Synchronization, power and agency

Perspectives on Melanesian historicities

Bibliographic Data

ID21507097
AuthorsEric Hirsch (0000-0003-0365-9372, Brunel University of London, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UK)
Year2026
Volume37
Issue3
Pages1-12
Publication date2026-06-21
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHistory and Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0275-7206 • E-ISSN: 1477-2612
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/02757206.2026.2687554
OpenAlexW7165560609
LanguageEN
References cited10

Synchronization refers to the coordination of different time schemes. How the time schemes held by persons are synchronized towards specific purposes in a social context will depend on the arrangements of power that hold in such contexts. The notion of historicity is also connected with time, with how conceptions of past and future are related in any given present. The article suggests that historicity is objectified – made concrete – through synchronization; when persons and things are placed in a simultaneous time and space such actions disclose local conceptions of historicity. This is examined through the ways synchronization and historicity are made manifest among two Melanesian peoples from highland and coastal Papua. Through these case studies, the paper also considers the relevance of the ‘regime of historicity’ concept in the Melanesian context

Context (archaeology) · Historicity (philosophy) · Power (physics) · Relevance (law) · Space (punctuation) · Synchronization (alternating current) · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Island Studies and Pacific Affairs · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies

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