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(Re)thinking Time and Temporalities in Peace and Conflict

Conference Program | Long Program | Conference Report ( de / en )

Zentrumstage 2020 - Digital Conference Format – October 29-31

Conference Experience

Thanks to the great contributions we received in response to our call, we have been able to organize an inspiring conference with two highly renowned keynote speakers, Natascha Mueller-Hirth and Annick Wibben. You can access the complete conference program as well as our conference report (de/en) documenting the contributions and topics discussed during the Zentrumstage 2020.

The Zentrumstage 2020 conference took place in a completely digital format, which allowed us to record both keynote speeches. We are therefore happy to announce that the opening keynote of the conference by Natascha Mueller-Hirth on "Chronopolitics and temporal resistance in peace and conflict" as well as the closing keynote by Annick Wibben on "Feminist Narratives of Peace & War: Conceptualizing Violence as Continua" are publicly available on the Center for Conflict Studies YouTube channel. These two talks will remain online and accessible to the wider public, so please feel free to share the links with anyone else who may be interested and may have missed this year's Zentrumstage conference.

Opening Keynote by Natascha Mueller-Hirth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJrChIAxlTY&feature=youtu.be

Closing Keynote by Annick Wibben: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqFAoz8Inj8&feature=youtu.be

We would not have been able to organize this digital conference without the great help of our colleagues at the Center for Conflict Studies. We especially would like to thank Pia Falschebner and Tina Cramer for their assistance throughout the organizational process. In addition, the conference benefited from financial support by the Center for Conflict Studies, the Universitätsstiftung and the MArburg University Research Academy. Last but not least, we would like to thank all the contributors and especially Natascha Mueller-Hirth and Annick Wibben for their inspiring thoughts and discussions.

We really enjoyed having you all at the Zentrumstage 2020!

Kind regards,

The organizing team
Alina de Luna, Alina Giesen, Sara Kolah Ghoutschi, Miriam Tekath

Conference Description

Thinking about time and temporalities is crucial to the study of peace and conflict. Both concepts are an essential part of how we make sense of the world around us and our existence within it. In consequence, they structure how we think about conflict and peace in a multitude of ways. Whether it’s the foundational distinction between times of peace and times of war (as well as the transitions between them) or the periodization of conflicts, the various ways in which we order conflict and peace temporally have consequences for our interpretations of the subject matter.

Temporal dynamics within conflicts, such as acceleration or deceleration or the potential heterogeneity and interplay of timelines in various arenas, may be useful lenses through which to consider processes in conflict settings. Furthermore, the construction of pasts, presents and futures as well as memory in and of conflict can serve as a powerful moment for a conflict’s continuation, transformation or resurgence.

Inquiries into constructive timing and sequencing are thus also key for conflict transformation and the fostering of peace. Be it the different approaches of dealing with a violent past, challenges of transforming current conflicts or future prospects of peace – time and temporalities are always an integral part when addressing conflict dynamics and peace processes.

While perennial efforts of conceptualizing time and temporalities have left their mark on other disciplines within the social sciences and humanities, the topic has thus far not been at the forefront of academic inquiry in our field. It is therefore time to deepen our understanding of these perspectives, further conceptualize time and temporalities, and strengthen the temporal focus in Peace and Conflict Studies.

Organizers: Alina de Luna, Alina Giesen, Sara Kolah Ghoutschi, Miriam Tekath