Mattering workshop with Professor Davide Nicolini: Zooming in and zooming out: Phenomena, practice theory and nexus analysis

Workshop by Davide Nicolini, University of Warwick, Professor & Codirector af Innovation, Knowledge & Organisational Networks Research Unit

9:00-12:00 Time for practice theory! (Open for all). Rendsburggade 14, 4.105

9-11 Davide Nicolini: Is small the only way to be beautiful?
Using practice theory to deal with large phenomena and big questions
In this presentation I will discuss how practice theory can address large scale phenomena and big questions. This is a critical issue as practice-based sensitivities are often accused of localism and deemed unsuitable to deal with the big issue of our time. I will start by distinguishing between the idea that some phenomena are large-scale and the notion that there exist such things as “macro” phenomena. My argument will be that the difference between the two constitutes a critical watershed between traditional social science and practice-based approaches. I will then use a variety of example to illustrate the theoretical and methodological ways in which practice theorist have addressed large scale phenomena. Issue to be discussed will include the benefits and drawbacks of turning practice into an entity, ways to study and represent nested relationally, what strategies we have at our disposal to investigate arc of reproduction of practices and how capturing large scale and phenomena requires strategically shifting between temporal horizons. I will conclude by examining the challenges ahead and reflecting on whether practice-based approaches should try to extend their remits to cover broader, global large scale phenomena or whether this aim would be better served by delegating this task to other traditions in social science.

11-12 Discussion

12-13 Lunch break

13:00-16:00 Nexus analysis and practice theory (Invitation only) Rendsburggade 14, 5.237

13-16 Invited presentations

About Professor Davide Nicolini