A Global History of Time

Time has a history. Many people in many moments in world history have worked with, and lived inside of, very different conceptions of time, both everyday and cosmic. In this course, we will examine notions of time held by peoples around the world. Following this history, from Babylonian astronomy to pulsar timing arrays, we’ll seek to understand how and why cultures of precision develop, and how they both solve, but also produce new, problems with our understandings of time. We’ll look not only at science, technology, and philosophy, but also art and literature, in order to develop a sense of how notions of time shaped everyday experience.

Notes

Online registration deadline: Tues. 6/4/24 at 5 PM CT