Time and the production of space in sociology

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.

Social thought and paths to modernity: space and figuration in brazilian essayism

“…Human and Social Sciences, v. 45, e68368, 2023 sentiments that are shaped by the complex web of social relationships and power dynamics inherent in the interpretation. In this sense, the imaginative cartography functions as a network, interweaving social relationships and power dynamics (Löw, 2013;Frehse, 2021). If space exhibits such characteristics in the construction of this imaginative cartography, then we must further explore the role of figuration in the process of structuring social groups, different forms of sociability, and the motivations and meanings underlying social actions that would fill the ground with density established by the imaginative.…”

“…Figurations, seen as meaningful social relationships, become more intricate when they intersect with time and space (Rosa, 2019). Space assumes a crucial role as the backdrop for social actions, in the way how time is socially generated (Frehse, 2021), while time encapsulates the collective experiences of social actors. Ultimately, it is the understanding of space as a relational arrangement of beings and objects in the ways in which space (Löw, 2013(Löw, , 2016 and time (Rosa, 2019) are experienced.…”