Ways to Protolang 4

Event Dates: 24 - 26 September 2015
Call Deadline: 1 February 2015
Event Location: Rome, Italy
Event Website: http://www.protolang.org/

The Protolang conference series creates an interdisciplinary platform for scholarly discussion on the origins of symbolic communication distinctive of human beings. The thematic focus of Protolang is on delineating the genetic, anatomical, neuro-cognitive, socio-cultural, semiotic, symbolic and ecological requirements for evolving (proto)language. Sign use, tools, cooperative breeding, pointing, vocalisation, intersubjectivity, bodily mimesis, planning and navigation are among many examples of such possible factors through which hominins have gained a degree of specificity that is not found in other forms of animal communication and cognition. We aim at identifying the proximate and ultimate causes as well as the mechanisms by which these requirements evolved; evaluating the methodologies, research tools and simulation techniques; and enabling extended and vigorous exchange of ideas across disciplinary borders.We invite scholars from A(rcheology) to Z(oology), and all disciplines in between, to contribute data, experimental and theoretical research, and look forward to welcoming you at one of our conferences!

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS:

We call for:

• Talks
  
• Posters
  
• Symposia
  

The list of conference areas includes:

• animal cognition
• animal communication
• anthropology (linguistic, social, cultural)
  
• cognitive science
  
• cognitive semiotics
  
• computational modelling
  
• general evolutionary theory
  
• genetics of language
  
• gesture studies
  
• linguistics
  
• neuroscience of language
  
• paleoanthropology
  
• philosophy of biology
  
• philosophy of language
  
• Pleistocene archaeology
  
• primatology
  
• psychology (evolutionary, comparative, developmental)
  
• speech physiology
  

SUBMISSION

Talks and posters:

Please submit an abstract of 400 words prepared for anonymous review to the EasyChair website: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=protolang4

Submissions should be suitable for 30 minutes presentation (20 min for presentation and 10 min for discussion).

Symposia:

Please submit a proposal including: (a) Title of the symposium, (b) name and affiliation of the organizers, (c) a general description of the symposium (400 words), (d) abstract of each contributed talk (100-150 words)

Submissions should be suitable for a two-hour session and include 3 to 5 presentations.

The organizers are responsible for submitting the full symposium program to the EasyChair website:  https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=protolang4. Theorganizers will also act as chairs of their session.

 
Note: abstracts of talks, posters and symposia must be submitted in .doc (or .docx) format, no other format will be accepted.