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For sociologists, time has always been an intellectual enigma. Lately, another concept – temporality – has been preferred in contemporary sociological research. To understand this evolution, this paper sketches a very short history of the sociological theories of Time. The Durkheimian school, which played a pioneering role in the sociology of knowledge, failed to analyze time as a social fact. Later, two types of theories evolved. The first one regards time as a collective construction, without paying attention to the different representations of time social groups build. On the contrary, the second one provides theories of the social based upon notions of segmentation and differentiation. In order to surmount this antinomy, we need a general theory of temporalities. The sociological framework proposed by W. Grossin is a relevant way to attain such a goal.

We introduce this issue on the gendered times of work, broadly understood – i.e. paid or unpaid, and more or less visible – which, in conjunction with the other spheres of life, mirror the intricate interplay of Gender and Temporality. Two positions are highlighted. The more classical one is a Sociographics of the gendered division of labour in which time serves to measure existing inequalities. Complementary to it is a second posture that questions temporal categories: the confrontation shows that temporality is at the origin of gender. In this view, time, apprehended in its diversity and particularly in its qualitative dimensions, is the result of practices seen as producing power relations. Male domination rests on the construction of the relationship to time: naturalizing so-called feminine skills depends on temporalities based on how a person relates to the Other and long-term commitments. Theoretical perspectives concerning care and social presence show up the moral implications of altruistic commitment in its temporal dimensions (ability to anticipate, being available for others, long-term involvement, temporalization). The authors go on to expose how each of the papers participate in the discussion.

The paper offers a literary and temporal exploration of the Gospel of John to demonstrate the creation of forms of (a)temporality. The analysis is outlined along three temporal modes (narratological, historical and theological/spiritual) to define the manners in which the Gospel constructs different conceptions of time (linear and cyclical) that it tends in turn to negate and transcend. Constructing time serves its negation, which founds the literary genius of the word of Christ becoming text. The article first elaborates upon the linear frequency of signs whose function is to enlighten the identity of Christ and the reality of the kingdom. Secondly, one needs to explore the temporality of the celebration of the Christological Ego, especially in the farewell speeches (Jn 14-17). Finally, these precedent stages allow us to define the possibility for the word to become text as inherent to the nature of Jesus’ speeches understood as spirit and life. This passage from word to text, of writing becoming spirit and life defines what I term a textual incarnation. Once consumed, this textual incarnation opens new horizons of (a)temporality.