Time Flashcards
What is geologic/deep time?
Time immemorial- time that is unreachable by human experience
Why is power linked to time?
To many, the question of time is a political one. Some question how much of a say we have over our own time. The construction of time, dictating time to others is an act of power. Therefore, the story of time is also a story of power relations and power struggles.
What is natural time?
The spans of time that are dictated by nature. For example, days are understood as dictated by the rotation of movement of the sun. Months are measured by lunar or solar cycles.
Why can time be thought of as a social construct?
It is constructed and experienced in an individual way. It exists in our minds, as well as society. Because of this it can reflect power structures
How might the way we view time be related to religion?
Our 7 day working week is so because God created the Earth in 7 days. There are different days of rest across the globe that fit in with other religions.
How did industrialisation affect our relationship with time?
Journey times - paved roads, carriages with sprung suspension, railroads, steam ships
Telegram- messages sent very quickly around the world
The working day - gas/electric light means days are no longer dictated by sunlight; longer working days and nights
What did the advent of industrialisation do to the way time is measured?
It became an activity dictated centrally, with economic and social consequences. As an example, Daylight Saving Time - extends the evening by one hour, but with reduced morning daylight. This is good for retail, but bad for farmers. The length of the working day is a modern idea borne of capitalism
How are historians linked to time?
Historians construct/produce a sense of time in their work- they place events and phenomena in a linear narrative
Where has a sense of historical time come from?
Arrived at through periodization- the act of distinguishing periods from each other
What problems are associated with periodization?
There is an assumption that certain time period share certain prevailing trends. Also, time periods do not always neatly begin and end, there is a degree of overlap. The labels may carry certain (incorrect) connotations- Renaissance suggests that all work before this was benighted, ignorant, dark
How does Meyerhoff, in the article Time and the University, suggest overcoming the corporatisation of higher education?
Suggests that rather than seeking more time, people should seek more meaningful time. Eventful - becoming productive, self-positing, and self-differentiating
How does Meyerhoff explain Chronos and Kairological time?
Chronos - time can be reduced to a succession on instants in which each instant in understood as fleeting and hence inconsequential in and of itself
Kairological - each instant is the abrupt and sudden conjunction where decision where decision grasps opportunity and life is fulfilled in the moment. It interrupts Chronos
assumes Chronos precedes Kairos, the latter is only ever a deviation from the former
How did the Annales school view history?
Tended to view history as a process of slow change, affecting all areas of life
What is Parson’s ‘Modernisation theory’?
- There is a dichotomous periodization between traditional and modern
- History necessarily move from traditional to modern
- Systems have a natural tendency towards stability
- Normal state of society is harmonious and consensual (argues that conflict is as a result of a reluctance to change)
- upper classes modernise first, other eventually get there
- associations with moral judgement
