ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates time as a technology, and the relationship between time and race. There is recognition that different social groups – especially ethnic and racial collectives – are subject to different temporal constraints and hold varied perceptions of time. In the chapter, Hughey nuances the understanding of time and temporal experience as constants. Instead, he argues different social groups – especially ethnic and racial collectives – are subject to different temporal constraints and hold varied perceptions of time. Simply put, time is racialised. While this could lead to a reductionist appraisal of people of colour, Hughey provides a corrective to such lines of inquiry by arguing that we need to understand how temporal sensitivities contribute to senses of racial belonging and identity. By analysing data from four all-white organisations, Hughey shows how particular understandings of time help shape white racial identity and white belonging. And, vice versa, how a sense of white racial identity shapes perceptions of time, and, following this, how variations in racialised settings shape perceptions of time and how such interpretations serve as mechanisms in a racialised social order.
