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Accepted Paper:
The Giant's Causeway: Geological Process and Social Theory
Richard Irvine
(University of St Andrews)
How does deep time shape biographical and historical time? Taking as its starting point William Drummond's poem The Giant's Causeway, this paper explores conflicting theories of geological processes and how this conflict reveals points of tension in our understanding of human life.
Paper long abstract:
Geological processes shift the ground on which human activity occurs. Differing theories of the forces driving those transformations point to divergent understandings of the world in which we live. This paper takes as its starting point the topographical poetry of William Drummond (1778-1865) and in particular his poem The Giant's Causeway. Through a lengthy meditation on basalt intrusions in Co Antrim, the poem explores various theories of earth history, pitting Neptunism and Plutonism against one another; at the same time it considers the political landscape of Ireland and the uprising of 1798. This cross-hatching of deep and historical time allows us to reflect on not only the material conditions of our existence, but also the ways by which vast spans of geological time are enrolled in nationalist struggles. To what extent do models of geology serve as social theory? Does deep time always render human politics and the day to day negotiation of social life trivial?