Food practices as part of daily routines: A conceptual framework for analysing networks of practices

Abstract

Current debates about the need to change daily practices to address sustainability or health issues often neglect to recognise that single practices like eating are embedded in daily routines and connected to a multitude of other practices that take place within networks. While connections, such as complexes, bundles or nexuses, are mentioned in extant literature, a clear definition of these categories and their operationalisation for empirical research is missing. This conceptual study aims to fill this gap by proposing an analytical framework for a network of practices that joins multiple authors' concepts and supports empirical analyses that aim to understand the complex intertwining of practices in daily life, as well as the challenges to changing them. Inspired by the concepts of 'zooming in and out' (Nicolini, 2012), we propose several explorative steps to support the operationalisation process. 'Zooming in' at practices aims for a deeper understanding of the performance within single practices, exploring their internal variations, including elements (i.e. material, meanings and competences), as well as spatial (i.e. in and outside), temporal (e.g. hours, days) and social (e.g. alone, with friends) dimensions. 'Zooming out' for connections between practices explores the various connections single practices have to other practices as complexes, bundles and nexuses, as well as the role of 'external' contexts influencing those dynamics. The framework's benefits are illustrated with examples that refer to the practice of eating and its interconnectedness with other food practices, with other daily practices and with external contexts, such as the surrounding food distribution systems. Our contribution is centred on how such an operationalisation may support the analysis of current and past networks of practices but also possible changes in daily practices in the future.

Keywords: Connections between practices; Eating practices; Network; Social practice theory; Zooming in; Zooming out.