Politicising the study of sustainable living practices
In studies of consumption, social theories of practice foreground the purchasing and use of resources not for intrinsic pleasure but rather in the routine accomplishment of ‘normal’ ways of living. In this paper we argue that a key strength of theories of practice lies in their ability to expose que...
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| Format: | Article |
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Taylor & Francis
2018
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47714/ |
| _version_ | 1848797611826348032 |
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| author | Knott, Janice Denegri Nixon, Elizabeth Abraham, Kathryn |
| author_facet | Knott, Janice Denegri Nixon, Elizabeth Abraham, Kathryn |
| author_sort | Knott, Janice Denegri |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | In studies of consumption, social theories of practice foreground the purchasing and use of resources not for intrinsic pleasure but rather in the routine accomplishment of ‘normal’ ways of living. In this paper we argue that a key strength of theories of practice lies in their ability to expose questions of power in the construction of normality, but that this has been largely overlooked. Since practice theories are leveraged in understanding urgent questions of climate change, we use ethnographic data of a sustainable community in England to examine the normative dimension of sustainability. Using Michel Foucault’s approach to practice, we elucidate the social technologies operating in the community that govern sustainable practices in the absence of a singular cultural authority. We illustrate how shared understanding guiding normative sustainable practice was negotiated and maintained through collective ethical work, the paramount importance of interpersonal harmony, and the continual formation of ethical subjects. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:06:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-47714 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:06:38Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-477142020-05-04T19:25:51Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47714/ Politicising the study of sustainable living practices Knott, Janice Denegri Nixon, Elizabeth Abraham, Kathryn In studies of consumption, social theories of practice foreground the purchasing and use of resources not for intrinsic pleasure but rather in the routine accomplishment of ‘normal’ ways of living. In this paper we argue that a key strength of theories of practice lies in their ability to expose questions of power in the construction of normality, but that this has been largely overlooked. Since practice theories are leveraged in understanding urgent questions of climate change, we use ethnographic data of a sustainable community in England to examine the normative dimension of sustainability. Using Michel Foucault’s approach to practice, we elucidate the social technologies operating in the community that govern sustainable practices in the absence of a singular cultural authority. We illustrate how shared understanding guiding normative sustainable practice was negotiated and maintained through collective ethical work, the paramount importance of interpersonal harmony, and the continual formation of ethical subjects. Taylor & Francis 2018-01-04 Article PeerReviewed Knott, Janice Denegri, Nixon, Elizabeth and Abraham, Kathryn (2018) Politicising the study of sustainable living practices. Consumption, Markets and Culture . ISSN 1477-223X Foucault dispositive power practice theory regimes of practice sustainable consumption http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10253866.2017.1414048 doi:10.1080/10253866.2017.1414048 doi:10.1080/10253866.2017.1414048 |
| spellingShingle | Foucault dispositive power practice theory regimes of practice sustainable consumption Knott, Janice Denegri Nixon, Elizabeth Abraham, Kathryn Politicising the study of sustainable living practices |
| title | Politicising the study of sustainable living practices |
| title_full | Politicising the study of sustainable living practices |
| title_fullStr | Politicising the study of sustainable living practices |
| title_full_unstemmed | Politicising the study of sustainable living practices |
| title_short | Politicising the study of sustainable living practices |
| title_sort | politicising the study of sustainable living practices |
| topic | Foucault dispositive power practice theory regimes of practice sustainable consumption |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47714/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47714/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/47714/ |