Practice Theories and the "Circuit of Culture": Integrating Approaches for Studying Material Culture

Emanuela Mora; Eleonora Noia; Valentina Turrini

doi:10.6092/issn.1971-8853/9531

Authors

Emanuela Mora University Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0906-9074
Emanuela Mora is Professor of Culture and Communication Sociology at the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences of the University Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan. She is director of ModaCult (Centre for the study of fashion and cultural production), and director of the PhD School in Sociology at the same University. She is Co-editor in chief of the International Journal of Fashion Studies. Since 2004 she has worked on the theme of sustainable fashion and consumption, both in Italy and abroad. Among her books: Fare Moda. Esperienze di Produzione e Consumo (Bruno Mondadori, 2009); Fashion Tales. Feeding the Imaginary (with M. Pedroni as eds., Springer, 2017).
Eleonora Noia University Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan
Eleonora Noia is a PhD student in Sociology at the University Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan. Her research investigates the nexus between practices and networks within the context of the small farmer agriculture in Italy.
Valentina Turrini University Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan
Valentina Turrini is a PhD student in Sociology at the University Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan. Her research focuses on the connections between media, sensoriality and society. She is currently writing a dissertation on the social shaping of emerging technologies that digitalize tactile sensations. Her interests include media-related practices in urban space.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1971-8853/9531

Keywords:

Material culture, Circuit of culture, Practice theory, Haptic interfaces, Farmer agriculture

Abstract

The paper compares two heuristic tools to understand how practice theory could be used to study the phenomena of material culture: the one summarized by Shove et Al. (2012) in The Dynamics of Social Practice: Everyday Life and How It Changes and the “circuit of culture” proposed by Paul Du Gay et Al. in Doing Cultural Studies. The Case of the Sony Walkman (1997). The aim of the article is to test the possibility to integrate the use of these two tools. In order to fulfil this purpose, the article is comprised of two parts. The first part illustrates how the two heuristic tools are compatible and what advantages each have over the other. In the second part, both heuristic tools will be applied to explore two case studies, one regarding a technological artefact and another one regarding a type of agricultural practice.

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Practice Theories and the "Circuit of Culture": Integrating Approaches for Studying Material Culture

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