Alphabets and Beyond: Technology, Innovation, and Variation in The World’s Writing Systems (Virtual Sample Class)

Writing is believed to have been independently invented three times across history, in three different places. This mini lecture, led by Professor Christopher Green, explores the technological innovation of writing, with a survey of the world’s writing systems. By considering the diverse structural properties of writing systems and how they have developed, changed, and influenced one another over time, students will learn to identify and describe novel writing systems and understand the insights that they offer to the study of speech science and linguistics. This will be a useful introduction to what the courses offered by Syracuse's Department of Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics in the College of Arts and Sciences are like.