BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Sabre//Sabre VObject 4.6.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/Zurich X-LIC-LOCATION:Europe/Zurich TZURL:http://tzurl.org/zoneinfo/Europe/Zurich BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0200 TZNAME:CEST DTSTART:19810329T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=-1SU END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0200 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:CET DTSTART:19961027T030000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=10;BYDAY=-1SU END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:news2807@europa.unibas.ch DTSTAMP;TZID=Europe/Zurich:20260812T203305 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260827 SUMMARY:By Invitation Only: The Temporalities of Capitalism—an internatio nal authors’ workshop exploring capitalism\, empire\, and the commodific ation of nature DESCRIPTION:Capitalism has always been shaped by competing temporal pressur es. Entrepreneurial competition\, dependence on credit\, uncertain futures \, and volatile markets required economic and state actors to anticipate c hange and manage risk. At the same time\, capitalist expansion depended on attempts to reconcile the accelerated rhythms of production\, trade\, and finance with the divergent temporalities of labour\, agriculture\, climat e\, animal life\, and natural resources.\\r\\nThe international authors’ workshop The Temporalities of Capitalism: Empire and the Commodification of Nature since 1600 will bring together scholars from Europe\, North Amer ica\, Africa and Asia to examine these relationships from global economic and environmental history perspectives. To be held at the University of Basel from 27 to 29 August 2026\, the workshop forms part of a collaborati ve book project on the role of time in the history of capitalism.\\r\\nThe contributions investigate how expectations of possible futures shaped inv estment\, production\, labor regimes\, and imperial governance. Particular attention is devoted to extractive and agricultural “commodity frontier s\,” where land\, labor\, animals\, and natural resources were incorpora ted into expanding markets. The case studies address\, among other subject s\, cattle in British India\, the nineteenth-century American ice trade\, the work of social reproduction\, colonial agriculture and monsoon seasona lity\, wool and oil-palm frontiers\, Soviet industrial planning\, global w arehousing\, futures markets\, compensated expropriation\, and the tempora lities of ecological ruination.\\r\\nMoving beyond established studies of clock time and industrial work discipline\, the workshop asks how ideas of regularity\, seasonality\, acceleration\, delay\, exhaustion\, and ruptur e influenced historical decision-making. It also explores the techniques t hrough which uncertainty was increasingly transformed into calculable risk \, as well as the conflicts that arose when capitalist expectations encoun tered ecological limits and alternative understandings of time. By connect ing global\, imperial\, economic\, labor\, and environmental history\, the project seeks to establish temporality as a central category for understa nding the development and expansion of capitalism since the early modern p eriod. \\r\\nProgram:\\r\\nThursday\, 27 August 2026\\r\\n09:00–09:15\\ r\\nWelcome and workshop opening\\r\\nMoritz von Brescius and Christof Dej ung \\r\\n09:15–10:00\\r\\nFraming the Volume\\r\\nMoritz von Brescius and Christof Dejung:\\r\\n“Rethinking the Temporalities of Capitalism: A n Introduction” \\r\\n10:00–10:30\\r\\nCoffee break \\r\\n10:30–11 :15\\r\\nDavid Arnold\, University of Warwick:\\r\\n“Bovine Temporalitie s and Capitalist Commodification in British India” \\r\\n11:25–12:10\ \r\\nMoritz von Brescius\, University of Basel:\\r\\n“Frozen Time: The N ineteenth-Century American Ice Trade and the Global Commodification of Col d” \\r\\n12:10–13:30\\r\\nLunch \\r\\n13:30–14:15\\r\\nJulie Johns on\, University of California\, Santa Barbara:\\r\\n“Babies in the Right Time: Imagining the Prorace Cap” \\r\\n14:25–15:10\\r\\nMonika Domma nn\, University of Zurich:\\r\\n“Just-in-Time Capitalism: Warehousing\, Inventory\, and the Temporal Infrastructure of Global Trade” \\r\\n15:1 0–15:40\\r\\nCoffee break \\r\\n15:40–16:25\\r\\nCarolyn Biltoft\, Ge neva Graduate Institute:\\r\\n“The Short Run and la longue durée: Econo mics\, History\, and the Politics of Time” \\r\\n16:35–17:20\\r\\nHat ib Abdul Kadir\, KITLV–Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian an d Caribbean Studies\, Leiden\; Bustamin Wahid\, Universitas Muhammadiyah S orong\; and Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing\, University of California\, Santa Cruz / Aarhus University:\\r\\n“The Temporalities of Ruination” \\r\\n17:2 0–18:10\\r\\nMid-workshop commentary and discussion\\r\\nAnn Laura Stole r\, The New School for Social Research &\\r\\nCorey Ross\, University of B asel \\r\\n19:15\\r\\nWorkshop dinner\\r\\n***\\r\\nFriday\, 28 August 20 26\\r\\n09:00–09:45\\r\\nAndy Bruno\, Indiana University Bloomington:\\r \\n“Soviet Phosphorus: Spatial Temporalities of Labor\, Planning\, Trade \, and Ecology” \\r\\n09:55–10:40\\r\\nJames Nealy\, University of Te xas at San Antonio:\\r\\n“From Fordism to Flexibility: Production Regime s and the Politics of Time in Soviet Russia” \\r\\n10:40–11:10\\r\\nC offee break \\r\\n11:10–11:55\\r\\nMary O’Sullivan\, University of Ge neva:\\r\\n“Fantasy Islands: Politics and Profits on the British Empire ’s Wool Frontier\, 1801–1834” \\r\\n12:05–12:50\\r\\nJonathan Rob ins\, Michigan Technological University:\\r\\n“Capital\, Environments\, and Technology Across Three Waves of oil Palm Expansion” \\r\\n12:50– 14:00\\r\\nLunch \\r\\n14:00–14:45\\r\\nRitam Sengupta\, O.P. Jindal Gl obal University:\\r\\n“The Monsoon’s Compulsion: Colonial Government o f Seasonality and North Indian Agriculture in the Nineteenth Century” \ \r\\n14:55–15:40\\r\\nJuri Auderset\, University of Bern:\\r\\n“Time\, Agriculture\, and Industrial Capitalism” \\r\\n15:40–16:10\\r\\nCoff ee break \\r\\n16:10–16:55\\r\\nNicholas Mulder\, Cornell University:\\ r\\n“The Consolation of Capital: Compensated Expropriation in Modern Eco nomic History” \\r\\n17:05–17:50\\r\\nWorkshop commentary and general discussion\\r\\nTehila Sasson\, University of Oxford\\r\\nAndrew Sartori\ , New York University \\r\\n19:30\\r\\nConference dinner\\r\\n*** \\r\\n Saturday\, 29 August 2026\\r\\n09:00–09:45\\r\\nJavier Francisco\, Unive rsity of Basel:\\r\\n“Reassessing the Commodity Frontier: How Temporal R egimes Shaped Capitalist Expansion in the Eastern Woodlands” \\r\\n09:5 5–10:40\\r\\nAlexander Engel\, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München: \\r\\n“Bandits\, Prophets\, or Burros? Conceptualizing Speculators in Fu tures Markets” \\r\\n10:40–11:10\\r\\nCoffee break \\r\\n11:10–12: 00\\r\\nConcluding roundtable\\r\\nGroup discussion\, next steps\, and deb rief  \\r\\n12:00\\r\\nInformal lunch \\r\\n13:30\\r\\nCity walk and Rh ine swim\, weather permitting X-ALT-DESC:

