Sentence:  His denials of extensive reading notwithstanding , it is no doubt safe to assume that he has spent <WSD>time</WSD> schooling himself in Southern history and that he has gained some acquaintance with the chief literary authors who have lived in the South or have written about the South . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  a period of time considered as a resource under your control and sufficient to accomplish something