Practice Theory and Process Philosophy

This book breaks new ground in sociological theory, presenting a process-oriented practice theory for conceptualising and studying the dynamism, interconnectedness and ongoing transformation of everyday social life. Drawing on process-inspired approaches from disciplines such as anthropology, geography and science and technology studies, it develops a framework for understanding practices not as things that change, but as ongoing processes that organise everyday life.

Each chapter engages with a specific debate in practice theory, including how to conceptualise the site of the social, the status of the practitioner, how practices connect and extend across space and time, the role of memory in practice, the place of power, and appropriate methods for capturing the dynamics of social practice. In doing so, the book introduces a conceptual vocabulary for describing connection, extension, and emergence in a way that attends to the affective space of the social.

Practice Theory and Process Philosophy is essential reading for scholars and students across the social sciences and humanities who are interested in practice theory, process philosophy and social theory.