HISC 274Causality, Language, and Time
What is causality? How does it matter for thinking time, history, language, agency? The film Arrival, based on Ted Chiang’s “Story of Your Life,” serves as our laboratory for exploring questions of the nature of causality, time, history, memory, free will, determinism, communication, ethics, justice, and politics. These texts also launch us into a space where questions of race, gender, colonization, militarism, messianism, and more, swirl around us. Course investigates aspects of physics and linguistics theories, as we find ourselves face to face with earthly issues and philosophical quandaries.
Enrollment is restricted to graduate students.
Find a section and add it to your scheduleLive seat counts, time-conflict checks and the walk from your previous class.
When it runs
Winter 2026Open Winter 2026
| Section | Type | When | Where | Instructor | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Seminar | Fri 10:00am–1:00pm | Humanities 1 320 | K. M. Barad | Open 11/15 |
Who teaches it
| Instructor | Rating | Difficulty | Would take again | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karen Barad | 3.4 / 5 | 4.1 / 5 | 67% | 19 |
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