The temporal gaze: the challenge for social theory in the context of GM food

The temporal gaze in socio-environmental theory can take many forms. Time m ay be added to existing approaches without disturbing the status quo of the ory and methodology. Alternatively, focus may be on the time-space of socio -environmental existence or typologies constructed of the complexity of soc io-environmental time. Finally, phenomena, processes and events may be conc eptualized as timescapes. Through the focus on genetic modification of food s, the paper demonstrates the pertinence of this timescape perspective for social theory and socio-environmental analyses. A thorough-going temporal g aze is important because a) such reconceptualization for-ms an integral par t of rethinking the social sciences' relationship to nature and environment al matters; b) the implications at the level of theory tend to be glossed o ver and ignored; and c) it is central to changing practice at the level of public and personal action. The paper thus uses a timescape perspective to set out substantive and conceptual issues that present some of social theor y's challenges for the new millennium.