The dynamics of social practice : everyday life and how it changes / Elizabeth Shove, Mika Pantzar & Matt Watson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Shove, Elizabeth, 1959-

Contributor:

Pantzar, Mika.

Watson, Matt.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social change--Case studies.

Social change.

Social policy--Case studies.

Social policy.

Social sciences--Philosophy.

Social sciences.

Genre:

Case studies.

Physical Description:

vii, 191 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

Los Angeles, Calif. ; London : Sage, 2012.

Summary:

Everyday life is defined and characterised by the rise, transformation and fall of social practices. Using terminology that is both accessible and sophisticated, this essential book guides the reader through a multi-level analysis of this dynamic. In working through core propositions about social practices and how they change the book is clear and accessible; real world examples, including the history of car driving, the emergence of frozen food, and the fate of hula hooping, bring abstract concepts to life and firmly ground them in empirical case-studies and new research. Demonstrating the relevance of social theory for public policy problems, the authors show that the everyday is the basis of social transformation addressing questions such as: how do practices emerge, exist and die? what are the elements from which practices are made? how do practices recruit practitioners? how are elements, practices and the links between them generated, renewed and reproduced? Precise, relevant and persuasive this book will inspire students and researchers from across the social sciences. Elizabeth Shove is Professor of Sociology at Lancaster University. Mika Pantzar is Research Professor at the National Consumer Research Centre, Helsinki. Matt Watson is Lecturer in Social and Cultural Geography at University of Sheffield.

Contents:

1 The Dynamics of Social Practice 1

Introducing theories of practice 4

Materials and resources 8

Sequence and structure 13

2 Making and Breaking Links 21

Material, competence and meaning 22

Car-driving - elements and linkages 26

Making links 29

Breaking links 33

Elements between practices 35

Standardization and diversity 37

Individual and collective careers 39

3 The Life of Elements 43

Modes of circulation 44

Transportation and access: material 45

Abstraction, reversal and migration: competence 48

Association and classification: meaning 53

Packing and unpacking 56

Emergence, disappearance and persistence 57

4 Recruitment, Defection and Reproduction 63

First encounters: networks and communities 66

Capture and commitment: careers and carriers 69

Collapse and transformation: the dynamics of defection 74

Daily paths, life paths and dominant projects 77

5 Connections Between Practices 81

Bundles and complexes 84

Collaboration and competition 87

Selection and integration 91

Coordinating daily life 94

6 Circuits of Reproduction 97

Monitoring practices-as-performances 99

Monitoring practices-as-entities 101

Cross-referencing practices-as-performances 105

Cross-referencing practices-as-entities 109

Aggregation 110

Elements of coordination 112

Intersecting circuits 114

7 Representing the Dynamics of Social Practice 119

Representing elements and practices 120

Characterizing circulation 122

Competition, transformation and convergence 124

Reproducing elements, practices and relations between them 125

Time and practice 127

Space and practice 130

Dominant projects and power 134

8 Promoting Transitions in Practice 139

Climate change and behaviour change 140

Basis of action 143

Processes of change 144

Positioning policy 144

Transferable lessons 145

Practice theory and climate change policy 146

Configuring elements of practice 147

Configuring relations between practices 152

Configuring careers: carriers and practices 156

Configuring connections 160

Practice-oriented policy making 162.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780857020420

0857020420

9780857020437

0857020439

OCLC:

795597409