19/12/2018 Rezension zu: V. Ogle: Global Transformation | Connections https://www.connections.clio-online.net/publicationreview/id/rezbuecher-24834?title=v-ogle-global-transformation&recno=15&q=&sort=&fq=&total=1498 1/3 V. Ogle: Global Transformation Rezensiert für 'Connections' und H-Soz-Kult von: Maria Rikitianskaia, Institute of Media and Journalism, Università della Svizzera italiana Maria Rikitianskaia, Institute of Media and Journalism, Università della Svizzera italiana The book of Vanessa Ogle represents an important historical study on the origins of the uniform time. The profound analysis of original and previously understudied historical sources and reflection on the transformation of the temporalities in various cultures contributes significantly to social and historical research. Even more remarkably, this book tells a new narrative on the creation of the uniform time on a global scale, very different from the dominating one in the scholarship. For several last decades, the historical and social thought on global time followed the reflection of E.P. Thompson on relations between time and discipline. In his classic article Time, Work-Discipline, and Industrial Capitalism of 1967, he suggested that the creation of the uniform time was motivated by the increasing industrialization of society, as the working hours allowed easily to control and synchronize a vast number of workers. The Ogle’s historical study consistently argues with this idea and demonstrates that the uniform time was a result of numerous social and political negotiations shaped by multiple forces, while industrialization process had a minor role. Another significant contribution of Ogle's book is the reflection on the spread of uniform time as a global phenomenon. Ogle shows that paradoxically, diffusion of the uniform time stimulated the spread of a greater variety of times, from religious to local calendars. With the proliferation of the uniform time, the world paradoxically became less homogenous and a more uneven place. The organization of the book is thematic: starting from the issues of the uniform time, the chapters progress to the problem of calendars, traversing from Germany to the Levant. The introduction outlines the key pillars of the theoretical framework. Ogle writes about the increasing interconnectedness of the nineteenth century, which at the same time accompanied the rise of nationalism and powerful state apparatus. She also introduces the reader to the prevailing ideas of the late-nineteenth century, such as the idea of the world turning into a global village, and an obsession Title The Global Transformation of Time 1870–1950. Author(s) Ogle, Vanessa Published on Cambridge, MA 2015: Harvard University Press Extent 279 S. Price € 38,23; £ 29.95 ISBN 978-0-674-28614-6