An Interdisciplinary Approach to Understanding Modern Life (Online CPD)

Introduction

Time shapes almost every part of human life.

It influences how we remember the past, experience the present and imagine the future. It structures our working lives, our relationships, our institutions and our societies. It is embedded in our bodies, technologies, economies, political systems and natural environments.

Yet time is rarely studied as a subject in its own right.

Psychologists investigate memory, anticipation and temporal perception. Biologists study circadian rhythms and biological clocks. Sociologists explore social rhythms, coordination and acceleration. Economists analyse labour time, productivity and value. Political researchers examine whose time is protected, controlled or made to wait. Ecologists study regeneration, deep time and planetary change. Physicists and philosophers continue to debate the fundamental nature of time itself.

This online programme brings these different perspectives together, offering an accessible interdisciplinary introduction to time and temporality.

Participants will explore how different forms of time shape human experience, professional life and contemporary society. They will examine familiar experiences such as time pressure, waiting, acceleration, uncertainty, fatigue and the feeling of never having enough time.

Rather than treating time as simply a matter of clocks, calendars or personal time management, the programme approaches it as an organising dimension of human systems.

Participants will develop a richer understanding of time and learn how to identify temporal patterns, tensions and possibilities within their own lives, organisations and professional contexts.

The first intake begins on 7 February 2027.

By the end of this programme, participants will be able to:

  • Understand major approaches to time across the sciences, social sciences and humanities.
  • Explain key concepts from contemporary research on time and temporality.
  • Distinguish between physical, biological, psychological, social, historical, political, economic, organisational, technological, ecological and existential forms of time.
  • Recognise the temporal assumptions embedded within organisations, technologies, institutions and everyday practices.
  • Analyse contemporary challenges through a temporal lens.
  • Identify temporal tensions, mismatches and inequalities across different systems.
  • Apply ideas from time studies to professional, organisational and societal challenges.
  • Develop greater temporal awareness in their professional and personal lives.

  • The Foundations of Time and Temporality
  • Clock Time and Lived Time
  • Physical Time and the Nature of Change
  • Biological Rhythms, Sleep and Circadian Health
  • Psychological Time, Memory and Anticipation
  • Language and the Human Construction of Time
  • Social Rhythms, Synchronisation and Acceleration
  • Historical Time and Changing Temporal Regimes
  • Political Time, Power and Waiting
  • Economic Time, Labour and Productivity
  • Organisational Rhythms, Deadlines and Coordination
  • Technology, Attention and Digital Acceleration
  • Ecological Time, Regeneration and Planetary Change
  • Existential Time, Finitude and Human Flourishing
  • Temporal Intelligence and Applying a Temporal Lens
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Many contemporary challenges can be understood, at least in part, as temporal problems.

Area

Temporal question

Health

Why are fatigue, burnout and sleep disruption increasing?

Work

How do organisations structure, value and control human time?

Technology

How do digital systems reshape attention, memory and waiting?

Politics

Who has the power to define which futures matter?

Society

How do people coordinate their lives across different rhythms and demands?

Environment

What happens when economic timescales conflict with ecological timescales?

History

How have societies understood and organised time differently?

Human life

What does it mean to live well within a finite life?

The programme helps participants recognise these temporal dimensions and understand how different timescales interact.

This programme is designed for people seeking a deeper understanding of how time shapes contemporary life, professional practice and human systems.

It is particularly suited to:

  • Leaders and managers interested in work, wellbeing and organisational design
  • Human resources and organisational development professionals
  • Workplace wellbeing and occupational health practitioners
  • Healthcare and public health professionals
  • Teachers, lecturers and education professionals
  • Policy professionals and public sector practitioners
  • Sustainability and environmental professionals
  • Organisational psychologists, behavioural scientists and consultants
  • Researchers interested in interdisciplinary approaches to time
  • Professionals working in technology, innovation or future planning
  • People interested in psychology, philosophy, society and human behaviour

No specialist academic background is required. The programme is designed to make complex interdisciplinary ideas accessible without sacrificing intellectual depth.

The course is relevant across public, private and not for profit sectors.

