Temporal comparisons, historical semantics of interaction and 'post-war consensus' in British Parliament

Studying time references in a deliberative environment

Dados Bibliográficos

ID4355872
AutoresKirill Postoutenko (0000-0001-7253-5299, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany), Olga Sabelfeld (Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany)
Ano2021
Volume30
Fascículo4
Páginas598-618
Data de publicação2021-11-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoTime & Society (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0961-463X • E-ISSN: 1461-7463
EditoraSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0961463x211021298
OpenAlexW3167936240
IdiomaEN
Referências citadas30

This article aims to demonstrate that the transition from the mainstream narrative to the interactional history of concepts promises tangible benefits for scholars of social time in general and temporal comparisons in particular. It is shown that the traditionally close alignment of narration with the production of historical consciousness at various levels hinders the study of time as a semantic variable perpetually contested, amended and upheld across society. Alternatively, the references to time made in public settings, allowing for more or less instant reactions (turn-taking) as well as expression of dissenting opinions (stance-taking), offer a much more representative palette of temporal semantics and pragmatics in a given sociopolitical environment. In a particularly intriguing case, the essentially deliberative venue where contestation is supported by both institutional arrangements and political reasons (British House of Commons) is put to test under circumstances commonly known as 'the post-war consensus' - the unspoken convention directing opposing political parties to suspend stance-taking regarding the past actions of the government during WWII, its immediate aftermath and its future prospects. As a reliable indicator of this arrangement, the contestation of temporal comparisons between relevant pasts and futures is tested in oppositions reflecting party allegiances (Conservatives vs. Labour vs. Liberals) and executive functions (government vs. opposition) between 1946 and 1952. It is shown that, notwithstanding the prevalence of non-contested statements aimed at preserving interactional coherence and pragmatic functionality of the setting, the moderately active contestation of the adversary's temporal comparisons in the House of Commons at that time helped all parties, albeit to a different degree, to shape their own political and institutional roles as well as to delegitimize their respective adversaries

Convention · Epistemology · House of Commons · Linguistics · Narrative · Opposition (politics · Parliament · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Temporality · Critical Realism in Sociology · Law · Scottish History and National Identity · Social and Cultural Dynamics