Sociology of Time – Overview of Major Ideas and Concepts

Čaldarović, Ognjen. (2009). Sociology of Time – Overview of Major Ideas and Concepts. Socijalna ekologija, 18(3-4). pp. 215-235. ISSN 1330-0113

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Abstract

Major dimensions of the “sociology of time” are discussed in this overview. It is argued that this specific sociological orientation is increasingly becoming a field of interest of many sociologists and other social scientists. Time as a variable is very difficult to be embedded into interpretative schemes and analyses, even though it represents a very important factor in the explanation of the motives and ends of human actions. Time measured by the movement of a clock is contrasted with time measured by social situations – sociologists are interested in social time that can be differentiated into many categories such as self time, interaction time, work time, free time, time “in between“, lost time, etc. Due to the fact that time passes regardless of human interventions or actions, human life could be analyzed through the changes of social time measured through the changes in the stages of human life depending on different positions a person occupies during their lifetime. In recent sociological theories, the notion of time compression (and compression of space) appears as an affirmed concept. It seems that there is less and less time, and more and more functions and duties. These are the questions that are discussed in the perspectives of the sociology of time. In the paper, major categories, concepts and theories of time, as well as contributions and ideas of major authors, are also discussed.

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