Kimaid book examines time and space connections

From an academic standpoint, drawing connections between the areas of history and geography is not overly common; however, for Dr. Michael Kimaid of BGSU Firelands, it seemed like an obvious path.

“I teach courses in both history and geography. Over time, I noticed that I was making a lot of connections between the two disciplines and decided to explore them in my own research,” said Kimaid, who has been on the natural/social sciences faculty at BGSU Firelands for more than 10 years.

The results of his research are shared in his new book “Modernity, Metatheory, and the Temporal-Spatial Divide: From Mythos to Techne,” published by Routledge’s Taylor and Francis Group.

The book is about how modernity affects perceptions of time and space. Kimaid’s primary argument is that geographical space is used to control temporal progress by channeling it to benefit particular political, economic, and social interests, or by halting progress altogether.

“Time and space are the elements of the continuum inside of which everything we can comprehend happens,” he said.

The book navigates through very diverse historical events and places to draw conclusions that can be broadly applied. 

“Researching Greek mythology for one part of the book, the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 for another part, and the Tompkins Square Park Riots for yet another part of the book, and a lot of other subjects in between, was not easy,” said Kimaid, who argues that good theory should be applicable across a broad spectrum of conditions and situations.

Kimaid credits the environment at BGSU Firelands for offering him the opportunity to gain the wide range of knowledge which was necessary to complete his research. “The segmented nature of larger institutions naturally lends to faculty becoming experts in one very specific area, whereas, at Firelands I was able to become more of a generalist, knowledgeable in a variety of areas,” he said.

Kimaid began teaching at BGSU Firelands in 2005. Before beginning his career in academia, he worked for G.C. & Associates doing legal research verifying land surveys with topographic, hydrographic, and cadastral maps. He earned a doctoral and a master’s degree in history from BGSU and a bachelor’s degree in history from the State University of New York at Buffalo.