Capitalism has always been shaped by competing temporal press ures. Entrepreneurial competition\, dependence on credit\, uncertain futur es\, and volatile markets required economic and state actors to anticipate change and manage risk. At the same time\, capitalist expansion depended on attempts to reconcile the accelerated rhythms of production\, trade\, a nd finance with the divergent temporalities of labour\, agriculture\, clim ate\, animal life\, and natural resources.

\n

The international autho rs’ workshop The Temporalities of Capitalism: Empire and the Commodifica tion of Nature since 1600 will bring together scholars from Europe\, North America\, Africa \;and Asia to examine these relationships from globa l economic and environmental history \;perspectives. To be held at the University of Basel from 27 to 29 August 2026\, the workshop forms part o f a collaborative book project on the role of time in the history of capit alism.

\n

The contributions investigate how expectations of possible futures shaped investment\, production\, labor regimes\, and imperial gove rnance. Particular attention is devoted to extractive and agricultural “ commodity frontiers\,” where land\, labor\, animals\, and natural resour ces were incorporated into expanding markets. The case studies address\, a mong other subjects\, cattle in British India\, the nineteenth-century Ame rican ice trade\, the work of social reproduction\, colonial agriculture a nd monsoon seasonality\, wool and oil-palm frontiers\, Soviet industrial p lanning\, global warehousing\, futures markets\, compensated expropriation \, and the temporalities of ecological ruination.