Interdisciplinary

The programme connects insights from the sciences, social sciences, humanities and professional disciplines.

Contemporary

It draws on established theory alongside emerging research on acceleration, digital time, temporal inequality, circadian health, sustainability and future making.

Applied

Participants will use temporal ideas to examine real challenges within their lives, professions, organisations and wider society.

Accessible

The programme is designed for non specialist learners. Complex ideas are introduced through familiar experiences, contemporary examples and practical activities.

Distinctive

Few programmes bring the different fields of time and temporality together within a single accessible professional course.

Limited First Cohort

The first intake will be offered to a limited cohort. This will create space for meaningful discussion, participant interaction and the collaborative development of this emerging area of learning.

The programme is led by Dr Dale Whelehan, Assistant Professor in Systems Psychology at the Centre for Innovative Human Systems, Trinity College Dublin.

Dr Whelehan’s work explores time, human behaviour, work, wellbeing and organisational systems. He is the founder of the House of Time, an interdisciplinary initiative dedicated to improving how people and institutions understand, experience and organise time and was named in TIME100 Health having served as CEO of 4 Day Week Global.

This fully online programme will be delivered over six weeks through Trinity College Dublin’s virtual learning environment, Blackboard.

The programme begins on 7 February 2027 5-6pm Irish Time.

Participants will attend a live interactive online tutorial each week. These tutorials will provide opportunities to discuss the course material, apply temporal ideas to real situations and learn from the experiences of other participants.

The programme includes:

  • Six online learning modules
  • Six live interactive tutorials
  • Approximately one hour of core learning material each week
  • Selected readings and multimedia resources
  • Reflective and applied learning activities
  • Practical tools for examining temporal challenges
  • Access to course materials through Blackboard
  • Opportunities to engage with the programme leader and fellow participants

Six Week Programme

Week

Module

Guiding question

Module release

1

Foundations of Time and Temporality

What is time, and why does it matter?

7 February 2027

2

Physical, Biological and Psychological Time

How do nature, bodies and minds experience time?

14 February 2027

3

Social, Linguistic and Historical Time

How do societies create different temporal worlds?

21 February 2027

4

Political and Economic Time

How is time governed, valued and distributed?

28 February 2027

5

Technological and Organisational Time

How do institutions and technologies shape temporal experience?

7 March 2027

6

Ecological, Existential and Applied Time

How can we live and organise time differently?

14 March 2027

The final session will help participants bring the different perspectives together and apply a temporal lens to a practical challenge from their own life, organisation or professional context.

The dates and times of the live tutorials will be confirmed before registration opens.

For the best online experience, we recommend using Chrome as your default browser, together with a headset containing a built in microphone.

Participants should allow approximately one hour each week to complete the core online material. Additional time may be required for readings, reflective exercises and preparation for the live tutorials.

Each live tutorial will last approximately one hour.

The course is designed to accommodate working professionals. Online materials can be accessed flexibly, although attendance and participation in the live tutorials are strongly encouraged.

The programme is delivered over six weeks, beginning on 7 February 2027 and concluding during the week commencing 9 March 2027.

Participants who successfully engage with the course materials and live tutorials will receive a Trinity College Dublin Certificate of Completion.

The final session will include a practical application activity through which participants will use the course concepts to examine a temporal challenge relevant to their own life, work or professional practice.

This is a professional development programme. It does not carry ECTS credits and does not involve a formal academic examination.

Registration for the February 2027 intake will open on 16 November 2026.

The first intake will be limited to a small cohort.

From November 16th, you can register and pay online to secure your place.

Pilot course fee: €300

The fee includes:

  • Full access to all six online learning modules
  • Participation in six live interactive tutorials
  • Practical tools for applying a temporal perspective
  • Access to Blackboard for the duration of the programme
  • Trinity College Dublin Certificate of Completion following successful completion

Please note that enrolment on this CPD programme does not include access to Trinity College Dublin Library services or other student services, including the provision of a student ID card.

If you would like further information, please contact the Centre for Innovative Human Systems at cihs@tcd.ie or dwheleha@tcd.ie .