Call for Participation [Special Session] :

Disruptions in everyday life: Changing social practices & opportunities for sustainable consumption

 

We are looking for participants for a session that we are organizing as part of the conference "Transforming consumption-production systems towards just and sustainable futures" hosted by the Sustainable Consumption Research and Action Initiative (SCORAI), the European Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production (ERSCP) and Wageningen University & Research (WUR), July 5-8, 2023 in Wageningen, The Netherlands.

 

Session title -> Disruptions in everyday life: Changing social practices & opportunities for sustainable consumption

• Proposed Session: Academic session of 90 minutes
• Session organisers: Claire Hoolohan (Manchester University), Mary Greene and Sigrid Wertheim-Heck (both Wageningen University)
• Session Type: Academic Paper Presentations

 

Abstract

How practices change, and how change might be directed toward sustainable consumption are critical questions in sustainable development (Watson et al. 2020). Recently, one avenue that has received attention during recent turbulent times is the notion of disruption. The recent covid-19 pandemic, the ongoing war in Europe, rising energy prices, and other social disruptions, are impacting household practices in a myriad of ways. In this session, we unpack how and in what ways consumption practices – related to food, water, energy and mobility - are impacted by societal disruptions of various kinds and how this may inform pathways for sustainable transformation. 

Studying practices under disruption can provide “momentary glimpses” into “the fabric of ‘normality’ as it is fraying”, revealing “the patterns in which practices and infrastructures are woven together.” (Chappells and Trentmann, 2018: 198). Previous research has revealed that disruptions affect the organisation of consumption in everyday life, as relations between elements or practice bundles become undone and reassembled (Nicholls and Strengers 2015; Wethal 2020; Greene et al., 2022). Disruptions, as ruptures in ways of doing that afford possibilities for alternatives to emerge, can provide opportunities for greater reflexivity on practices and experimentation with more sustainable practices (Browne et al., 2019; Hoolohan et al., 2022; Greene et al, 2022). However, disruptions don’t guarantee lasting and positive shifts toward sustainability and can unevenly interfere with routines, reinforcing existing inequities in everyday practices. Further research and reflection are needed to understand under what contexts and conditions disruptions result in socially varied opportunities for sustainable consumption. 

In this session, we welcome contributions that critically examine the implications of disruption for sustainable consumption. We are interested in exploring the impact of a variety of societal ‘disruptive events’, including but not limited to global crises (e.g. Covid-19, geo-political conflict, the energy crisis, inflation), socio-technical disruptions (e.g. blackouts, rail strikes), environmental disasters (e.g. heatwaves, floods), to consider questions such as:

• How are household consumption practices and their arrangements responding to disruptions of various kinds?
• What new practices and ways of doing and arranging daily life emerge during and following disruptive events? 
• How do disruptions to systems of provision result in socially differentiated impacts on everyday life?
• What opportunities for sustainable consumption emerge during disruptive events and how is this shaped by context?
• What practices might persist in the longer term (longitudinal effects) and how can systems of provision, including policy, support the emergence of more resilient and “sustainable” practices? 

 

Please send an abstract of 300-500 words to Claire Hoolohan (claire.hoolohan@manchester.ac.uk), Mary Greene (mary.greene@wur.nl) and Sigrid Wertheim-Heck (sigrid.wertheim-heck@wur.nl) by 7th of December 2022 at 17.00. Abstracts should follow the conference guidelines as outlined on the conference website. 

 

 

References:

Chappells, H., and F. Trentmann. 2018. “Disruption in and across Time.” In Infrastructures in Practice: The Dynamics of Demand in Networked Societies, edited by E. Shove and F. Trentmann, 197–210. London: Routledge.  

Greene, Mary, Hansen, A., Hoolohan, C., Süßbauer, E. and Domaneschi, L. (2022) Consumption and shifting temporalities of daily life in times of disruption: Undoing and reassembling household practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15487733.2022.2037903

Hoolohan, C., Wertheim-Heck, S.C.O., Devaux, F., Domaneschi, L., Dubuisson-Quellier, S., Schäfer, M., and Wethal U.B. (2022) Covid-19 and socio-materially bounded experimentation. Sustainability: Science Practice and Policy: https://doi.org/10.1080/15487733.2021.2013050

Nicholls, L., and Y. Strengers. 2015. “Peak Demand and the ‘Family Peak’ Period in Australia: Understanding Practice (In)flexibility in Households with Children.” Energy Research & Social Science 9: 116–124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2015.08.018

Watson, M., A. Browne, D. Evans, M. Foden, C. Hoolohan, and L. Sharp. 2020. “Challenges and Opportunities for Re-framing Resource Use Policy with Practice Theories: The Change Points Approach.” Global Environmental Change 62: 102072. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2020.102072.

Wethal, U. 2020. “Practices, Provision and Protest: Power Outages in Rural Norwegian Households.” Energy Research & Social Science 62: 101388.