Prof. Joachim Küpper is a literary scholar specializing in Romance literatures and comparative literary studies from Freie Universitaet Berlin. Cheng Yu Tung College (CYTC) was honored to invite Prof. Küpper to give a salon talk on “the Humanities and the Conceptualization of Time” on 21, April, 2006.
After the Master’s dinner held in G1051 with Prof. Küpper, Prof. Poo, Dr. Victoria, Dr. Montgomery, Dr. Alexander, Dr. Rostam Neuwirth and our students as honorable guests of the dinner, the talk was then held in Master Chung’s quarter with a relaxing atmosphere.
Prof. Küpper first elaborated the development of humanities in the West and then introduced two perspectives of the conceptualization of time in humanities: the linear and cyclical conceptualization of time. Linear conceptualization of time refers to the perspective that views the development of humanities follows geometrical figure of a vector or of a line, meaning: a constant progression without a repetition of what had existed previously. On the other hand, a cyclical conceptualization of time refers to the perspective that views nature, human life and culture consists of an endless recurrence of the same patterns. Prof. Küpper also empathizes that there are no right of wrong for these two perspectives. Yet, it directly affects how we study about culture, as a linear progression of changes or as something stable with recurrence.
After the talk, students, our honorable guests and Prof. Küpper shared an enjoyable moments through a wonderful discussion about different perspectives of arts, culture and philosophy between the West and the East.
