Abstract: In this seminar course, we will study themes in the history of programming languages. The primary goal is to understand the discipline as it exits today and how its major themes evolved. Initially, the seminar will focus on the theme of formal description of programming languages, including syntax and various flavors of semantics. The choice of other themes will depend on students' preferences.

The secondary goal is to develop basic skills for understanding and describing research themes. Every student will study a theme via a series of papers, prepare an annotated bibliography, present a summary and an evaluation of the papers. These skills will be helpful for all those students who will continue to conduct research for their dissertation and/or for their career.