Introduction to Syntax
A graduate-level introduction to syntactic theory from MIT, focused on the Government and Binding, Principles and Parameters, and Minimalist Program traditions. The course is the first in a two-part sequence (paired with 24.952 in the spring) and concentrates on phrase structure, argument structure, and A-movement, while touching on wh-movement and other topics that later courses treat in depth. Rather than presenting a single settled framework, the material traces how competing analyses of the same syntactic problems developed historically, asking why linguists have handled certain phenomena in certain ways at certain points. Course materials, available through MIT OpenCourseWare under a Creative Commons license, include lecture notes, readings, and problem sets used in the actual MIT course. No certificate is offered, but all materials are free to access and use for self-study.