Timefulness: Living in Deep Time
Simon Probst (Universität Vechta) & Carmen Sippl (PH Niederösterreich)
WHAT is it about?
WHAT is it about?
The climate crisis and the Anthropocene (Crutzen & Stoermer 2000) pose new challenges for our culturally mediated approach to time. In the face of human influence on the Earth, a differentiated understanding of the present requires not only historical thinking, but also the ability to place human history in the history of life on Earth. Narratives about humanity’s planetary responsibility place individual and social action in relation to Earth’s deep time (Chakrabarty 2010).
The term “deep time” was coined by the US American John McPhee in his non-fiction book Basin and Range (1981). The idea of deep time emphasizes the contrast between the, relatively speaking, short span of human history and the extent, the proverbial depth, of geological history. Since the so-called ‘discovery of deep time’ (cf. Gould 1987) in the 19th century – i.e. since the idea of an independent Earth history that exceeds human existence by far – this contrast has raised the question of whether human activity might be completely insignificant in the face of geological time spans.
The fact that industrial societies are significantly shaping the deep future of our planet through their interventions in nature (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, overfishing of the oceans) is changing the cultural perspective on deep time and placing human responsibility for the history of the Earth at the center of the debate on Earth history. For example, nature writer Robert Macfarlane (2019, p. 15) calls for deep time not to be used as “a means not of escaping our troubled present, but rather of re-imagining it” and “see ourselves as part of a web of gift, inheritance and legacy stretching over millions of years past and millions to come, bringing us to consider what we are leaving behind for the epochs and beings that will follow us.”
In a similar vein, geologist Marcia Bjornerud (2018, p. 173) argues for a “time-literate society”. This time-literate society would take up the challenge of reconciling the time dimensions that dominate social action (business quarters, election periods, etc.), the speed of digital attention economies and the dominant historical frameworks of cultural memory with the different speeds of earth-historical and ecological processes.
In dealing with the ethical and political dimensions of Earth’s history in the Anthropocene, the learning scenario presented here explores the following questions: How does deep time change our perspective on everyday life and our society? How can we approach geological time spans? Does deep time relativize the significance of our actions or, on the contrary, can it deepen our sense of responsibility in this world?
WHO is it about?
Marcia Bjornerud is a professor of Geology at Lawrence University in Appelton, Wisconsin. She also writes for the New Yorker science blog. In her nonfiction book Timefulness. How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Help Save the World (2018), Bjornerud formulates a critique of the short-term thinking characteristic for contemporary societies. As an alternative she introduces the idea of a time-literate society taking into account the multiple cycles and rhythms of nature and society alike.
Robert Macfarlane is a British writer. He is one of the most important figures in the literary movement called New Nature Writing, searching a language for the entanglements of humans and nature in the Anthropocene. In his international bestseller Underland. A Deep Time Journey (2019), Macfarlane tells the story of how humans inscribe themselves into the earth beneath our feet, into rock, caves and ice.
Didactics
The learning scenario presented here deals with the relations of human and Earth history. It opens critical and utopian perspectives on how we deal with time. First, the students approach the topic of deep time using methods of embodied learning as well as spatial and visual thinking. In reading and discussing a scholarly and a literary text, the students practice an argumentative approach to the social and political dimensions of time. Through discussing the connection between deep time and responsibility, students sharpen their understanding of the ethical implications of time concepts and learn to position themselves independently.
WHO is the addressee? WHAT is the learning context? WHO are possible partners for cooperation?
The learning scenario is suitable for older and advanced students. With its focus on argumentation, discussion and text work, suitable learning contexts are ethics, philosophy, English class and social studies.
The learning scenario benefits from interdisciplinary collaboration with colleagues who have knowledge of either the history of the earth or other biological and ecological temporalities, such as the decay period of chemical waste in bodies of water. Colleagues from geology, biology, chemistry or even external experts could be suitable for this.
The learning scenario can be easily integrated into interdisciplinary school projects on the topic of Earth history and deep time.
HOW to proceed?
