Abstract
Abstract What does the category “time” disclose in conceptual terms about the spatialization of social phenomena, the so-called production of space? By considering that since the 1950s sociology has embraced various theoretical frameworks for tackling the sociospatial process at hand, the paper answers this question in four analytic steps. Based on the ascertainment that (Section 1) these approaches address the temporalities of the respective research objects by means of definite spatialities, one peculiar history of sociology comes to the forefront. This history comprises (Section 2) four original ways of addressing the spatialization of social phenomena methodologically which were developed by Erving Goffman, Henri Lefebvre, Pierre Bourdieu, and Martina Löw. The seven temporal-spatial scales implicit in these accounts suggest (Section 3) that the production of space is a simultaneously poly-temporal and poly-spatial social phenomenon. Its temporalities and spatialities contain (Section 4) two methodological contributions to the recent sociological debate on the issue.
Highlights
In 1974, Henri Lefebvre (2000b) became a forerunner for drawing sociologists’ attention to the theoretical possibilities implicit in the simultaneous inquiry of the macro- and micro-social processes involved in generating space, which he defined as a “set of relations” between “things” (Lefebvre, 2000b: xx) inseparable from social practice – which he defined as activity, as use, as necessity, as “social being” (Lefebvre, 2000b: 100)
The issue has remained a lively topic of theoretical debate in sociology
I freely borrow the term temporal-spatial scale from biology as it heuristically helps me underline that sociology, as a disciplinary field, seems especially receptive to the fact that the bi-temporality, which at first glance characterizes the production of space, may be conceptually approached by means of seven temporal-spatial sets that entirely contradict the temporal linearity suggested by the suffix “-ion” in Western common sense
Summary
Bourdieu sociol. antropol. | rio de janeiro, v.11.02: 389 – 414 , may. – aug., 2021. Firstly, the scheme indicates why Goffman, towards the end of his life, concluded that “the majority of my works do not offer concepts for the study of everyday life,” addressing instead “forms of interaction,” while “all that we know about the macro world, [...] the class and cast relations, etc. happens and is produced during face-to-face interactions” (Goffman, 1983a: 200-201). Each combination is a methodological tool through which the aforementioned sociologists either explicitly or implicitly address specific temporal-spatial dimensions of the social phenomenon at stake: the immediacy or the historicity of the situation, the everyday, and social space, as well as the history of this same social space By considering this aspect, we are led to a methodological standpoint of a disciplinary nature regarding the conceptualization of the production of space. I freely borrow the term temporal-spatial scale from biology as it heuristically helps me underline that sociology, as a disciplinary field, seems especially receptive to the fact that the bi-temporality, which at first glance characterizes the production of space, may be conceptually approached by means of seven temporal-spatial sets that entirely contradict the temporal linearity suggested by the suffix “-ion” in Western common sense Underpinned by these methodological procedures, sociology offers a specific conception about the production of space to the scientific debate on this issue. The production of space is both a poly-temporal and poly-spatial social phenomenon
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
