Research
Research at the Einstein Center Chronoi is organized into three primary groups: the team, fellows, and explorations. As well as working to facilitate the operations of the EC-C alongside administrative staff, the team’s executive board members and research associates each also contribute their own time-related project. Research fellows, representing a broad spectrum of academic backgrounds and qualifications, are appointed yearly to participate in the EC-C research agenda both with their individual project and collaborative participation in EC-C events. Lastly, the Einstein Center Chronoi hosts several blue-sky research projects called “Explorations”. Explorations complement and expand the research agenda of the EC-C by integrating unique and groundbreaking topics.
The projects and researchers from these three areas are organized into the research areas of the Einstein Center Chronoi:
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TOPIC
Ancient Perceptions and Concepts of Time
Perceptions and conceptions of time are often in tension. In this research area, the EC-C aims to explore the exact relationship between perceptions and concepts of time in cultures and societies of the ancient world: how conceptions of time have developed from perceptions of time and, conversely, how conceptions of time have shaped experiences of time. Members will examine the conditions under which concepts of time were developed and practiced in ancient societies and cultures, how time concepts such as chronologies were integrated into their daily lives, and how this integration affected their experience of time.
Researchers
Explorations
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TOPIC
Foundations for Ancient Time Perceptions and Concepts provided by Natural Sciences
This research area seeks to establish interfaces for the integration of other disciplines, especially from the natural sciences. Neurological cognitive science, which is oriented towards the social sciences and which examines and describes the coding of time perception in the brain and the hierarchization of these perceptions, is particularly well suited for such discussions. Members of this group explore the extent to which current findings from cognitive neuroscience and other fields can complement research on concepts and perceptions of time in antiquity, and thus try to shed new light on the study of time in the ancient world.
Researchers
Explorations
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TOPIC
Perceptions and Concepts of Time in the Study of Societies and Cultures of the Ancient World
This research area examines the perceptions and concepts of time assumed and used in the study of antiquity. Members will contribute by investigating and critically reviewing the historical development and nature of time concepts that have been or are being used in the field of Ancient Studies. To this end, collaboration with scholars in the history of science and intellectual history has proven to be particularly fruitful.
Researchers
Explorations