Section A: Discovering deep time – introduction (25 min., material in Appendix 1)
Step 1 At the beginning of the lesson, the teacher invites the pupils to play a game of estimation. It could be introduced as follows:
“At the beginning of today’s lesson, I would like to invite you to take part in a little experiment. I’m about to show you some pictures in unsorted order. Your task is to put the pictures in relation to each other in terms of time. To do this, please imagine that your arm represents the history of our planet. The shoulder joint would be the formation of our Earth and the front edge of your fingernails is the present. Please take out a sheet of paper now and sketch your arm and hand on it. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it should contain a few recognizable points of reference such as the shoulder joint, upper arm, elbow, forearm, wrist, back of the hand and fingers. While you sketch your arm, I’ll prepare the technique here. Everyone ready? Okay, then I’ll show you the pictures and you mark each one with its number on your sketch. I’ll show each picture for about 15 seconds and then we’ll move on.”
Step 2 The teacher shows the pictures (e.g. on the whiteboard) (3 min.)
Step 3 The students compare and discuss their results in groups. (5 min.)
Step 4 Meanwhile, the teacher sketches the arm and hand on the board or uses an illustration.
Step 5 In plenary, the individual events are assigned and a joint decision is made as to where they should be placed on the board. The teacher then solves the problem and also writes the solutions on the board. A different color is used in each case. See Appendix 1 (7 min.)
Step 6 Discussion of the results and the differences. What stands out? (10 min.)
The focus could be on the following observations and questions:
- Human history falls completely on the fingernail, the pyramid as well as the smartphone.
- Did the pupils have a sense of the sequence of events before human history or were they simply ‘very far away’?
- Would the students have expected such a distribution of events over the arm, or did it come as a surprise?
- If students were asked to apply the concept of deep time to an area of the arm scale, where would they locate deep time?
As a result, the following understanding of deep time could be recorded:
“Everything you learn in history is on the fingernail. Deep time is everything before the fingernail. Deep time therefore refers to the great temporal dimensions of the history of life, also in comparison to the history of humanity.”
Section B
The time-literate society – text work (40 Min., Material in Appendix 2)
Step1 Transition (5 Min.):
“Usually, we are not aware that human history only plays a small part in the larger history of the Earth. Deep time appears to be irrelevant to our everyday lives and the organization of our society. At least that’s how it seems at first glance. We are about to read a text by an author who claims exactly the opposite: that a greater awareness of the history of the Earth might play an important role in ‘saving the world’. I’ll share the text/you can find the text in your online resources. There are three questions you should pay attention to when reading:
- what does the author pinpoint as our societal problems in dealing with time?
- how does she envision an alternative and what concrete suggestions does she make?
- how is her perspective on the future motivated by an examination of the history of the planet?”
Step 2 Individual work: The students read the texts and answer the questions for themselves. (15 min.)
Step 3 Partner work: The students discuss their results with the person sitting next to them (5 min.)
Step 4 Plenary: Summary and discussion of the results (15 min.)
The following aspects can be noted:
Question 1: Bjornerud calls the problem “chronophobia” – the human fear of time and finiteness. In her view, chronophobia is reflected, among other things, in the short-term nature of economic decisions and political action as well as the widespread ignorance of the history of the Earth.
Question 2: Her alternative is the vision of a “timeful” (as in “mindful”) or “time-literate” society. In this society, ecological and social issues would be planned with attention to long-term dynamics nature and society alike. A ministry for the future would ensure that the rights of future generations are safeguarded, among other things through the sustainable use of “water, land and air” and a decisive approach to problems of poverty and lack of equal opportunities.
Bjornerud attributes an important role to education and teachers, who would, in her timeful society, instill in young people a curiosity for natural history and a comprehensive knowledge of physical, chemical and biological principles as well as the workings of the planet. On this basis, pupils would grow up to become responsible and time-literate citizens.
