Practice (vs. Action)

From Geography

Practice is in social sciences used as the term to refer to that what people do (Bourdieu, 1977). Practices are actions or activities that are repeatable, regular, and recognizable in a given cultural context. In the 1970s and 1980s practice (and practices) were seen as the object of theorization in certain branches of critical sociology and cultural anthropology. Practice theories seek to integrate objectivist theories of society (such as structuralism, functionalism, or Marxism) with theories that view social life as the contingent outcome of decisions, actions, and interpretations of social actors.

Practice theory, (or as some name it) action theory,has been associated primarily with four theorists: Michel Foucault (1926–1984), Pierre Bourdieu (1930–2002), Michel de Certeau (1925–1986), and Anthony Giddens (1938–).

The difference between action and practice

The action theorists put a lot of emphasis on the freedom of actors to act and hardly take into account the restraints that people might have to act. Practice in the poststructuralist sence puts more emphasis on the interrelation between the actor and his environment. The actor is free to act within the given structures and power relations that exist in the world.

---

References:

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2010.

Personal communication, Huib Ernste, 2011.

Published by Thijs Koolhof (4048385)

Edited by Thaddeus Bergé, 12-11-2011