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Time is an essential element of rhythm. Taking the overall theme of this EADI conference, “Towards New Rhythms of Development”, as an inspiring starting point, this session provides a forum to share and discuss development studies research that engages explicitly with temporalities. All development opportunities, challenges and governance, and their related assumptions, practices and representations have temporal dimensions. The high speed of resource consumption and economic growth has pushed us to global limits. Since the 1970s, we have learned, should have learned, to think long-term and inter-generational, in the quest for sustainable development. In our time of multiple of crises, we are constantly warned that the clock is ticking and we must urgently do, slow down on or stop doing certain activities. Time is relative, and temporalities display their socio-spatial particularities. Alternatives such as slow food and degrowth are solutions for some development contexts but not others.

We hope to build a panel with papers that (i) advance our understanding of the temporal particularities of different (interrelated) development issues, (ii) critically reflect on the significance of temporalities (as in time-frames, timing, tempo, duration, sequence and temporal modalities (past, present, future), drawing on Barbara Adam’s “timescape” perspective), (ii) examine the relevance of temporalities in governance in the field of development studies, and/or (iv) leverage temporal perspectives for new insights and pathways for change.

We conclude with some time for collective reflection on the “future of time” in development studies, policy and practices. We will discuss: How (if at all) should temporal dimensions of development be brought into our research, teaching and other engagements? Can a focus on spatio-temporality offer us openings for more sustainable and inclusive development paradigms?

We encourage researchers working with different theoretical, analytical and methodological perspectives, and in diverse thematic and geographical contexts to submit an abstract.

This panel is organised by the EADI Working Group on Inclusive Development