 The Social Worlds of Caravaning: Objects, Scripts and PracticesDale Southerton, Elizabeth Shove, Alan Warde and Rosemary Deem Sociological Research Online, 2001, vol. 6, issue 2, 71-78 Abstract: This paper is about the part which objects play in scripting the practices and strategies of their users. Goffman uses the concept of script to make sense of the conventional ordering of social interaction and the definition and maintenance of social worlds. As adopted by Latour (1992), Akrich (1992)and others, the term describes the ways in which devices and non-human actors configure their users. Drawing upon a study of caravaning and caravaners, we link these interpretations together through the mediating concept of practice. We argue that the practice of caravaning involves the resolution of common dilemmas, related to the material characteristics of the activity, and that the manner of their resolution, which involves the differential use of apparently similar objects and devices, underpins the social ordering of caravaning communities. In this case, as in others, non- human actors do not simply script, they also set the stage for social differentiation. Equally, caravans and caravan sites are much more than props strategically deployed in the course of social interaction. Like other objects, they are also implicated in the constitution and definition of the challenges around which social distinctions revolve. Keywords: Caravans; Consumption; Differentiation; Objects; Practices; Scripts (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:socres:v:6:y:2001:i:2:p:71-78 DOI: 10.5153/sro.585 Access Statistics for this article More articles in Sociological Research Online |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.