Touching time: duration, bodies, politics

Touching time: duration, bodies, politics

Registration open now for the BSP International Symposium 2025 with the University of Tilburg and Netherlands Institute for Cultural Analysis.

Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands | In-person and online
23 & 24 June 2025
FREE
Registration open now

In modern Western thought, time is often seen as a naturally linear, infinite succession of moments, moving from past to future. In this line of thinking, bodies are located in time as in an empty container, while the vastly different ways in which time is shaped by bodies and their interactions tends to be overlooked.

In this two-day symposium, we explore the intersection of embodiment and temporality and challenge the conception of time as linear succession. Speakers focus on ways in which different embodied practices, experiences, and relations shape and are shaped by time, such experiences could be chronic illness, ageing, political displacement, prolonged relationships of love or care, detention, or activism for a seemingly hopeless cause. For bodies in these situations, time can appear to be “stuck,” to stretch, fold, or move in unpredictable ways.

The Symposium will be comprised of two keynote presentations, several selected 20-minute presentations, and a workshop session. There will be 10 minutes of Q&A following each selected presentation.

Keynote speakers - Professor Lisa Baraitser (Birkbeck, University of London, UK) and Dr David Ventura (Newcastle University, UK).

Find out more about the event plus how to register for free on the Touching time: duration, bodies, politics webpage.