Elites, elements and events: Practice theory and scale

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Elites, elements and events: Practice theory and scale

Birtchnell, Thomas

Highlights ► The article reviews recent perspectives in practice theory through a case study of Gandhi’s Swadeshi movement. ► The notion of scale is discussed in reference to ontological flatness and the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP). ► The article reviews practice theory’s strengths, weaknesses and potential. ► Citing the three e’s (elites, elements and events) pathways are explored for potential ‘bottom-up’ action to climate change. ► The article links the Swadeshi movement to a possible transition to a cycling transport system.

Abstract Practice theory appears to be a flat ontology in conventional renderings, but it is unclear why this is so. In attempting to scale socio-technical systems practice theory finds itself needing to think about new possible strategies to both compete with other ontologies and rebrand itself as capable of mapping the world outside of everyday life, the domestic and the home. In pursuit of this goal three unfamiliar new terrains are explored: elites, elements and events. In this paper a method for practice theory to broach scale while retaining its current value is articulated through ideas about the synchronization of elements and through paying closer attention to elites and events in the ways practices are practised.