Hvis vi skal ændre verden, skal vi ændre vores tidsforståelser og tidslige vaner. Blandt forskere indenfor tid, er der mange måder at undersøger hvad sådanne vaner og forandringer består af, og hvordan de udfordres og udvikles. Sammen med en gruppe tidsforskere stod jeg i februar 2022 bag Timely Methods for Novel Times, en international online workshop hvor forskere, praktikere og kunstnere interesserede i 'tid og metode' kunne mødes og dele viden, spørgsmål og ideer. For som vi skrev om workshoppen: "Vi har brug for nye tider, men har vi metoderne til at folde dem ud?"
Workshoppen er nu udkommet som en rapport - en eklektisk og temmelig nørdet sag for folk der har lyst til at dykke ned i en masse spørgsmål og eksempler indenfor emnet 'tid og metode'. Formatet for workshoppen var 'Open Space', hvilket lægger op til at deltagerne mødes, spontant finder på 'sessioner' om temaer de gerne vil undersøge, og indgår i åbne, ustrukturerede dialoger, uden forberedte oplæg. Rapporten er således en samling real-time notater fra de forskellige sessioner på workshoppen - og den kan downloades her:
Et par eksempler fra rapporten:
What are the implicit temporalities in this imaginary ['global climate mitigation imaginary']?
deadlineism (creates a chronological focus)
postponement
expectations of technological innovation and development
urgency framing
scarcity of time and "volume" left in the global carbon budget
We began the conversation by sharing what captivated our interest in discussing language and temporality. One particpant, Victoria, shared that they had been working on the language of waiting. Another, Maria, shared that they are researching a pidgin language historically spoken by indigenous people in a part of Russia, which was viewed as 'backwards' by the Soviets. This lead to questions about how hierarchical perceptions of languages might be linked to temporal hierarchy. In a progress-focussed society, that which is associated with the past may not be considered valuable. We mentioned that folklore is a term connected with temporality, linking present to past through tradition. We wondered what direction we might be facing when considering 'tradition' - is it always nostaligc? What are the implications of that?
We talked about the sibling of rituals: routines. The repetition that gives us a sense of security. Katrine (I think) described some of her work in hospices and how the' emotionality of time' is structured in small repetitive actions that have a ritual quality to them. And when routines and small rituals are removed, as happened e.g. with Covid-19, everyday settings are ruptured and uncertainty takes over.