EUTIM research project: Discover non-simultaneities in Europe's understanding of time!

EUTIM research project: Discover non-simultaneities in Europe's understanding of time!

The research college “European Times/European Times (EUTIM)” at the European University Viadrina continues its important research on non-simultaneities and heterogeneous ideas of temporality in Europe. The official opening of the second funding phase took place on January 17, 2025 at the Transregional Studies Forum in Berlin. This new phase began in October 2024 and is supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with around 1,143,000 euros for three years. EUTIM, which was launched in 2021, pursues the thesis that the understanding of time in Central and Eastern Europe has deviated significantly from Western European ideas since the Cold War.

The project is supported not only by the European University Viadrina, but also by the University of Potsdam and the Forum Transregional Studies. It aims to examine different regimes of temporality in European cultures, history and literature, with a focus on the particularities of Central and Eastern Europe. The focus is on well-known temporality discourses such as lost utopias and the inflation of dystopias, which are further reinforced by current developments such as Russia's retropolitics and the Ukraine conflict.

Research priorities and goals

EUTIM analyzes the effects of heterogeneous conceptions of time on social and cultural ideas and examines the relationships between the past, present and future using concrete case studies. A particular focus is on the history of science and ideas as well as cultural self-descriptions in Central and Eastern Europe. This comprehensive analysis is intended not only to deepen the understanding of regional characteristics, but also to strengthen Eastern European research in the Brandenburg and Berlin region.

In addition, the project aims to develop innovative concepts for open regional studies in Germany. It promotes the creation of high-quality dissertations, habilitations and postdoctoral projects, supported by young research groups and a structured doctoral program. The principal investigators are Prof. Dr. Annette Werberger, Prof. Dr. Andrii Portnov and Prof. Dr. Alexander Wöll played a key role.

Cooperation partners and networking

In addition to the partners mentioned above, the cooperation also includes the Free University of Berlin, the Humboldt University of Berlin, the Leuphana University of Lüneburg and the Berlin University of the Arts. This comprehensive networking is crucial for transregional research and knowledge transfer, which are central to EUTIM. In addition to the Transregional Studies Forum, which is responsible for science communication, programs such as “Prisma Ukraïna” and “Europe in the Middle East” also play an important role.

With a large number of scientists, the project helps to promote interdisciplinary collaboration and bring together different perspectives. The work of Elen Budinova, Fabian Erlenmaier, Ricarda Fait-Bartolomäus and others, among others, is integrated into the research in order to prepare and discuss the topic in a multifaceted manner.

With these comprehensive research approaches, EUTIM represents a significant initiative to investigate the complex temporal dimensions in Europe and offers new insights into the cultural and social challenges of the present.