Full Breakdown
Dutch Professor Claims “White Time” Is Racist, Introducing “Academic Time Theft”
6/28/2026, 9:15:35 PM
Core Claim: Academic Time Theft
Zakia Essanhaji, professor of organizational ethnography at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, argues that Dutch universities maintain a racialized temporal order that extracts, fragments and delays the time of academics of colour. She labels this “academic time theft,” keeping minority scholars in an “almost there” state while preserving “white institutional time.”
Background & Context
Essanhaji’s work extends chronopolitical scholarship that treats time as a site of power. Rutgers scholar Brittney Cooper has said “white people own time,” linking linear Western temporality to historic plunder. Jamaican philosopher Charles W. Mills coined the “Euro-chronometer” to describe a Western-centric timeline that marginalizes non-European temporalities. Brazilian researchers similarly call for decolonial epistemologies to disrupt “racist chronologies.”
Mechanisms of Racialized Temporal Regimes
The paper identifies three mechanisms: (1) Prolonged uncertainty – precarious contracts and housing keep scholars of colour in academic probation; (2) Ongoing disruption – everyday racism fragments attention and interrupts scholarly continuity; (3) Recursive evaluation – shifting inclusion and promotion criteria create a continual “not yet” status, deferring career advancement.
Official Statements & Institutional Responses
Essanhaji’s stated purpose is “to theorize how universities extract, fragment and defer the time of academics of colour through racialized institutional processes.” The argument has been amplified in mainstream media, including an NPR interview with Cooper that framed time itself as a vehicle of racial domination.
Criticism & Opposition
Commentators on The College Fix label the scholarship “overly verbose nonsense” and note its reliance on anecdotal narratives rather than quantitative data. Reviewers point out the lack of comparative statistics on contract length, promotion rates, or publication output across racial groups, leaving the claim empirically unverified. Critics warn the framework could undermine objective tenure metrics and that scholars who challenge it risk being branded “reactionary” or “racist.”
Implications & Future Directions
Essanhaji’s framework suggests universities could revise tenure timelines, adopt alternative metrics for scholarly productivity, and reshape diversity-equity-inclusion policies to address the alleged “academic time theft.” Proponents say this would correct systemic delays for minority faculty; opponents argue it may undermine objective, consistent measurements of scholarship and divert resources from traditional research. The debate has already raised questions about whether elective courses on chronopolitics should remain optional and financially justified.
Verbatim Quotes
- “white people own time” — Brittney Cooper, Rutgers Women’s and Gender Studies/Africana Studies
- “Here are her findings: “The analysis identifies three mechanisms of academic time theft.” — Zakia Essanhaji, paper “Academic time theft.”
- “In that sense, white time is both prescriptive and pre-emptive, foreclosing alternative futures and experiences of the past by delegitimizing other temporalities.” — Vazquez (cited by Essanhaji)
- “that no students are forced to participate in” — John Wilson, former UC National Center for Free Speech fellow
