Against the Clock: The Sense of Time with Chase Atherton, A&S ’19 (MFA)

Course Title: Against the Clock: The Sense of Time

Instructor: Chase Atherton, A&S ’19 (MFA)

Brought to you by Odyssey  

January 28th - March 4, 2026

Wednesdays, 5:30PM - 7:30PM ET (6 Sessions)

Virtual via Zoom

Course Description: What does it mean to live inside time? This six-week seminar explores how writers have imagined, embodied, and resisted time across centuries and genres. Moving from the industrial age’s “clock time” to the digital era’s dizzying acceleration, we’ll read fiction, poetry, and theory that challenge our assumptions about duration, progress, and the present. Authors such as Virginia Woolf, W.H. Auden, Édouard Glissant, Lucille Clifton, and Annie Ernaux reveal how power, gender, technology, and biology shape our temporal experience. 

Alongside thinkers from Marx to Foucault and Kristeva, we’ll consider how literature opens counter-cultural doorways into the lived texture of time—its loops, ruptures, and renewals. The course culminates in a creative workshop inviting participants to craft original works inspired by their own encounters with time. 

Explore more lifelong learning opportunities in our full SPRING 2026 Odyssey Catalog

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Johns Hopkins Tuition Remission Policies 

Tuition benefits are available to University faculty, staff, and retirees only. Employees of Johns Hopkins Hospital, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, or the Applied Physics Laboratory should contact your institution’s Human Resources office for information about tuition remission and eligibility:

• Johns Hopkins Hospitals and Medical Institutions: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/human-resources/benefits/tuition-assistance

• Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory: https://www.jhuapl.edu/careers/professional-development

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If a course is canceled or closed, the registrant is notified immediately, and a full refund is processed automatically unless another course is requested. Registrants who wish to withdraw from an active course must complete the online Odyssey Refund Request Form. Attach any documentation to support your request (e.g., medical documentation, family crisis documentation, etc.).

• 100% refund: Prior to the start of the course and after the first class.

• No refunds: After the first week of each course unless in exceptional cases.

For single-session courses:
100% refundable within two (2) business days of the event.

Please note, refunds apply only to the tuition portion of an Odyssey participant’s charges and are not applicable to any fees or gifts made to the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association. Registrants will be notified by email if a refund is approved within five (5) business days.