Review

Author(s): Michael G. Flaherty

Review by: Michael G. Flaherty
Source: Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 29, No. 3 (May, 2000), pp. 495-497
Published by: American Sociological Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2653937
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Moments in the Sociology of Time

empirically rich details of historical case studies

Timescapes of Modemity: The Environment and

and contemporary ethnographies, he investi-

Invisible Hazards, by Barbara Adam. London

gates the social construction of time. His work

& New York: Routledge, 1998. 247 pp. NPL

reveals the standardization of time as well as

cloth. ISBN: 0-415-16274-2. NPL paper. ISBN:

efforts to revolutionize existing standards.

0-415-16275-0.

Zerubavel's (1981, 1982a, 1982b, 1985) produc-

MICHAEL G. FLAHERTY

Eckerd College

tivity continued during the 1980s with research

that illuminates the social structure of temporal-

ity, the significance of holidays as symbols for

In the beginning, Durkheim created the sociolo-

gy of time. The genesis of quantitative research

([1897] 1951: 117) revealed seasonal, weekly,

and "diurnal" variations in suicidal behavior.

Later, when he turned to the study of religious

life ([1915] 1965: 23), he observed that there "is

a time common to the group," and, as such, "it is

a veritable social institution." Disregarding indi-

vidual variation, Durkheim emphasized its pro-

foundly collective character: "It is not my time

that is thus arranged; it is time in general such as

it is objectively thought of by everybody in a sin-

gle civilization." Therefore, time is a product of

the social construction of reality, and, in dialec-

tical fashion, the product acts back upon its pro-

group identity, and the uniquely human origins

of the weekly cycle. His most recent work

(1997) brings him back to a Durkheimian

emphasis on temporality as an aspect of cogni-

tion.

A less enlightening version of the

macrostructural approach is evident in the writ-

ings of modern European sociologists (Adam

1990, 1995; Elias [1987] 1992; Nowotny [1989]

1994; Young 1988; Young and Schuller 1988).

This body of work is typified by advocacy, social

criticism, and an armchair form of scholarship

that is overly concerned with theory at the

expense of empirically grounded discovery. The

most recent contribution by Barbara Adam

ducers: "A calendar expresses the rhythm of the

Timescapes of Modernity: The Environment and

collective activities, while at the same time its

Invisible Hazards-is certainly the best of the lot,

function is to assure their regularity."

Sorokin and Merton (1937: 620) elaborated

on this macrostructural analysis of temporal

institutions by noting "that systems of time reck-

oning reflect the social activities of the group."

Their functional analysis did little to advance

matters beyond Durkheim's initial observations,

but their article set the stage for Sorokin's (1941,

1943) intriguing, albeit dubious, efforts to create

although the family resemblance is apparent.

In Shelley's ([1818] 1969) gothic tale,

Frankenstein, a well-meaning but perhaps overly

ambitious scientist makes a monster. Almost 70

years later, the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.

Hyde marks the emergence of a more ambivalent

perspective; in Stevenson's ([1886] 1952) story,

the scientist and the monster represent two sides

of the same being. Isaac Newton is the pivotal

a cyclical theory of social change. Likewise,

scientist in Timescapes of Modernity, not because

much of the discussion in Man, Time, and

he was a monster, but because his Faustian

Society is painfully obvious, despite Moore's

worldview, still foundational in contemporary

(1963) attention to temporal aspects of the fam-

ily, administrative organization, and voluntary

associations.

society, has monstrous implications for the envi-

ronment. Newton's contributions to the

Scientific Revolution laid the groundwork for

The macrostructural approach was revitalized

during the 1970s by Zerubavel (1976, 1977,

1979) and Melbin (1978). With the simile

"Night as Frontier," Melbin argued that people

were exploring and colonizing previously unin-

habited temporal territory. His ideas are increas-

the Industrial Revolution and classical econom-

ics. Together, these three developments pro-

duced the industrial way of life.

