On Time

Technology and Temporality in Modern Egypt

Nonfiction, History, Middle East, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Anthropology
Cover of the book On Time by On Barak, University of California Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: On Barak ISBN: 9780520956568
Publisher: University of California Press Publication: July 19, 2013
Imprint: University of California Press Language: English
Author: On Barak
ISBN: 9780520956568
Publisher: University of California Press
Publication: July 19, 2013
Imprint: University of California Press
Language: English

In this pioneering history of transportation and communication in the modern Middle East, On Barak argues that contrary to accepted wisdom technological modernity in Egypt did not drive a sense of time focused on standardization only. Surprisingly, the introduction of the steamer, railway, telegraph, tramway, and telephone in colonial Egypt actually triggered the development of unique timekeeping practices that resignified and subverted the typical modernist infatuation with expediency and promptness. These countertempos, predicated on uneasiness over "dehumanizing" European standards of efficiency, sprang from and contributed to non-linear modes of arranging time.

Barak shows how these countertempos formed and developed with each new technological innovation during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, contributing to a particularly Egyptian sense of time that extends into the present day, exerting influence over contemporary political language in the Arab world. The universal notion of a modern mechanical standard time and the deviations supposedly characterizing non-Western settings "from time immemorial," On Time provocatively argues, were in fact mutually constitutive and mutually reinforcing.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In this pioneering history of transportation and communication in the modern Middle East, On Barak argues that contrary to accepted wisdom technological modernity in Egypt did not drive a sense of time focused on standardization only. Surprisingly, the introduction of the steamer, railway, telegraph, tramway, and telephone in colonial Egypt actually triggered the development of unique timekeeping practices that resignified and subverted the typical modernist infatuation with expediency and promptness. These countertempos, predicated on uneasiness over "dehumanizing" European standards of efficiency, sprang from and contributed to non-linear modes of arranging time.

Barak shows how these countertempos formed and developed with each new technological innovation during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, contributing to a particularly Egyptian sense of time that extends into the present day, exerting influence over contemporary political language in the Arab world. The universal notion of a modern mechanical standard time and the deviations supposedly characterizing non-Western settings "from time immemorial," On Time provocatively argues, were in fact mutually constitutive and mutually reinforcing.

More books from University of California Press

Cover of the book Assassination of a Saint by On Barak
Cover of the book On Becoming a Teen Mom by On Barak
Cover of the book Ghosts of Futures Past by On Barak
Cover of the book Is It Safe? by On Barak
Cover of the book Shari'ah on Trial by On Barak
Cover of the book The Life of Cheese by On Barak
Cover of the book Experiencing Latin American Music by On Barak
Cover of the book Playing War by On Barak
Cover of the book Said the Prophet of God by On Barak
Cover of the book In Your Eyes a Sandstorm by On Barak
Cover of the book Governing Systems by On Barak
Cover of the book Imaging Disaster by On Barak
Cover of the book From History to Theory by On Barak
Cover of the book Following the Leader by On Barak
Cover of the book Coming Famine by On Barak
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy