On Time

Barak, On

doi:10.1525/california/9780520276130.001.0001

Cited by 79 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…As late as the 1870s, a British engineer who worked on the Ottoman railways commented on the care and deliberateness with which a "Turk" would remove a watch from the many layers of clothing, bag, and case within which it rested, only to find that it was not working, or working only approximately: "so to learn the time of day within an hour or so a quarter of an hour will be wasted." 78 Although this account is evidently part of an essentializing discourse through which Victorians imagined the "time-mindless Oriental" in the 19th century, 79 we can also read it as implying that watches had value apart from their utility as instruments of precise timekeeping-which is surely correct. 80 The vogue of clocks and watches in the Ottoman court, in particular, was in large part a function of their value as objects of curiosity, art, and what White has called "power projection."…”

Section: F Ro M O B J E C T I N T O I N S T Ru M E N Tmentioning

confidence: 98%

Positioning the Watch Hand: ʿulamaʾ and the Practice of Mechanical Timekeeping in Cairo, 1737–1874

Stolz¹

2015

Int. J. Middle East Stud.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article explores the role of the ulama in shaping the use of mechanical timepieces in Cairo in the 18th and 19th centuries. Ottoman interest in new technologies in this period is often understood in relation to the emergence of modernization projects and new scientifically trained actors, with a corresponding decline in the status of the ulama . However, the vogue of mechanical timepieces in Cairo allowed ulama trained in the very old tradition of mīqāt (astronomical timekeeping) to make their knowledge speak in new ways to new audiences. Based on several manuals and tables that such scholars wrote "on the position of the watch hand," this article shows how ulama not only facilitated distinctively Ottoman timekeeping conventions, but also furthered an understanding of watches as instruments of precision. The article builds on a growing literature on Ottoman temporality, while expanding our historical view of ulama and their authority, of the material culture of Cairo, and of science and technology in an Islamic context. Daniel A. Stolz is a Postdoctoral Fellow in

show abstract

Section: F Ro M O B J E C T I N T O I N S T Ru M E N Tmentioning

confidence: 98%

Positioning the Watch Hand: ʿulamaʾ and the Practice of Mechanical Timekeeping in Cairo, 1737–1874

Stolz¹

2015

Int. J. Middle East Stud.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In an attempt to move away from what John May and Nigel Thrift refer to as spatial imperialism (2003: 2), research inspired by the postcolonial approach has already problematised the phenomenon of temporality beyond deterministic structures of linearity and chronological causality. By criticising temporal singularity as being a result of Western hegemony and capitalist logic, scholars like Barbara Adam (1990;), Alfred Gell (1992, Graeme Davison (1993), Michael Flaherty (1985, On Barak (2013), Giordanni Nanni (2012), Vanessa Ogle (2015), and many others initiated the birth of the temporal turn, thus opening a number of stimulating research topics in which they pose questions about the nature of time and how our knowledge of time is culturally, historically, and socially guided as it creates our experiences of temporality. As a reaction to the overemphasised problematisation of space, the temporal turn calls for a critical re-examination of the entangled relations of space and time in order to show their "intrinsic and vital oneness" (Hassan 2010: 90).…”

Section: Making Time For Time: Emerging Temporalities In the Context ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This monetisation of time (cf. Barak 2013) was needed to synchronise the discrepancies between the specific, time-consuming practical stages of production and the generic calculable book-keeping production plans. In order to understand the unpredictable cost, the work hours were estimated and explained in detail at a monthly level based on the specific phase of production.…”

Section: Linčarnica In Sali Dugi Otok: Materialisation Of Laziness Or...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple Island Temporalities

Oroz

2022

Nar. umjet. (Online)

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper seeks to explore the notion of “island time” as a metaphor for addressing the multiple island temporalities emerging in the community of Sali, the biggest settlement on the southern shore of Dugi otok. In general, temporalities are conceived as the mode and the rhythm of being, entangled within the thick web of social, cultural, spatial, economic, gendered, and ideological transformations. The concept of “multiple temporalities”, inspired by the time studies and the anthropology of thime theoretical framework, points to the processes of diverse temporal frames and rhythms overlapping, intertwining, and coexisting. The focus of this paper is on the emergence of linčarnica, a triangular slope in the port of Sali. Based on ethnographic research, the paper will address the problems involved in the social and cultural creation of “island time”, popularly known as time moving at a slower pace. By problematising the concept of temporality at the crossroads of Mediterranean studies, island studies, time studies, and Balkan studies, the paper will address questions of specific, island-triggered, and socially performed atmospheric “island time” rebranded for the purpose of tourism and imagined within the specific cultural and social milieu of Dalmatia.

show abstract

Dwelling in Limbo. Temporality in the Governance of Romani Migrants in Spain

Vrăbiescu

2019

IMISCOE Research Series

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This chapter engages with the current debate on Romani mobility and Spanish state practices of implementing socio-educational programs and camp housing to migrant EU citizens. Taking the Madrid city as a case study, this chapter documents and analyses temporary devices of governance that both limit and force the mobility of Romani families from Romania. Implemented by local authorities through specific policies, temporary devices of governance deliver an enforced pressure on Romani migrants who are seen as prospective "failed" subjects of integration and potential returnees. While deterring migrants from accessing territorial social benefits, local authorities and private companies acting as state proxi assign Romani families a "social contract" that aims for their integration. The authorities not only implement problematic policies, but they interpret and label the mobility of Romani as a characteristic of their "provisional" way of living and dwelling. Following Cabot (2012) and Ringel (2016) on the temporality of governance and scholarship on the anthropology of time (Munn 1992; Fabian 2014), I aim to show two entangled processes in local governance: the subject formation of Romani migrants as an ethnicized mobile minority, and the long-term adverse results of project-based, profit-oriented social work. Romani migrants have become the target of a new type of social engineering by bringing into question the establishment of citizenship: agreeing to the social contract not only presumes that Romani migrants are not members of the same community, but also suggests that their lives have a different temporality.

show abstract

On Time

Cited by 79 publications

References 0 publications

Positioning the Watch Hand: ʿulamaʾ and the Practice of Mechanical Timekeeping in Cairo, 1737–1874

Positioning the Watch Hand: ʿulamaʾ and the Practice of Mechanical Timekeeping in Cairo, 1737–1874

Multiple Island Temporalities

Dwelling in Limbo. Temporality in the Governance of Romani Migrants in Spain

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About