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From small talk to big media
The natural home of human sociality is in small groups of people interacting at close range. In all likelihood, this is the setting in which language evolved, and it remains the
setting in which most of our communicative interactions take place. However, out of this small-scale practice other communicative practices developed, which radically transformed communication and broadened its scope at the same time. The first and most significant development was the invention of writing in the 4th millennium BC, followed in more recent times by printing technology, the internet, and social media. These technologies have transformed human societies almost beyond recognition, if only because they made it possible for people to organise (or be organised) and communicate with each other on a far larger scale than before: nations, bureaucracies, armies, Facebook friends, and so on. The aim of this course is to study these larger-scale forms of communication by tracing their evolution and comparing and contrasting them to the small-scale forms from which they originated.
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This course is part of a module of three courses in the Philosophy, Politics and Society bachelor programme. You can only take this course if you also take the two associated courses during the same semester. If you want to register for the three courses in this module, you must FIRST register for the module itself via the 'Minor' tab in Osiris, and THEN register for the courses themselves. For an overview of modules and their associated courses, see the course guides on the website of the Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies.
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