%0 Journal Article
%T Moratorium or waithood? Forms of time
%A Valentina Cuzzocrea
%J Time & Society
%@ 1461-7463
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/0961463X18763680
%X Developing Erikson¡¯s concept of ¡®psychological moratorium¡¯ (1968), literature on youth transitions has a central focus in the procrastination of adult roles. Forms of time taking may either be erratic, or take more institutionalised and/or middle-class-oriented shapes such as ¡®gap years,¡¯ and they are generally justified by the aim of self-experimentation. However, on a different institutional level, they enter in contrast with the recent imperative of becoming ¡®fit for work,¡¯ which is realised mainly through obtaining an increasing number of qualifications and skills considered essential to meet the challenges of employment, and ultimately embody a model of ¡®active citizenship.¡¯ But how do these two contrasting demands come to terms with each other in the experiences of youth? And how is youth itself re-shaped through this interaction? Contrasting the concept of psychological moratorium (and its developments) with a wider literature on social acceleration, where an emphasis on active citizenship and employability can be framed, this article revisits forms of time taking among youths. It does so by discussing a Sardinian case study, where varieties of time taking also reverse into forms of ¡®waithood,¡¯ and are therefore in contrast with social acceleration. More analytically, I have identified two modalities of moratorium (i.e. classic moratorium and waithood) and two sub-modalities of waithood (justified by either the accomplishment of procedures or by waiting for someone else¡¯s intervention). These findings are discussed with reference to a broad political framework through which it is possible to revisit the changing shape of youth under the pressures of late modern society
%K Youth
%K waithood
%K Italy
%K social acceleration
%K future
%K narratives
%K moratorium
%K youth identities
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0961463X18763680