Folding, Gardening, Jointing, Swirling: On Non-(Uni)Linear Modes of Thinking Historicity and Practicing History

If the bridge between the dimensions of past, present, and future has become as uncertain as the very notion that history follows a linear trajectory, alternative ways of engaging with the past are gaining increasing significance. This essay explores how non-(uni)linear conceptions of time can offer a more nuanced understanding of historical and contemporary worlds. Rather than adhering to monolithic categories of past, present, and future connected by a single developmental line, it proposes metaphors such as the fold, the loop, or the swirl and their respective verbs – each reflecting distinct temporal experiences. By linking these metaphorical perspectives to the everyday practice of historians, the essay examines how such non-(uni)linear approaches not only add value to historiography but may also offer a way out of the uncertain terrain of historicity, thereby stimulating praxeological reflections on historiography in the 21st century.