ABSTRACT

This chapter suggests the empirical study of childhood and its more effective theorization (tasks which we see as linked) that aids by a careful consideration of the temporal dimension. In particular the chapter emphasizes the need to re-present childhood. The chapter suggests that by focusing on the present of childhood, by grasping it as a continuously worked upon interactional and cultural construction, sociology may find new ways of representing childhood. The chapter also discusses the Turner's concept of liminality during transition processes and demonstrates its theoretical utility for the study of time in childhood. Turner elaborated this schema by paying special attention to the liminal zone, pointing to its complex combination of, on the one hand, condensation of dominant ideologies, and on the other, permissions to treat the dominant culture and social relationships radically, literally allowing them to be played around with and re-ordered in novel.