\n

Moving beyond es tablished studies of clock time and industrial work discipline\, the works hop asks how ideas of regularity\, seasonality\, acceleration\, delay\, ex haustion\, and rupture influenced historical decision-making. It also expl ores the techniques through which uncertainty was increasingly transformed into calculable risk\, as well as the conflicts that arose when capitalis t expectations encountered ecological limits and alternative understanding s of time. By connecting global\, imperial\, economic\, labor\, and enviro nmental history\, the project seeks to establish temporality as a central category for understanding the development and expansion of capitalism sin ce the early modern period.
 \;

\n

Program:

\n

Thursday\, 27 August 2026

\n

09:00 –09:15

\n

Welcome and workshop opening

\n

Moritz von Brescius and Christof Dejung
 \;

\n

09:15–10:00

\n

Framing the Volume

\n< p>Moritz von Brescius and Christof Dejung:

\n

“Rethinking t he Temporalities of Capitalism: An Introduction”
 \;\n

10:00–10:30

\n

Coffee break
 \;

\n

10:30–11:15

\n

David Arnold\, University of Warwick:

\n

“Bovine Temporalities and Capitalist Commodific ation in British India”
 \;

\n

11:25–12 :10

\n

Moritz von Brescius\, University of Basel:

\n

“Frozen Time: The Nineteenth-Century American Ice Trade and the Gl obal Commodification of Cold”
 \;

\n

12:1 0–13:30

\n

Lunch
 \;

\n

13:30–14:1 5

\n

Julie Johnson\, University of California\, Santa Barbar a:

\n

“Babies in the Right Time: Imagining the Prorace Cap ”
 \;

\n

14:25–15:10

\n

M onika Dommann\, University of Zurich:

\n

“Just-in-Time Capi talism: Warehousing\, Inventory\, and the Temporal Infrastructure of Globa l Trade”
 \;

\n

15:10–15:40

\n

Coffee break
 \;

\n

15:40–16:25

\n

Carolyn Biltoft\, Geneva Graduate Institute:

\n

“The S hort Run and la longue durée: Economics\, History\, and the Politics of T ime”
 \;

\n

16:35–17:20

\n< p>Hatib Abdul Kadir\, KITLV–Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asi an and Caribbean Studies\, Leiden\; Bustamin Wahid\, Universitas Muhammadi yah Sorong\; and Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing\, University of California\, Santa Cruz / Aarhus University:

\n

“The Temporalities of Ruinatio n”
 \;

\n

17:20–18:10

\n

Mid-workshop commentary and discussion

\n

Ann Laura Stoler\, The New School for Social Research &\;

\n

Corey Ross\, Un iversity of Basel
 \;

\n

19:15

\n

Workshop dinner

\n

***

\n

Friday\, 28 August 2026

\n

09:00–09:45

\n

Andy Bruno\, Indiana University Bloomington:

\n

“Sovi et Phosphorus: Spatial Temporalities of Labor\, Planning\, Trade\, and Eco logy”
 \;

\n

09:55–10:40

\n

James Nealy\, University of Texas at San Antonio:

\n

“Fr om Fordism to Flexibility: Production Regimes and the Politics of Time in Soviet Russia”
 \;

\n

10:40–11:10

\n

Coffee break
 \;

\n

11:10–11:55

\n

Mary O’Sullivan\, University of Geneva:

\n

“Fa ntasy Islands: Politics and Profits on the British Empire’s Wool Frontie r\, 1801–1834”
 \;

\n

12:05–12:50

\n

Jonathan Robins\, Michigan Technological University:

\n

“Capital\, Environments\, and Technology Across Three Waves of oil Palm Expansion”
 \;

\n

12:50–14:00< /strong>

\n

Lunch
 \;

\n

14:00–14:45

\n

Ritam Sengupta\, O.P. Jindal Global University:

\n

“The Monsoon’s Compulsion: Colonial Government of Seasonality and Nort h Indian Agriculture in the Nineteenth Century”
 \;

\n

14:55–15:40

\n

Juri Auderset\, University of Bern:

\n

“Time\, Agriculture\, and Industrial Capitalism ”
 \;

\n

15:40–16:10

\n

C offee break
 \;

\n

16:10–16:55

\n

Ni cholas Mulder\, Cornell University:

\n

“The Consolation of Capital: Compensated Expropriation in Modern Economic History”< br /> \;

\n

17:05–17:50

\n

Worksh op commentary and general discussion

\n

Tehila Sasson\, Univ ersity of Oxford

\n

Andrew Sartori\, New York University
 \;

\n

19:30

\n

Conference dinner

\n

*** \;

\n

Saturday\, 29 August 2026

\n

09:00–09:45

\n

Javier Franci sco\, University of Basel:

\n

“Reassessing the Commodity Fr ontier: How Temporal Regimes Shaped Capitalist Expansion in the Eastern Wo odlands”
 \;

\n

09:55–10:40

\n

Alexander Engel\, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München:

\n

“Bandits\, Prophets\, or Burros? Conceptualizing Speculators in Futures Markets”
 \;

\n

10:40–11:10

\n

Coffee break
 \;

\n

11:10–12:00

\n

Concluding roundtable

\n

Group discussi on\, next steps\, and debrief \;
 \;

\n

12:00

\n

Informal lunch
 \;

\n

13:30< /p>\n

City walk and Rhine swim\, weather permitting

\n\n DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260829 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR