An Interview with Stephen Turner: Careers and Ideas in Practice
Additional information
Authors
Shove E.,
Baeriswyl M.,
Turner S.
Type
Other publication
Year
2025
Language
English
Abstract
Over the course of his long career, Stephen Turner has challenged a host of established positions in social theory. In this interview we discuss some of these interventions, starting with his critique of concepts that purport to explain social life but that are detached from it. Instead of treating practices as reified entities that ‘exist’ and about which we can have a theory, Stephen works from the ground up, asking about the place of habit and tacit knowledge and their significance for how practices are shared. In discussing Stephen’s approach, and how it relates to – and departs from - the work of Thomas Kuhn, Pierre Bourdieu, Michel Foucault, Antony Giddens, and Bruno Latour, we range across topics to do with constructivism, realism, and materiality. We look back at the reception of his landmark book, The Social Theory of Practices (1994), and we look forwards: thinking about where his ideas are leading now.
Keywords
habit, explanation, tacit knowledge, technology, skill
Journal
The Journal of Practice Theory
Volume
1
Series
1
ISSN
3050-0370
Diffusion
Visibility
Public
