Why do we feel ‘disoriented’ when we change the clocks in the fall or spring or when we travel some distance and experience ‘jet lag’? How do concepts such as ‘arrive on time,’ ‘wasting time’ or accomplishing something in a ‘timely manner’ reveal the way our culture associates time with certain moral values? How does our experience of time change as we grow older? Is there really ‘no time like the present’? Join us in a journey of discovery as we explore how cultures have constructed and experienced time through the ages from the first prehistoric records of time reckoning to pre-literate experiences of time/space to the use of time-keeping objects to signify state power and extend empires. We will explore topics such as how time is related to location, to faith, to labor/markets, and to war.

Format: This highly interactive and collaborative class will use David Rooney’s About Time: The History of Civilization in Twelve Clocks (W.W. Norton, 2021) as a point of departure, but readings, films, and other materials will be contributed by class members as they facilitate weekly class discussions. This is a hybrid class held in-person and on Zoom (see box on page 2).

Resources/Expenses: Rooney’s book is available online used in paperback for $5.57 and up.