Overview
Writing: Theory and History of the Technology of Civilization traces the origins of writing tied to speech from ancient Sumer through the Greek alphabet and beyond. Examines the earliest evidence for writing in Mesopotamia in the fourth millennium BC, the origins of purely phonographic systems, and the mystery of alphabetic writing Includes discussions of Ancient Egyptian,Chinese, and Mayan writing Shows how the structures of writing served and do serve social needs and in turn create patterns of social behavior Clarifies the argument with many illustrations
Full Product Details
Author: Barry B. Powell (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA)
Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Imprint: Wiley-Blackwell
Dimensions:
Width: 16.00cm
, Height: 2.20cm
, Length: 23.60cm
Weight: 0.553kg
ISBN: 9781405162562
ISBN 10: 1405162562
Pages: 296
Publication Date: 27 March 2009
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Out of stock
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.
Reviews
For anyone interested in language, writing, and their fascinating history across many cultures and centuries of development, this engagingly written, well-illustrated book will provide a very readable mine of information. (CHOICE, December 2009) ?Powell's concentration on precise names for terms used in discourse clears up some of the confusion common to histories of work on ancient scripts.? (About.com, May 2009) ?A feature ? is the use of the ancient scripts in the text with numerous illustrations to familiarize the reader with the different writing systems. The result is a readable and enlightening study of a complex topic.? (Bryn Mawr Classical Review, April 2010) ?Writing is stimulating and impressive.? (Science, April 2009)
For anyone interested in language, writing, and their fascinating history across many cultures and centuries of development, this engagingly written, well-illustrated book will provide a very readable mine of information. ( CHOICE, December 2009) Powell's concentration on precise names for terms used in discourse clears up some of the confusion common to histories of work on ancient scripts. ( About.com , May 2009) A feature ... is the use of the ancient scripts in the text with numerous illustrations to familiarize the reader with the different writing systems. The result is a readable and enlightening study of a complex topic. ( Bryn Mawr Classical Review, April 2010) Writing is stimulating and impressive. (Science, April 2009 )
“Powell's concentration on precise names for terms used in discourse clears up some of the confusion common to histories of work on ancient scripts. (About.com, May 2009) “A feature … is the use of the ancient scripts in the text with numerous illustrations to familiarize the reader with the different writing systems. The result is a readable and enlightening study of a complex topic. (Bryn Mawr Classical Review, April 2010) “Writing is stimulating and impressive. (Science, April 2009)
Author Information
Barry B. Powell is Halls-Bascom Professor Emeritus of Classics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has written extensively on ancient Greek literature and the history of writing. His books include Homer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet (1991), A New Companion to Homer (editor, with Ian Morris) (1997), Writing and the Origins of Greek Literature (2001), and two editions of Homer (second edition, Blackwell, 2007).
