Sebastian Hackbarth
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The Present in the City. Comparison of Temporal Markers in the Cities of the Former Low Countries and the Alemannic Region
My phd is part of the SNSF-Sinergia project “Capturing the Present in Northwestern Europe (1348–1648): A Cultural History of the Present before the Age of Presentism”, led by the University of Neuchâtel. This project aims to understand how “the present” was perceived and experienced in Northwestern Europe between the mid-14th and mid-17th centuries. It is an interdisciplinary and international project in collaboration with researchers from the University of Neuchâtel, the University of Lausanne, and the University of Lille.
Within this project, my research at the University of Lille is titled “The Present in the City: Comparison of Temporal Markers in the Cities of the Former Low Countries and the Alemannic Region”, under the supervision of Élodie Lecuppre-Desjardin (HARTIS, U-Lille) and Olivier Richard-Trauffer (University of Fribourg, Switzerland). The goal is to understand the urban spaces that structured daily life in 14th- and 15th-century society, as well as to grasp how these spaces were activated during extraordinary events such as princely entries and catastrophies. To this end, I compare cities of Mons from the former Low Countries —with the Alemannic city of Bern, located in present-day Switzerland.
My research is based on various types of sources that help me identify temporal rhythms, such as urban chronicles, normative and practical legal sources, and Council Registers. The thesis contributes to research on urban spaces within the Holy Roman Empire, gender history, and medieval and early modern temporalities.
Latest activities
Forthcoming presentation: May 19, 2026, Seminar: "Mainzer Gespräche "Neues aus Landesgeschichte und Spätmittelalter", "Zeitmarker der Stadt. Wie Raum und Zeit das Leben im spätmittelalterlichen Bern strukturierten", University of Mainz.
Publication: Sebastian Hackbarth (march 8, 2026). "Pépite : Une sorcière contre les Bernois ? La pluie magique d’Olten." Capturing the Present in Northwestern Europe (1348–1648). URL: https://capt.hypotheses.org/11726.
Presentation (february 13, 2026) at the conference "Présents prodigieux Représentations, usages et savoirs de l’extraordinaire à l’épreuve du temps (XV–XVII siècle)" with Élodie Lecuppre-Desjardin (Université de Lille), « Wunderbarlich vom himmel herab gevallen. Les prodiges comme marqueurs temporels dans les villes suisses alémaniques aux XV et XVI siècles ».
Co-organization of the doctoral seminar "thèse à thèse" 2025-2026.
Co-organization of the conference The Present in the City: Urban temporalities and rhythms in Northwestern Europe (14th-17th centuries) with Élodie Lecuppre-Desjardin (University of Lille) and Anne-Frédérique Provou (University of Lille), held from October 1 to 3, 2025, at the University of Lille, Pont-de-Bois Campus, programm: https://capt.hypotheses.org/9613.