a classic song by Tracy Chapman or a recent hit by Beyoncé. The point is that the room is filled with music as students arrive.
The idea came to me this past spring as part of my work on a university task force focused on undergraduate education. On the task force, we’ve been talking a lot a...