This special issue is a follow-up to the international conference “The Grammar of Time: Ontologies and Practices Across Cultures”, held at the University of Latvia from 19 to 21 November 2025 and organised by the he Department of Asian Studies at the FH UL. More than 60 papers on the concept of time were presented at the conference, covering a wide range of research fields – physics, neurobiology and philosophy to anthropology, literature, religious studies and comparative cultural research.
This special issue continues the discussion begun at the conference on time not solely as a chronological measurement – temporality emerges as a complex cultural and intellectual structure formed by historical experience, language, ritual practice, social organization, political imagination, and aesthetic representation. Time appears as a neutral framework within which events take place; moreover, it is revealed as an active principle whereby reality itself is interpreted and organized. The thematic scope of the articles encompasses a wide range of approaches and perspectives – from Marxist philosophy and critical theory, Daoist and Buddhist thought, to ecological perspectives, the theory of social acceleration, neuroscience and reflections on time inspired by contemporary physics.
The volume brings together research papers from Europe and China, India, Korea and other countries. International partners of the Department, including colleagues from the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia, were also involved in its publishing process.
Such international and interdisciplinary collaboration represents a significant achievement in the University of Latvia’s international academic activities, particularly highlighting the international visibility of the Department and its importance in contemporary humanities research.
The issue is available online.
About the conference "The Grammar of Time: Ontologies and Practices Across Cultures" and recordings of all three days available.
, of the journal "Culture Crossroads", published by the Latvian Academy of Culture, is now available. It is dedicated to the concept of time in philosophy, science and culture. The guest editor and conceptual author of the issue is Professor Kaspars Kļaviņš, Head of the Department of Asian Studies at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Latvia (FH UL).){kind=link}