The Textures of Time: Agency and Temporal Experience
"The Textures of Time presents a highly developed and intriguingly nuanced approach to the question of agency. The case studies presented run the gamut of current social conditions, and Flaherty's ability to present even the most seemingly mundane details of individual life as insurrectionary or sublime temporal achievements by the individual make for a compelling discussion of temporal agency." Time and Society, July 2012 "[A]n interesting and original research effort... [This] book should be of interest to researchers in the fields of sociology and psychology of time. It offers an interesting approach in stressing that people actively deal with time and are not simply the passive recipients of it." PsycCRITIQUES, Volume 56, Issue 37 "[A] fine sociological success... Both agency and experience appear in the subtitle of The Textures of Time, and some of Flaherty's most perceptive insights appear in his accounts of how the two are related in practice... The Textures of Time does indeed earn its keep and deserves a place...on the sociological shelf." The American Journal of Sociology "This is a 'timely' and well-written study, enriched with information gathered from scores of non-structured interviews with college students in various settings... It is recommended for all college and university libraries, and for introductory classes in social phenomenology." Human Studies "This book is a valuable contribution to agency theory. It would be useful for those looking to extend their view of this area to include perceptions and manipulations of time, as well as those interested in attention or mediated experiences." Contemporary Sociology, January 2012 "Readers will come away from Flaherty's book emboldened to recognize agency in the mundane and with a new, or renewed, sense of how the individual distinctly enacts temporal experiences within social structures of time and simultaneous to them." Kronoscope: Journal for the Study of Time "[Flaherty] provide[s] useful insights into everyday temporal behavior...[and] an extremely cogent explanation of the determinism-agency debate and...one of the clearer uses of the symbolic interaction frame to analyze data that I have encountered...an excellent value." Social Forces, June 21st 2012 "With his expert ability in weaving interview narratives and conceptual analysis, Flaherty guides the reader toward realizing the profound pervasiveness of temporal agency that we all engage in...Flaherty effectively communicates his theoretical concepts through a lucid and evocative writing style... Flaherty's book is truly groundbreaking, and there are many insights to be gained that will spawn related areas of study... Flaherty's book will surely become a sociological classic." Symbolic Interaction, August 2012