The history of a language is the history of the people who speak it, those who read and write it, and those who come into contact with it. This is a course in which we will examine the origin and development of the English language, from its earliest beginnings in the misty past, through Old English (or Anglo-Saxon), Middle English, Early Modern English, and Present Day English, and across the post-modern globe. Language is a fundamental cornerstone of all human culture. The study of what language is and how it changes, and how these changes are grounded in parallel cultural changes, is therefore a subject of intrinsic value, especially to those interested in literature, linguistics, history, and cultural studies.