Spring 2023

MELC 118 001 - LEC 001

Writing Systems of the World

Adam Benkato

Jan 17, 2023 - May 05, 2023

Tu, Th

02:00 pm - 03:29 pm

Social Sciences Building 151

Class #:31145

Units: 4

Instruction Mode: In-Person Instruction

Offered through Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures

Current Enrollment

Total Open Seats: 23

Enrolled: 12

Waitlisted: 0

Capacity: 35

Waitlist Max: 10

No Reserved Seats

Hours & Workload

3 hours of instructor presentation of course materials per week, 9 to 8 hours of outside work hours per week, and 0 to 1 hours of the exchange of opinions or questions on course material per week.

Other classes by Adam Benkato

+ 1 Independent Study

AHMA 299 003 003IND

This course is about how humans have written language from ancient to modern times. Students will be introduced to the origins, evolutions, and adaptations of writing and explore various types of writing systems, including hieroglyphic, logographic, alphabetic, and syllabic, from around the world. The course will examine topics such as the invention of writing in ancient Mesopotamia, China, and Mesoamerica, the development of hieroglyphics in ancient Egypt, the evolution of the alphabet, the spread of Semitic scripts like Aramaic and Arabic, the invention of modern scripts such as Cherokee and Adlam, and even Emoji. Students will be encouraged to learn about additional scripts not covered in class as part of their assignments.

Class Description

This course provides a hands-on engagement with writings systems and scripts. While covering such topics as the ancient inventions of writing, the evolution of the alphabet, modern scripts for indigenous languages, and digital scripts such as Emoji, the course will also provide students the chance to invent their own scripts and learn about additional scripts not covered in class as part of their assignments.