The Language of Life: How Communication Drives Human Evolution

Lull, James; Eduardo Neiva

ISBN 10: 161614579X / ISBN 13: 9781616145798

Published by Prometheus (edition Original), 2012

About this Item

It's a preowned item in good condition and includes all the pages. It may have some general signs of wear and tear, such as markings, highlighting, slight damage to the cover, minimal wear to the binding, etc., but they will not affect the overall reading experience.

Seller Inventory # 161614579X-11-1

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Language of Life: How Communication Drives Human Evolution
• Publisher: Prometheus (edition Original)
• Publication Date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 161614579X
• ISBN 13: 9781616145798
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition: Original.
• Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

Communication in its most basic form-the sending of signals and exchange of messages within and between organisms-is the heart of evolution. From the earliest life-forms to Homo sapiens, the great chain of communication drives the evolutionary process and is the indispensable component of human culture. That is the central message of this unique perspective on both the biological evolution of life and the human development of culture. The book explores the totality of communication processes that create and sustain biological equilibrium and social stability. The authors argue that this ubiquitous connectivity is the elemental unity of life. Introducing a new subdiscipline-evolutionary communication-the authors analyze the core domains of life-sheer survival, sex, culture, morality, religion, and technological change-as communications phenomena. What emerges from their analysis is a brilliant interpretation of life interconnected through communication from the basic molecular level to the most sophisticated manifestations of culture. Challenging the boundaries of conventional approaches to cultural analysis, this is an original and engaging view of evolution and an encouraging prognosis for our collective future.

About the Author

James Lull (San Jose, CA) is a distinguished international authority on the impact of mass media, communications technology, and popular culture. He has published twelve books, as well as dozens of journalarticles, chapters, and essays, and has lectured throughout the world on the interplay between communication and culture. He has also appeared as a commentator on CNN, CNN Headline News, the BBC, NPR, and other media outlets, and he has written essays for the Los Angeles Times, the International Herald Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, and others. He is professor emeritus of communication studies at San Jose State University. Eduardo Neiva (Birmingham, AL) is a leading authority on how visual images influence culture. He is the author of two books in English on communication, culture, and images, and many books in Portuguese. He was a Fulbright research scholar at Indiana University. He is professor of communication studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.