Asyllabus (/ˈsɪləbəs/;pl.:syllabuses[1] orsyllabi[2])[3] orspecification is a document that communicates information about anacademic course or class and defines expectations and responsibilities. It is generally an overview or summary of thecurriculum. A syllabus may be set out by anexamination board or prepared by the tutor or instructor who teaches or controls the course. The syllabus is usually handed out and reviewed in the first class. It can also be available online or electronically transmitted as an e-syllabus.[4]
The word is also used more generally for an abstract or programme of knowledge, and is best known in this sense as referring to twocatalogues published by theCatholic Church in 1864 and 1907 condemning certain doctrinal positions.[5]
According to theOxford English Dictionary, the wordsyllabus derives frommodern Latinsyllabus 'list', in turn from a misreading of the Greekσίττυβοςsittybos (the leather parchment label that gave the title and contents of a document), which first occurred in a 15th-century print ofCicero's letters to Atticus.[1][6] Earlier Latin dictionaries such asLewis and Short contain the wordsyllabus,[7] relating it to the non-existent Greek wordσύλλαβος, which appears to be a mistaken reading ofsyllaba 'syllable'; the newerOxford Latin Dictionary does not contain this word.[8][self-published source?] The apparent change fromsitty- tosylla- is explained as ahypercorrection by analogy toσυλλαμβάνω (syllambano 'bring together, gather').[8]
Chambers Dictionary agrees that it derives from the Greek for a book label, but claims that the original Greek was a feminine noun,sittybā,σίττυβα, borrowed by Latin, the misreading coming from an accusative plural Latinsittybas.[9]
In a 2002 study, Parks and Harris suggest "a syllabus can serve students as a model of professional thinking and writing".[10]
In 2005, Slattery & Carlson describe the syllabus as a "contract betweenfaculty members and theirstudents, designed to answer student's questions about a course, as well as inform them about what will happen should they fail to meet course expectations". They promote using actionverbs (identify, analyze, evaluate) as opposed to passive verbs (learn, recognize, understand) when creating course goals.[11] Habanek stresses the importance of the syllabus as a "vehicle for expressing accountability and commitment."[12]
