engleski

TRAFFIC CONNECTION AS A FACTOR OF THE MULTIPLE TEMPORALITIES CREATED WITHIN THE SAME ISLAND – THE CASE OF DUGI OTOK, CROATIA

Linear time and temporality have long been a research focus within various disciplines, including sociology and anthropology, but their concepts have recently become more intriguing to geographers. Place and space were researched separately from time and temporality until it became clearer that because social changes occur within a certain space at a certain time, both dimensions require equal consideration in an analysis. The idea of this unbreakable connection became the foundation of time-space geography. Islands have a special allure to time-sensitive researchers because they are often perceived as “time capsules” or places where time stops or flows slowly. Needless to say, an islander’s perception of the time and place in which they live is completely different from that of an occasional visitor, usually owing to the long- prevailing periodic functions of life in an island space. Progress in building traffic connections to link islanders and the mainland can alter these temporal processes and trigger a duality in development, creating different perceptions of time in the same space. This study investigates the notion of multiple temporalities using results from a multidisciplinary project about the network of island temporality on Dugi Otok in the Zadar archipelago. The research focuses on social changes in opposing parts of the island that happened along with enhanced traffic connections and focuses on the idea and significance of linear time and changes in life rhythms after introducing 24-hour clock time. All Dugi Otok settlements are rural, and islanders’ lives were once linked to seasonal or daily work in agriculture and fishery, which depended on meteorological conditions, fishing seasons, lunar phases, crop calendars, and the like. The establishment of regular boat connections and developments in industry and education shifted work and life rhythms to adjust to linear time. The methodology includes comparing data about different socio-geographic aspects of life on the island before and after introducing faster connections and a quantitative study with semi-structured interviews of the islanders from the opposing parts of the island. The preliminary results point to different notions of time in two island areas (NW and SE), with northern settlements experiencing more negative socio- economic processes, including heavy emigration and ageing. In conclusion, the study will explain how perceptions of space and time change due to traffic connections and how much these perceptions diverge in a shared island space.

Dugi otok Island ; temporality ; traffic connection

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