Social Practices and Dynamic Non-Humans
Nature, Materials and Technologies
1st Edition
Published on 20. July 2018
XVII, 264 pages
978-3-319-92189-1 (ISBN)
Description
The robots are coming! So too is the 'age of automation', the march of 'invasive' species, more intense natural disasters, and a potential cataclysm of other unprecedented events and phenomena of which we do not yet know, and cannot predict. This book is concerned with how to account for these non-humans and their effects within theories of social practice. In particular, this provocative collection tackles contemporary debates about the roles, relations and agencies of constantly changing, disruptive, intelligent or otherwise 'dynamic' non-humans, such as weather, animals and automated devices. In doing so contributors challenge and take forward existing understandings of dynamic non-humans in theories of social practice by reconsidering their potential roles in everyday life. The book will benefit sociology, geography, science and technology studies, and human- (and animal-) computer interaction design scholars seeking to make sense of the complex entanglement of non-human phenomenaand things in the performance of social practices.
Reviews / Votes
"Theories of practice have insufficiently explored the significance of nonhumans for social life. This splendid collection quickly fills this lacuna, pushing theories of practice to question their residual humanism and to explore such ideas as nonhumans co-performing practices. The book examines an impressive range of such entities, from organisms, water, and heat to robots, automated devices, and software. Exciting reading for anyone interested in the evolving dynamics of social life!" (Professor Ted Schatzki, University of Kentucky, USA)"The chapters in this volume are like drawings in an artist's sketchbook, each revealing aspects of the many and changing interactions of which social practices are made." (Professor Elizabeth Shove, Lancaster University, UK)
"This thought provoking book addresses a central issue of contemporary practice theories: do practices need humans to exist? Can non-humans and more than human actants perform practices? By offering a range of empirically grounded answers the volume questions the inherent residual humanism of some versions of practice theory and offers original and innovative ways to overcome it." (Professor Davide Nicolini, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, UK)
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cham
Switzerland
Publishing group
Springer International Publishing
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Reflowable
Illustrations
XVII, 264 p. 8 illus.
File size
5,39 MB
ISBN-13
978-3-319-92189-1 (9783319921891)
DOI
10.1007/978-3-319-92189-1
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Cecily Maller | Yolande Strengers
Social Practices and Dynamic Non-Humans
Nature, Materials and Technologies
Book
08/2018
Palgrave Macmillan
€128.39
Shipment within 10-15 days
Persons
Dr Cecily Maller is a Vice Chancellor's Senior Research Fellow and co-leader of the Beyond Behaviour Change Research Program, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University, Australia.
Associate Professor Yolande Strengers is a Principal Research Fellow and co-leader of the Beyond Behaviour Change Research Program, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University, Australia.
Associate Professor Yolande Strengers is a Principal Research Fellow and co-leader of the Beyond Behaviour Change Research Program, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University, Australia.
Content
Chapter 1 Dynamic non-humans in a changing world.- PART I: Nature, materiality and processes.- Chapter 2 Thriving in the Anthropocene: understanding human-weed relations and invasive plant management using theories of practice.- Chapter 3 Seeing wood for the trees: placing biological processes within practices of heating and harvesting.- Chapter 4 'Dynamic' non-human animals in theories of practice: views from the subaltern.- Chapter 5 Dynamic bodies in theories of social practice: vibrant materials and more-than-human assemblages.- Chapter 6 Mobile drinking - bottled water practices and ontological politics.- Chapter 7 Immersed in thermal flows: heat as productive of and produced by social practices.- PART II: Technologies, automation and performativity.- Chapter 8 Displacement: attending to the role of things in theories of practice through design research.- Chapter 9 How software matters: connective tissue and self-driving cars.- Chapter 10 Automated artefacts as co-performers of social practices: washing machines, laundering and design.- Chapter 11 Robots and Roomba riders: non-human performers in theories of social practice.- Chapter 12 Automation, smart homes and symmetrical anthropology: non-humans as performers of practices?.
