Rethinking social theory with inspiration from practice theory and pragmatism

The chapter discusses two visions of social reality that understand the social realm as a domain of activity: the practice theory of Theodore R. Schatzki and John Dewey's instrumentalist pragmatism. For these approaches, activity is neither individual behavior nor individual reasoning. They both conceive social reality as a realm that is situated within contexts that are co-constructed by interacting actors who are situated in material, social, cultural and symbolic processes. The discussion focuses on the theoretical junctures between the two approaches, where social scientists can find inspiration for studying aspects of social life as an unfolding activity. This exploration lays the groundwork for an assessment of the possibilities for social scientists to make alliances between the two approaches in social theory.