Question 3: For Bjornerud, the long periods of time in the Earth’s history show how oversimplified our social concepts of time are. In her view, studying the different rhythms in which the Earth changes reminds us that we need to adopt a broader temporal horizon in order to make realistic and competent decisions about our future.
Section C
Deep Time and Responsibility – Reflection phase (20 min., material in Appendix 3)
Step 1 Transition (2 min.)
“We have just been introduced to the idea of a timeful society. This refers to a society that is aware of its place in the larger history of the planet and consciously designs its institutions to take responsibility for long-term rhythms and developments. Bjornerud argues that ‘geological thinking’ can help save the world. But you might well disagree with this. We will now read a text that articulates both positions. Who will volunteer to read the first half of the text? And who can read the second?”
Step 2 Pupils read the text aloud. (3 min.)
Step 3 The central thesis of the text is summarized in plenary. (5 min.)
Step 4 The following question is discussed in plenary: Does a deep time perspective of the world support responsible action or does it relativize the importance of personal and human responsibility? (10 min.)
Among other things, the following questions and aspects could be addressed:
- Does the current mass extinction even matter if all life on Earth will eventually disappear anyway?
- Imagine what had to happen in the history of the Earth so that we as humans can exist today. Does this evoke a sense of gratitude in you?
- Can we even take responsibility for the Earth’s history? And if so, how?
Deep Time Walk – Homework (5 min.)
Step 1 The teacher explains the idea of the Deep Time Walk.
“To get a better feel for the conditions in the Earth’s history, there are various approaches. One is the so-called Deep Time Walk. Scientists, artists and actors have jointly developed an app for this. You can find it in any app store if you enter ‘Deep Time Walk’. The app then accompanies you on a guided walk of around 4.5 km. Each kilometer corresponds to one billion years. You will need a smartphone and working headphones. You should also look for a place where you can walk undisturbed and safely, i.e. where there is no traffic. For example, a park, a forest, the fields. Your homework is to download the app and take this walk. You should plan 1.5 to two hours for this, because there will also be breaks in between, during which important moments in the history of our planet will be recounted. The observation task during this walk is: “ How does the walk change my feeling for the present and my responsibility?”
Information on the Deep Time Walk project and the app as well as materials developed as part of the project can be found at: https://www.deeptimewalk.org/.
WHAT do we work with?
A white board, projector or other means of showing images is required for the introduction. A selection of pictures for the estimation game can be found in Appendix 1, but these can also be varied. The students need paper and pencil.
For the textual work, the students should have the excerpt by Marcia Bjornerud (Appendix 2) available in printed or digital form. They will need writing materials to take notes.
For the discussion, the quote from Robert Macfarlane must be projected onto the wall so that it is easy to read.
Bibliography
Crutzen, Paul und Eugene Stoermer (2000). The Anthropocene. IGBP 41: 17-18. https://commons.gc.cuny.edu/?get_group_doc=2354/crutzen+stoermer+anthropocene.pdf.
Marcia Bjornerud (2018). Timefulness. How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Help Save the World. Princeton University Press.
McPhee, John (1981). Basin and Range. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Chakrabarty, Dipesh (2010). Climate Makes History. IWMPOST 104: 15.
Gould, Stephen Jay (1987). Time’s Arrow, Time’s Cycle. Myth and Metaphor in the Discovery of Geological Time. Harvard University Press.
Macfarlane, Robert (2019). Underland. A Deep Time Journey. Hamish Hamilton.
Probst, Simon (2023). Planetarischer Möglichkeitssinn. Futures Literacy für das Leben auf einer sich verwandelnden Erde. In: Sippl, Carmen/Rauscher, Erwin/Brandhofer, Gerhard (Hg.): Futures Literacy. Die Zukunft lernen und lehren. Studienverlag, 369–377.
Wüstenberg, Jenny (2023). Toward Slow Memory Studies. In: Kaplan, Brett A. (Ed.): Critical Memory Studies: New Approaches. Bloomsbury, 59-67.
Teacher Resources
These resources are not intended to be comprehensive, and each includes links to further reading, lesson ideas, images and testimonies.