University of Columbia, Low Memorial Library (Photo: M. Alhadeff-Jones, 2017)

On June 4th 2017, I was invited by the AEGIS for Life Alumni organization (more about the AEGIS doctoral program here) to be the featured speaker at the Second Annual Jack Mezirow Lecture, held at Teachers College, Columbia University. This was a very privileged opportunity for me to discuss some of my current research around time, rhythms and adult learning with students and faculty members at Teachers College.

Below, the links to the video recordings of my lecture and the Q&A session that followed.

Increased speed, ongoing acceleration, and a sense of permanent urgency are common features that characterize the ways people relate to their personal and professional lives in Western countries. The feeling that one’s life is fragmented around activities that remain disconnected from each other, or display rhythms that seem incompatible, adds to a feeling of stress and confusion. More than ever, time for critical reflection and for deep learning seems to be lacking in our lives and in our education, too.

During this lecture I engaged the audience in a reflection around the complexity of the temporalities involved in adult learning. Beyond the dichotomy of slow education versus accelerated learning, I suggested that we observe and question the conflicting rhythms that pace what we do, how we think and who we are. Discussing the publication of my new book, Time and the Rhythms of Emancipatory Education, I introduced and discussed a new set of skills for educators to engage critically with the multiple temporalities of their life, and trigger new opportunities for transformative learning.