Sociological Concepts of Time in Life-Course Studies

The article offers a review of the sociological concepts of time in order to systematize the available theoretical resources. An analysis of empirical studies of time on the subject of the life course is also given. Social time differs from other types of time that are typical for other disciplines. Time in sociology is understood as a category that creates the background and meaning of various social actions. A significant part of the theorizing is aimed at highlighting the dichotomies describing different forms of social time. Modern time studies are focused on the analysis of temporal social changes and the development of approaches to the study of the multidimensionality of time. A striking example is the Timescapes concept and the project with the same title. This view allows us to describe the various temporal perspectives that occur on the life course, and explain the strategies of people working with time. A lot of empirical research conducted over the past 25 years demonstrates how people combine different times. In these studies, time appears on different scales and in different life situations. The resulting conceptual and methodological clarifications contribute to strengthening our knowledge of time and create a perspective for new empirical research.