Deborah de Muijnck (Ed.)

Troubling Time(s). Questioning Prevailing Notions of Time in the Study of Literature and Culture

ISBN 978-3-98940-052-8, 276 S., kt., € 37,50

(GCSC - Giessen Contributions to the Study of Culture, Bd. 19)

erscheint voraussichtlich 28.02.2025

This volume examines how narratives across literature, film, and (museal) art challenge and reshape our understanding of time during crises. The contributors explore temporal disruptions in personal, societal, and environmental contexts, revealing how storytelling can critique dominant temporalities and inspire transformation. The volume begins by revisiting past and future scenarios, from dystopian visions shaping collective futures to narratives reconciling contested histories. Section two examines personal struggles and societal upheavals, highlighting how propaganda, performance, and comedy address moments of crisis. Subsequent chapters explore narrative strategies that review linear notions of time, from exhibitions and novels to travelogues. Sections three and four uncover resilience in crises, reflecting on nostalgia, biodiversity loss, and cultural upheaval as sources of care and creativity. The anthology concludes with focus on the Anthropocene, where speculative fiction, climate narratives, and the ethics of gardening propose cyclical, slowed temporal experiences as alternatives to modernity’s linear time. With its interdisciplinary approach, Troubling Time(s) highlights narratives’ ability to question prevailing temporalities and reimagine the past, present, and potential future(s). This collection is therefore essential for those interested in cultural studies, narrative theory, and the intersections of time and crisis.