+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Posted Tue, 25 Oct 2016 13:26:23
This message was forwarded through MEDSOCNEWS.
If you wish to make an announcement or publicise
an event then please send the text to:
[log in to unmask]
You can follow us on twitter @MedSocNews
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Dear Colleagues
We would like to invite you to the fourth event in our seminar series ‘New Practices for New Publics’ on Wednesday 14th December at The University of Sheffield. New Practices for New Publics is an innovative series of events designed to bring together cutting edge thinking in social science with the experiences of civil society organisations, especially those in the community and voluntary sector.
The event will consider how to use practice theory for social change. Practice-based approaches aim to help effect positive social change and to provide a more encompassing and grounded conceptualisation of change processes than a focus on attitudes, values and behaviours. To what extent does practice theory help understand how and why practices recruit people, how new practices emerge, thrive and travel and why others fail to ‘catch on’?
We are very pleased to welcome three speakers – Matt Watson, David Evans and Margit Keller - who will discuss their experiences of practice theory in relation to efforts and programmes to bring about social change. These talks will be followed by a workshop, led by Margit Keller and Peter Jackson, which will allow us to work through how to draw on practice theory when trying to develop and implement changes, drawing on local examples – the provisional programme is below.
Seminar 4: Using practice theory for social change
Date: Wednesday 14th December 2016
Venue: Alfred Denny Conference Room, Alfred Denny Building, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.552549!/file/campus-map-a-z-feb2016.gif
We have (limited) funds to contribute towards costs of travel and accommodation for participants – please get in touch if you will need support in this way.
To book your place please email: [log in to unmask]
Provisional programme for the day:
10.00 refreshments, introductions
10.30 Matt Watson, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, Department of Geography, University of Sheffield
Lessons from practice theory for tackling energy demand: In his talk Matt will consider what a practice theory approach means for seeking change in the context of home energy use, drawing on his current projects. Seeing energy consumption as part of a nexus of interwoven practices, he will argue we need to understand the practices of policy and other institutions as much as of householders if we're to tackle thorny issues that are bound up in much more distributed sets of relationships between practices.
11.05 David Evans, Professorial Research Fellow, Human Geography, Department of Geography, University of Sheffield
Theories of practice and policies for sustainable consumption: Whilst theories of practice are multiple, the lines developed by Elizabeth Shove, Matt Watson and others (see Shove et al. 2012) have proved influential in sustainability research and policy. In addition to providing a strong critique of the 'behaviour change' agenda, these ideas are starting to be picked up by policy makers and other stakeholders. Drawing on my own experiences of engaging with government departments and delivery bodies, I present a number of reflections and provocations related to the practical applications of practice theories. Attention is paid to the spaces and conduits that exist for dialogue, issues of translation and dilution, and challenges related to the nature of 'evidence'.
11.40 Margit Keller, Senior Researcher of Social Communication, and Head of Institute, Institute of Social Studies, University of Tartu
Making practice theory practical: reflections and hands-on experiences from Estonia: The talk will briefly touch upon the strengths and weaknesses of (a version of) social practice theory from the point of view of policy makers and various change agents. I focus on experiences of working with professionals' and academic colleagues’ teams in Estonia on social change programmes. I intend to highlight both the difficulties of and benefits from a practice based approach in the context of fairly deeply entrenched awareness-attitudes-behaviour thinking both in non-academic and academic settings.
12.15 Discussion
1.00 Lunch
2.00 Workshop on reshaping everyday practices, led by Margit Keller and Peter Jackson - Professor of Human Geography, Department of Geography, University of Sheffield
The workshop will take a local case as an example and a) analyse it based on some of the tools outlined in Margit's co-authored book* on reshaping everyday practices - looking at socio-material networks, coordinating agents, and elements of practice, and b) speed-design a change programme that takes different practice elements and connections between different practices into account. This will brainstorm ideas what could be done in practice beyond just analysing and without aiming for a utopian complete reconfiguration of the social system that would be beyond the reach of local policy-makers or commissioners. In other words we will try to come up with a realistic, pragmatic and perhaps modest intervention drawing on some tools derived from practice theory.
*Vihalemm, Keller and Kiisel (2015) From intervention to social change: a guide to reshaping everyday practices, Ashgate: Farnham, Surrey.
4.00 reflections
4.30 close.
We look forward to seeing you there
The seminar organisers
Kay Amanda, Sara Bragg, Mary Darking, Nadia Edmond – University of Brighton
Catherine Will – University of Sussex
Kate Weiner – University of Sheffield
http://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/newpracticesfornewpublics/
**********************************************************************
1. For general enquires or problems with the list or to CHANGE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS send a message to:
[log in to unmask]
2. To suspend yourself from the list, whilst on leave, for example,
send an email to [log in to unmask] with the following message:
set medsocnews nomail
3. To resume email from the list, send the following message:
set medsocnews mail
4. To leave MedSocNews, send an email to [log in to unmask] with the message (leave the subject line blank and do not include a signature):
leave medsocnews
5. To join or subscribe to MedSocNews, send an email to [log in to unmask] with the message (leave the subject line blank and do not include a signature):
SUBSCRIBE medsocnews firstname lastname
6. Further information about the medsocnews discussion list (including
list archive and how to subscribe to or leave the list) can be found
at the list web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medsocnews.html
**********************************************************************
|