Department of Middle Eastern Studies cordially invites you to a lecture by Prof. Turaj Atabaki from Leiden University.

The lecture Measuring Modernity: Clock, Time and Work in West Asia will take place on October 19 from 17:30 in Celetná 13, room 1.08.

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The lecture Measuring Modernity: Clock, Time and Work in West Asia by Prof. Touraj Atabaki will explore the relationship between modernity and the measurement of time in the context of Western Asia. It will highlight how precise timekeeping and the use of clocks and timetables played a crucial role in advancing scientific and technological progress. It will trace the history of public mechanical clocks in Persia and the Ottoman Empire, noting initial resistance from religious authorities due to perceived conflict with Islamic principles. It will also examine how the concept of time and work discipline evolved during industrialization, eventually leading to nationwide standards enforced in Turkey and Iran in the 20th century, and analyze the integration of time into public life and its acceptance by society in these regions.

Prof. dr. Touraj Atabaki is Emeritus Professor of Social History of the Middle East and Central Asia at the Leiden University. He is the Senior Research Fellow at the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam and past president of the Association for Iranian Studies and the European Society for Central Asian Studies. He is the author of several publications on the modern history of Iran, Turkey and Central Asia.