The industrial way of life is characterized by

a particular outlook on time and environmental

degradation which is largely invisible. Adam

ingly relevant, given the continued

argues that these characteristics are related.

development of the 24-hour lifestyle. With his

Environmental hazards are nearly invisible

prolific and evocative writings, however, it is

because they are difficult if not impossible to

Zerubavel who established the sociology of time

recognize, given the Newtonian version of time

as a distinct field of research. Drawing from the

that dominates industrial societies. According to

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496 Symposia

Adam, industrial time is rooted in "traditional

ible"). The analysis is somewhat redundant

ways of knowing and relating to the material

across the different environmental hazards,

world" (p. 10), or what she calls "habits of mind"

(p. 12).

which is signaled by the frequent use of

reminders: "As in the previous chapters" (p.

The first two chapters form Part 1, where

Adam examines the habits of mind associated

106). Moreover, Adam's assessment is quite

bleak: "I do not think there is much to be cheer-

with three aspects of industrial time: science,

ful about" (p. 184). There is, consequently, little

technology, and economics. As a measure of

attention to efforts at amelioration, and Adam is

abstract motion (e.g., clocks and calendars),

often critical of those she mentions, making the

industrial time lends itself to quantification and

book by turns gloomy and alarming. But these

commodification (e.g., "time is money''). Its

are stylistic quibbles with a book that is timely,

invariant structure establishes a context for

important, and useful. Indeed, the timeliness is

determinism, linear causal links, and proportionobvious: This book was meant to be alarming,

al relations between action and effect. However,

and justifiably so in light of recent events.

the temporal aspects of environmental hazards

Rather than view each symptom as a separate

are contextual, multidimensional, and qualitaoutbreak with its own etiology, Adam rightly

tively different from one another. The effects are

traces all forms of environmental hazards to

not linear, they are not tied to the time or place

their source: the industrial way of life with its

of emission, and there are often long periods of

peculiar habits of mind. What is more, she shows

latency before symptoms appear, making it diffi-

that the sociology of time has much to offer in

cult or impossible to establish causal connec-

the analysis of environmental hazards.

tions with any certainty.

There is, then, a fundamental disjuncture

References

between industrial time and the temporal

Adam, Barbara. 1990. Time and Social Theory

aspects of environmental hazards. To address

Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

this problem, Adam offers the concept of

"timescapes" systematic analyses of environ-

mental phenomena that embrace their unique

. 1995. Timewatch: The Social Analysis of Time.

Cambridge: Polity Press.

Durkheim, Emile. [1897] 1951. Suicide. New York:

Free Press.
temporalities. With this concept, she hopes to

. [1915] 1965. The Elementary Forms of the

transcend the contemporary emphasis on

Religious Life. New York: Free Press.

nature-culture dualism and make visible envi-

Elias, Norbert. [1987] 1992. Time: An Essay. Oxfor

ronmental hazards that are difficult to see with-

& Malden, MA: Blackwell.

in the framework of industrial time. In Part 2,

Melbin, Murray. 1978. "Night as Frontier." American

each chapter applies the timescapes perspective

Sociological Review 43: 3-22.

to a particular aspect of environmental hazards.

Moore, AXIilbert E. 1963. Man, Time, and Society. Ne

Chapter 3 concerns the inadequacies of democYork: AXIiley.

ratic regimes, with their emphasis on territorial

Nowotny, Helga. [1989] 1994. Time: The Modem and

and temporal boundaries (e.g., terms of office).

Postmodem Experience. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Chapter 4 examines the industrial transformaShelley, Mary W. [1818] 1969. Frankerlsteirl. London:

tion of farming and its implications for the glob-

al production and distribution of food. In

Chapter 5, Adam takes a critical look at how the

Oxford University Press.

Sorokin, Pitirim A. 1941. The Crisis of Our Age. New

York: Dutton.

. 1943. Sociocultural Causality, Space, Time.

mass media report on environmental hazards,

Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

with special attention to Bovine Spongiform

Sorokin, Pitirim A. and Robert K. Merton. 1937.

Encephalopathy. Chapter 6 is about nuclear

"Social Time: A Methodological and Functional

radiation from the Chernobyl disaster, while

Analysis." American Journal of Sociology 42:

Chapter 7 concerns genetically modified organ-

615-29.

isms-"modern Frankensteins," in the opinion

Stevenson, Robert Louis. [1886] 1952. Strange Case o

of their opponents (p. 223).

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. New York: Heritage Press.

This is not an elegantly written book.

