Network Time and Temporalities

Time is perhaps one of the strongest, if also one of the most elusive, factors in determining identity as well as in decision-making processes. What role did time play in the perception of individual and communal identities in the pre-modern world? Why was 'the past' projected as such a vital part of the future? Where do we find reflections on the present? When did divine time, the power of the gods and their mythologies, intersect with human time? Which media (literature, epigraphy, material culture) were instrumental in shaping time, and in which spatial contexts? These are some of the questions that have been raised through this network so far.

The Network

In this CRASIS network, colleagues from Ancient History, Classics and Biblical Studies collaborate in order to generate conversations that broaden our horizon and allow for methodological and theoretical reflection on time and temporalities. We welcome colleagues from other disciplines, especially Archaeology. The network aims to bring scholars together at various career stages and from various disciplines in order to approach the question of time and temporalities from a broad perspective and to foster a ‘community’ of researchers working on the topic. This will help support individual research projects and can lead to a larger joint application for a research program, in acquisition of further PhD and postdoc positions.

Upcoming Activities

In the second semester of the 2023-2024 we will meet on every second Monday of the month. The sessions will take place at the faculty of Religion, Culture and Society (Oude Boteringestraat 38) in room 117 (*except 12 February: room 017)

• 12 February (12.00–13.00): research presentation Christina Williamson (*OBS 38, room 017)
• 11 March (12.00–13.00): reading group (OBS 38, room 117)
• 8 April (12.00–13.00): research presentation Felix Budelman (OBS 38, room 117)
• 13 May (12.00–13.00): reading group (OBS 38, room 117)
• 10 June (12.00–13.00): research presentation Albert Joosse (OBS 38, room 117)

Next Meeting: Monday, 10 June, from 12-13h, in OBS 38, Room 117.

Albert Joosse will speak to us on: Temporality and myth in Late Neoplatonism

Abstract
How to talk about timeless reality? For the Neoplatonists of Late Antiquity, time is a derivative phenomenon that characterizes lower-order entities, not the fundamental components and causes of reality. These lower-order entities include human discourse. This creates a problem, because Neoplatonists are convinced that true discourse should be similar to what it refers to: how can a temporally bound account be true about atemporal realities? In this talk I explore how late Neoplatonists regard mythological discourse as an instrument to deal with this problem.

Previous Meetings

1. Monday 12 February, in OBS 38, Room 017. In this meeting Christina Williamson discussed a work-in-progress paper:

   'Deep-time narratives and co-temporalities at urban sanctuaries in the Graeco-Roman world'

   Abstract: Temporality, especially a sense of deep time, is arguably a critical factor towards the concept of ‘urbanity’ in ancient cities. Prestigious cities were those that could boast a deep past, steeped in myth and showing an enduring relation with the gods. Religion was thus at the center of these temporal narratives, with sanctuaries as prime timekeepers of their cities, regulating urban rhythms with their festivals, and retaining civic memory in their spaces. But how was this sense of deep time constituted? The local elite clearly governed monumental dedications at major civic shrines, but how did individuals or families, from various backgrounds, insert their own temporalities at shrines, and through which means? To examine this in higher relief, this paper develops the concept of ‘co-temporality’, extending Lévy’s use of ‘co-spatialité’ (2018)* in seeking overlap of intention and meaning across different stakeholders. This approach lets us both differentiate the various types and agencies of temporal narratives and understand their interdependency as an assemblage of deep time - the one constituting the other. Using the sanctuary of Asklepios at Pergamon as point of reference, the various temporal media -e.g. myth, ritual, dedicatory practices- are identified along with their agents and audiences. The accumulation of these sacred narratives, I argue, resulted in a thick sediment of temporal associations that fostered an authoritative sense of deep time at many different levels.
   * Lévy, J. (2018) 'Introduction. Des espaces du droit', Revue Géographique de l’Est 58, 1-10.

2. 11 March, from 12-13 in OBS 38, Room 117: This session included a discussion of readings, focusing on the two articles below.

   • Jan Assmann 1991 ‘Der zweidimensionale Mensch: das Fest als Medium des kollektiven Gedächtnisses’, in J. Assmann, Th. Sundermeier (eds), Das Fest und das Heilige. Kontrapunkte des Alltags, Studien zum Verstehen fremder Religionen 1, Gütersloh, p.13-30. https://www.academia.edu/100891463/Der_zweidimensionale_Mensch_das_Fest_als_Medium_des_kollektiven_Ged%C3%A4chtnisses?uc-sb-sw=34773074

   • Matthew Baldwin and Lucas A. Keefer 2020 ‘Being Here and Now: The Benefits of Belonging in Space and Time’, Journal of Happiness Studies 21: 3069-3093 (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-019-00214-7) https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10902-019-00214-7

3. Monday, 8 April, from 12-13 in OBS 38, Room 117. In this meeting Felix Budelmann and Saskia Peels will discuss a joint paper (work-in-progress): 

   'The different temporalities of the theoxeny ritual'

   Mini-abstract: Theoxeny rituals invite divine presence in a human space. In managing this challenge, they create complex temporalities. In our talk we explore some of those temporalities through a detailed reading of one inscription, CGRN 96.

Participants

The network currently consists of the following participants (in alphabetical order):

• Arjen Bakker (Religion, Culture and Society)
• Felix Budelmann (Classical Studies)
• Kimberley Fowler (Religion, Culture and Society)
• Rebecca Van Hove (Ancient History)
• Albert Joosse (Classical Studies)
• Onno van Nijf (Ancient History)
• Christina Williamson (Ancient History)
• Adam Wiznura (Ancient History)

Contact: Arjen Bakker (a.f.bakker@rug.nl) and Christina Williamson (c.g.williamson@rug.nl)

All our activities are open to RUG staff and students, and we also welcome colleagues and students from other institutions. If you are interested in becoming a member of the network, please contact us.