Time as a Historical Phenomenon
In modern society, we often refer to a shared experience that time is speeding up. The rapid pace of technological development and the increasingly globalised nature of world affairs make us think that time is coursing so quickly, that we barely have time to meditate on the present. Though this is often portrayed as a material issue, to do with the actual pace of societal change, there is something more profound going on. This session looks at the experience of time itself as a historically contingent phenomenon and explores the ways in which ideological and societal shifts across time have fundamental implications for the ways in which we understand the relationship between past, present and future. We will draw on a diverse range of examples, from Medieval scholastic theology to modern Yemen, to attempt to understand when and why our temporal frameworks change.
Host: Nils graduated from Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge, with a 1st Class Honours in History. He was the recipient of the Charles Whittaker Scholarship for academic excellence, awarded by Cambridge and has worked as a student supervisor and assisted at interviews. Nils is interested both in history and literary criticism. He has worked with a number of educational programmes at the University of Cambridge, the aim of which was to introduce students to university-level thinking. During his time as Student Coordinator for both the LPN and CL Global Oxbridge Programmes, Nils set up critical thinking exercises to teach the students new approaches to historiography.
Suitability: Minds Underground™’s online World Literature & History masterclasses are aimed at, but not restricted to, students looking to study degrees in: English, History, English and History, Social Science courses.
Duration: Suggested 1-2 hours dependent on the level of detail desired.