Young, Michael. 1988. The Metronomic Society:

Although the central concept timescapes-is

Natural Rhythms and Human Timetables

ingenious, there are also a number of clumsy

Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

neologisms (e.g., "glocal" for global and local)

and too much reliance on the slash (e.g., "in/vis-

Young, Michael and Tom Schuller, eds. 1988. The

Rhythms of Society. London: Routledge.

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Symposia 497

Zerubavel, Eviatar. 1976. "Timetables and

as well. For those who are aware that the social

Scheduling: On the Social Organization of Time."

science world is rlot perfectly static (and I assume

Sociological Inquiry 46: 87-94.

that this is most of us), the book is required read-

. 1977. "The French Republican Calendar: A

ing. Unfortunately, unless it is translated, most

Case Study in the Sociology of Time." American

social scientists will not have the benefit of the

Sociological Review 42: 868-77.

authors' thinking, which has obviously been

. 1979. Patterns of Time in Hospital Life.

maturing for a while.

Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

The book is divided into five chapters, each

. 1981. Hidden Rhythms: Schedules and

Calentlars in Social Life. Chicago: University of

essentially an essay that can be appreciated on

Chicago Press.
its own merits. The first chapter introduces the

. 1982a. "Easter and Passover: On Calendars

main thesis: that one must consider the time

and Group Identity." Americarl Sociological Review

period (duree), alternative causal sequences

47: 284-89.

(I'ordre), and the varying patterns of change

. 1982b. "The Standardization of Time: A

(rythme) in any analysis. For the first idea, the

Sociohistorical Perspective." American Journal of

time period, a number of analytical questions

Sociology 88: 1-23.

. 1985. The Seven Day Circle. New York: Free

Press.

must be posed at the outset. Consider, for exam-

ple, the problem of connecting state policy on

. 1997. Social Mindscapes: An Invitation to

education with various kinds of social and eco-

Cognitive Sociology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard

nomic outcomes. Then the definition of the

University Press.

beginnings and the ends of the following seg-

ments becomes relevant: between the adoption

of a new educational strategy (e.g., technical

Du temps pour les sciences sociales: La duree, I'orz

high schools) and its implementation (what per-

dre et le rythme, by Raymond Carpentier and

centage of new schools are built or converted);

Remi Clignet. Paris & Montreal:

between that and utilization (do enough stu-

L'Harmattan, 1998. 342 pp. NPL paper. ISBN:

dents enter?); the length of the program (which

2-7384-7141-2.

can vary); and finally between the numbers of

JERALD HAGE
students exiting and a wide variety of different

University of Maryland, College Park

socioeconomic effects including salary, social

mobility, and economic growth, to take just

If one pardons a pun, the timing of this book is

three common issues. In each instance, the

right. A plea for the introduction of time in

beginning and ending points are not clear cut

social science analysis, it is also about how this

because there are thresholds that should be

might be accomplished, and though the dou-

reached. Furthermore, one can complicate this

ble entendre in the title may be lost it is final-

analysis by showing or suggesting that the

ly a plea for time to be granted to the social

answers vary by social group according to the

sciences to achieve such integration.

different periodizations. In time-series analysis,

It is a timely book. The authors report that in

the definitions of periods become critical.

1995, only one-third of the articles in Americar

Although the concept of equal finality is dis-

Sociological Review had some reference to time,

cussed in the social sciences, rare are the exam-

and most of those not an adequate discussion.

ples in which alternative causal sequences have

Yet, relative to the past, this still shows an

been considered, although one increasingly finds

improvement. Increasingly, articles in sociology

such examples in historical sociology. For examhave been including time as a variable, either

ple, creating a civil service before democracy is

using time-series analysis, discussing the prob-

established appears to prevent corruption,

lem of process, or reintroducing the concept of

whereas the opposite causal sequence produces a

evolution. But most of these articles have not

considerable amount of political corruption.

considered carefully the problematics involved

Finally, the temporal variations i.e., evoluin temporal analysis, as the authors note in their

tionary vs. revolutionary, oscillating vs. steady,

survey of articles published in 1995. Therein lies

as well as other kinds of rhythm have occathe strength of the book: It poses several

thoughtful questions for the researcher or theo-

rist beyond just sociology, for it draws examples

from psychology, economics, and anthropology

sionally been discussed in organizational sociol-

ogy but have not been employed systematically

in data analysis.

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