Toward a Theory of Time for the Digital Humanities (original) (raw)

The dominant view of time sees time as homogeneous and one-directional. But this does not adequately characterize the human experience of time: Some hours feel longer than others, for instance, and we may forget what day it is. Moreover, we recall and reshape our pasts, jumping backwards, and we plan for our futures, jumping forwards. When documents become involved, the experience of time is all the more multidimensional. Up to now, the digital humanities have been operating with the dominant (positivist, physical) view of time, but in order to provide a holistic representation of the human condition, other models of time should be explored. This paper argues that Heidegger’s theory of time, from phenomenology, and the theory of document transaction, from document studies, can be used to present a theory of documental time. For Heidegger, time does not exist, per se, but rather unfolds as part of being. Being and time are characterized by the fusion of past, present and future; the three are not simultaneous, but they co-exist and can co-determine each other. The theory of document transaction postulates the document as the momentary coming-together of a person and an object. A document transaction is the mechanism by which a document comes to be; thus the document is neither the object nor the person, but something that arises when the two meet. In documental time, then, the past and future of the person and the past and future of the object cohere in a shared present. This view of time invites a host of analytical and visualization strategies for the digital humanities to explore.