Social Change in a Material World

<p><em>Social Change in a Material World</em> offers a new practice theoretical account of social change and its explanation. Extending the author’s earlier account of social life and drawing on general ideas about events processes and change the book conceptualizes social changes as configurations of significant differences in bundles of practices and material arrangements. Illustrated with examples from the history of bourbon distillation and the formation and evolution of digitally-mediated associations in contemporary life the book argues that chains of activity combine with material events and processes to cause social changes. The book thereby stresses the significance of the material dimension of society for the constitution determination and explanation of social phenomena as well as the types of space needed to understand them. The book also challenges the explanatory significance of such key phenomena as power dependence relations mechanisms and individual behavior. As such it will appeal to sociologists geographers organization studies scholars and others interested in social life and social change.</p>