Description
Research on time and temporality is increasingly popular among social scientists. While recent contributions have productively explored the conceptual parameters of these ideas and discussed their socio-political consequences, the implications of re-thinking time in conceptual inquiry remain overlooked. Put differently, whilst extant accounts engage time as a concept, the time of concepts is left unattended. To fill-in this gap, this paper looks closely at the understanding of time that concepts embed and discusses its implications. Building on Reinhart Koselleck’s Conceptual History – arguably the most time-focused approach to concept analysis – I offer an innovative method for the analysis of concepts that foregrounds time and its materiality. Firstly, I problematise Koselleck’s distinction between ‘natural’ and ‘historical’ time as well as his focus on language. To tackle both issues, I turn to Andrew Hom’s ‘timing theory’ and queer-theoretical accounts of time as embodied. Secondly, I propose complementing Koselleck’s language-centred method with its material-focused parallel. In particular, I suggest identifying, tracing, and analysing concepts as embodied in matter while simultaneously attending to their (material) temporal structure – i.e. the understanding of time they hint at. Lastly, I showcase this method empirically on the under-theorised concept of ‘military victory’ through the analysis of Greek trophies.
