Toward a Theory of Social Practices: A Development in Culturalist Theorizing
Abstract
This article works out the main characteristics of `practice theory', a type of social theory which has been sketched by such authors as Bourdieu, Giddens, Taylor, late Foucault and others. Practice theory is presented as a conceptual alternative to other forms of social and cultural theory, above all to culturalist mentalism, textualism and intersubjectivism. The article shows how practice theory and the three other cultural-theoretical vocabularies differ in their localization of the social and in their conceptualization of the body, mind, things, knowledge, discourse, structure/process and the agent.
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SPT offers a cultural theory perspective that focuses attention on practices instead of the individuals who perform them.
“SPT offers a cultural theory perspectives that focuses the attention on practices instead of the individuals who perform them (Hargreaves 2011;Reckwitz 2002).”
From Servitization for a Circular Economy in Construction (2025) · cites this paper as Reckwitz 2002
Practice theories have become increasingly popular in recent years in philosophy, cultural theory, sociology, anthropology, and science and technology studies.
“Practice theories have become increasingly popular in recent years in philosophy, cultural theory, sociology, anthropology, and science and technology studies, as offering a new vista for understanding social reality (see, for example, Schatzki et al. 2001;Reckwitz 2002;Nicolini 2012).”
From Self-Tracking for Health and the Quantified Self: Re-Articulating Autonomy, Solidarity, and Authenticity in an Age of Personalized Healthcare (2017) · cites this paper as Reckwitz 2002
At the core of practice approaches is the idea that the primary relation of humans to the world is through practical activity, not contemplation and representation.
“At the core of these approaches is the idea that the primary relation of humans to the world is not by way of contemplation and representation, but through practical activity.”
From Self-Tracking for Health and the Quantified Self: Re-Articulating Autonomy, Solidarity, and Authenticity in an Age of Personalized Healthcare (2017) · cites this paper as Reckwitz 2002
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- Authors
- Reckwitz, A.
- Affiliations
- Universität Hamburg (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Reckwitz, Andreas
- Venue
- European Journal of Social Theory
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2002-05
- Volume
- 5
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 243-263
- ISSN
- 1368-4310 (ISSN-L)
- 1461-7137
- OpenAlex
- W2120969145
- Cited by
- 5,544
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 301 · 2025: 313 · 2024: 361 · 2023: 393 · 2022: 406 · 2021: 384 · 2020: 381 · 2019: 401 · 2018: 396 · 2017: 346 · 2016: 314 · 2015: 314 · 2014: 290 · 2013: 226 · 2012: 203
- FWCI
- 29.83
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- European Journal of Social Theory (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Critical Realism in Sociology
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Cultural Dynamics
- Keywords
- practice theory, social practices, Pierre Bourdieu, Anthony Giddens, Taylor, Michel Foucault, textualism, mind-body problem, discourse, structure and process, agency, cultural theory
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