Description
Book SynopsisIn
Chronos, a leading French historian ranges from Western antiquity to the Anthropocene, pinpointing the crucial turning points in our relationship to time. François Hartog considers the genealogy of Western temporalities, examining the order of times and the divisions of time into epochs.
Trade ReviewWith characteristic elegance, wit, and erudition, Hartog, the master thinker of historical time, offers a panoramic view of the past to show how a temporal order (re)fashioned by Christianity endures to this day and shapes our crisis-ridden sense of the present. This is a longue-durée perspective on the Anthropocene that only someone with Hartog's learning and brilliance could have provided. An indispensable guide to the present. -- Dipesh Chakrabarty, author of
Provincializing Europe: Postcolonial Thought and Historical DifferenceChronos is a magisterial book, breathtaking in scope and precision. I cannot think of another historian who could have written this book in this way. François Hartog uniquely possesses the intellectual expertise and range to lead the reader through a sweeping history of the concept of time in the “West,” beginning with the Greeks in antiquity and ending with our current periodization of the Anthropocene. It is an important work on one of the most pressing topics of our day. -- Ethan Kleinberg, author of
Haunting History: For a Deconstructive Approach to the PastThis book, masterfully translated by S. R. Gilbert, will undoubtedly become a classic. A Christian “revolution in time” led from Greek Chronos, to Augustine’s self, to modern change, and to the Anthropocene. Beautifully written, this is a book for everyone who wants to know why our time is what it is. -- Nitzan Lebovic, Apter Chair of Holocaust Studies and Ethical Values, Lehigh University
In this brilliant, original, and profound book, François Hartog takes further his critical analyses of the sources and legacies of modern Western assumptions about time. He brings to light their urgent relevance to us today as we face challenges such as climate change, the Anthropocene, and potential global geopolitical catastrophe. -- Sir Geoffrey Lloyd, University of Cambridge
Magisterial yet accessible,
Chronos can make the rare claim to encompass all of recorded time in a relatively slim [book]. * New York Sun *
Hartog's book offers necessary elucidation of how Westerners’ relationships with time brought us to this current moment. * Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute *
For those seeking insight into past conceptions of time or questioning how we arrived at our current presentist temporality,
Chronos serves as a clear and concise starting point. * H-Sci-Med-Tech, H-Net Reviews *
Hartog is a superbly gifted writer who wears his learning lightly and without recourse to jargon, and translator S .R. Gilbert has served his author’s conversational style well in rendering it into eloquent English. . . . An enjoyable tour and a welcome synthesis of current thought on the human experience of temporality. * The Philosopher *
Table of ContentsTo Readers of the English Edition
Preface: The Undeducible Present
Introduction: From the Greeks to the Christians
1. The Christian Regime of Historicity: Chronos Between Kairos and Krisis
2. The Christian Order of Time and Its Spread
3. Negotiating with Chronos
4. Dissonance and Fissures
5. In the Thrall of Chronos
6. Chronos Destituted, Chronos Restored
Conclusion: The Anthropocene and History
Notes
Index
