The Faculty of Sociology cordially invites you to the next meeting of its open seminar series 'Research uses of social practice theory', which will take place online, Thursday 26 January at 5 pm.
Elizabeth Shove from Lancaster University will give a talk entitled 'Connecting practices: big themes in society and social theory'.
Some argue that theories of practice are particularly and perhaps only good for dealing with small aspects of the social world. In this lecture I take the opposite view, arguing that theories of practice are able to engage with very large topics such as global trade, social inequality and climate change. I suggest that this depends on understanding how practices connect across time and space and how forms of connectivity evolve and change.
Elizabeth Shove is a Professor of Sociology at Lancaster University. Her recent research has looked at how social practices are changing and the implications of these dynamics for everyday life, energy demand and climate change. Previous work has explored aspects of consumption, design and material culture and changing conventions of comfort, cleanliness and convenience. She is interested in extending social theory for use in public policy. She is the author of 'Comfort, Cleanliness and Convenience: the social organisation of normality' (Berg 2003). Her most recent books are 'The Dynamics of Social Practice' with Mika Pantzar and Matt Watson (Sage 2012) and 'Sustainable practices: social theory and climate change', edited by Nicola Spurling (Routledge 2013), and 'Connecting Practices Large Topics in Society and Social Theory' (Routledge 2022).