UISS 170 - Why We Talk: Origins of Human Language

3 credit(s)
How did modern human language originate? Did it evolve through the processes and mechanisms of natural selection, as other complex biological systems have? Or are there alternative explanations? What might be some ways to approach these questions? Drawing on the knowledge of many disciplines including, but not limited to, anthropology, archaeology, biology, complexity, ethology, evolutionary theory, geology, gestural communication, history, linguistics, music, neuroscience, psychology, and speech science, this course attempts to make sense of the crucial questions raised by, as well as the findings of, those investigating the origins of language. (Formerly AUCS 170)

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