How do the ordinary and mundane transform over time? The potential of a biographic-practice approach for sociological research on consumption

Mary Greene

Chapter 25 in Research Handbook on the Sociology of Consumption, 2026, pp 296-309 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: How do the ordinary and mundane transform over time? This chapter advances a biographic-practice approach for researching consumption dynamics, integrating social practice theory (SPT) with biographic inquiry to explore how everyday consumption unfolds across the lifecourse. While SPT has contributed to understanding the socio-material configurations of consumption, it has largely overlooked the biographical dimensions of individuals’ lives. In response, this chapter demonstrates how attending to ‘careers-in-a-practice’, tracing intersections between practice trajectories and personal biographies, can advance understandings of consumption's evolution. Drawing on research in Ireland, it examines how life transitions, shifting socio-technical infrastructures and changing cultural norms shape the long-term development of routine practices. Through a strategy of zooming in and out of daily and life paths, the biographic-practice approach reveals the interplay of structure, agency and time in shaping everyday consumption trajectories. The chapter concludes by reflecting on the value of this framework for advancing sociological understandings of consumption and informing research on sustainability transitions.

Keywords: Biographic-practice approach; Social practice theory; Lifecourse transitions; Consumption trajectories; Everyday life; Socio-technical change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035310500
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