Time Matters: On Theory and Method (Oriental Institute Publications)

Abbott's Time Matters makes the case that time does, in the case of sociological research, matter. While, on the surface, this would seem an uncontroversial claim, Abbott shows how both methodologically and theoretically (or, more precisely, meta-theoretically) sociological research has largely neglected elements of time, sequence, and event.The books brings together a number of Abbott's more memorable articles and edited volume chapters, including his significant work of unpacking what he calls General Linear Reality - the assumed linear relation of causes and effects at the heart of positivistic social science - and denouncing it as deeply at odds with what we know of the social world. He makes similar contributions to fixing the misunderstanding of the importance of event orders, what events even are, what cases do, and proceeds to make a case for a narrative approach that embraces the sequential nature of social life.Two caveats: (1) again, as a collected volume, these chapters are mostly available in their journal article form. (2) Abbott's work is methodologically and philosophically heady and thus not the best reading for the novice in the social sciences.