A brief history of communication: hieroglyphics to emojis

This free course, A briefhistory of communication: hieroglyphics to emojis, is an introduction to the history of writing, and the key role it plays in human communication. It tracks this history from the invention of writing around 5500 years ago to the mass popularity of emojis today.

• Introduction
• Learning outcomes
• 1 Language and everyday technologies
• 1 Language and everyday technologies
• 2 A brief history of writing
• 2 A brief history of writing
• 3 Communicating in symbols and pictures
• 3 Communicating in symbols and pictures
• 3.1 Textspeak and language change
• 3.2 Picture-based writing
• 4 The birth of writing
• 4 The birth of writing
• 4.1 Broadening the reach of language
• 4.2 Different types of meaning-making
• 4.3 From alphabet to emojis
• 5 The universality of body language
• 5 The universality of body language
• 6 Emojis as a supplement to written language
• 6 Emojis as a supplement to written language
• 7 Designing emojis
• 7 Designing emojis
• Conclusion
• References
• Acknowledgements