Juhani Rudanko

professori

Vastuuoppialat ja -alueet

englantilainen filologia

perusopintojen vastuuprofessori

vastaanotto: ti 11.30-12.15

sähköposti: sähköpostiosoitehaku
huone: Pinni B 5001
puhelin: 3551 6149

Research projects

Change in Complementation: Principles Explaining Variation and Change Affecting Sentential Complements in Recent English

This research project is an investigation of variation, change, and innovation in the system of English predicate complementation during the Late Modern English period and in current English. The study of innovation in grammar is part of the study of grammatical change, with the term “innovation” laying a focus on the emergence and spread of grammatical patterns and structures that are novel from the point of view of the recent history of the system of the language. Read more

Constructing Freedom: Discourses of Freedom of Speech in the Early Republic

The research project investigates the emergence of freedom of speech in the early years of the American Republic. Major research questions include the following: how was it possible for the Bill of Rights, with its famous First Amendment, to be proposed and to be adopted as part of the United States Constitution in 1789-1791? Was there opposition to the enactment of the Bill of Rights, and if so, what was the nature of the opposition? How did freedom of speech evolve in the years after the enactment of the Bill of Rights? How and why was the Sedition Act of 1798 enacted and how were its provisions perceived in relation to the Bill of Rights? How did freedom of speech evolve during the War of 1812, the first war of the new Republic? How is the First Amendment regarded today? Read more

Discourses of Power and Persuasion in Literary Texts

The project focuses on discourses of power, empowerment, and persuasion in literary texts, so far concentrating on major works of dramatic poetry in early English literature, especially the plays of William Shakespeare. For instance, the project examines the strategies to assert, challenge, and disrupt relations of power in such discourses. The project brings methods of linguistic pragmatics to bear on the study of literary texts, taking the historical context of the texts investigated into account. Read more

Constructing the Interface of Syntax and Semantics in Current English: Principles and Generalizations to Explain the System of English Predicate Complementation

The project develops explanatory principles and generalizations for the understanding of the system of English predicate complementation. The focus is on the core area of non-finite complements in present-day English. Both to infinitive and -ing complements are examined, including non-prepositional and prepositional -ing clauses, in order to determine their nature and position in the system. The point of departure is the identification of the constructions on a syntactic basis, using both a head-based and a pattern-based mode of investigation. Read more