Specialisation seminar: Storytelling before language 2510-f2ENG2W-SS-SBL

In this course, the students will be introduced to the phenomenon of “storytelling”, as understood in Science of Language Evolution, with a strong focus on the potential pre-verbal forms of storytelling in human prehistory. The course begins with a brief introduction to classical ways of thinking about “storytelling”, then moves on to re-defining the notion in the context of the evolutionary history of Homo sapiens, and, then, sketches out the debate on the timeline of the evolution of storytelling and linguistics abilities in our species. The course will familiarise the students with both arguments against and for locating the emergence of storytelling before language.

Content distribution:

- Introduction: course aims and content, learning outcomes, assessment criteria, code of conduct;
- Defining “storytelling”: “story” and similar concepts (“narrative”, “narration”), prototypical stories, storytelling in human history;
- Re-defining “storytelling”: storytelling from an evolutionary perspective, storytelling as a human-unique trait, biological and neurological aspects of storytelling, cognitive pre-requisites for storytelling, storytelling as play pretend, storytelling and cooperation, storytelling in human prehistory;
- Re-thinking “storytelling”: relationship of storytelling to language, role of storytelling in language evolution, storytelling in language evolution models, non-verbal and possible pre-verbal forms of storytelling.