CfP: Practice Theory and Power: Politics, Conflict, Transformation
Vol. 3 – 2027: Practice Theory and Power: Politics, Conflict, Transformation
- Submission Timeline:
Submissions to this special section are open and may be received at any time. Accepted papers will be published online on a rolling basis and later gathered into the themed section of the relevant issue. The final deadline for inclusion in the Practice Theory and Power special section is February 2027.
- Editors: Stanley Blue, Ted Schatzki, and Elizabeth Shove
One of the distinctive features of practice theory is its commitment to analysing the social as constituted by practices that extend across time and space. Yet this emphasis has often been criticised, even if unjustly, for neglecting questions of power, politics, hierarchy, domination, conflict, and struggle. This special section of a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Practice Theory takes up those concerns directly, asking what it means to study power in and through practices, and how practice theories can contribute to understanding the political, conflictual, and transformative aspects of social life.
We invite contributions that advance theoretical, conceptual, methodological, and empirical approaches to the study of power within practice theory. Submissions may address any aspect of the intersection between practices, politics, conflict, and transformation, including (but not limited to):
- Theories of Power and Practice – What existing accounts of power are compatible or incompatible with practice theory? How might articulations of power relations and dynamics be incorporated into theories of practice?
- Power within and between Practices – How does power circulate as part of the everyday reproduction of practices, across different domains and registers, and through forms of governance, hierarchy, and social movements?
- Transformation and Social Change – What can practice theory reveal about the transformation, disruption, and stabilisation of social life, both in general and in specific conjunctions?
- Historical and Structural Dimensions – How do the histories of practices and of blocs of practices shape current forms and distributions of power, hierarchy, domination, conflict, and authority?
- Practices and Inequality – How do practices and their histories matter for social inequalities, including but not limited to those related to gender, race, sexuality, class, disability, and geography?
- Politics and Practice – What notions of politics work best with theories of practices? To what extent is the plenum of practice informed by the political economy of a given society? Are the dynamics of practice different, for example, in liberal democracies compared with authoritarian states?
- Conflict – What do theories of practices have to add to the analysis of conflict and its role in social life and social transformation?
- Resources, Infrastructures, and Spaces – How do materials, infrastructures, and spaces become sources or means of power or transformation?
- Boundaries and Access – How is participation in practices regulated? Do inclusion and, exclusion look different when analysed from a practice theoretical perspective?
The aim of the issue is to provide a platform for interdisciplinary dialogue – drawing on sociology, geography, education, management and organisation studies, international relations, and beyond – to push forward debates about power in practice theory and to consider what is at stake politically, ethically, and analytically when doing so.
For submission guidelines, please see our Author Guidelines and Submissions pages.
Contact Us
If you would like to discuss a potential contribution, contact jpt@lancaster.ac.uk