Practice Theory and Process Philosophy: Towards a Sociology of Becoming

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.

Stanley Blue is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Lancaster University. His research is on the sociology of practice and the philosophy of process, including work on time and social organisation. He has developed these ideas in substantive areas related to the sociology of consumption, including projects on energy demand and public health. He is co-director of the Centre for Practice Theory at Lancaster and editor for The Journal of Practice Theory.