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  • What is energy for final Nov13

    Rights statement: The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Theory, Culture and Society, 31 (5), 2014, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2014 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the Theory, Culture and Society page: http://tcs.sagepub.com/ on SAGE Journals Online: http://online.sagepub.com/

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What is energy for?: social practice and energy demand

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What is energy for? social practice and energy demand. / Shove, Elizabeth; Walker, Gordon.
In: Theory, Culture and Society, Vol. 31, No. 5, 09.2014, p. 41-58.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

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Shove E, Walker G. What is energy for? social practice and energy demand. Theory, Culture and Society. 2014 Sept;31(5):41-58. Epub 2014 Jul 1. doi: 10.1177/0263276414536746

Author

Shove, Elizabeth ; Walker, Gordon. / What is energy for? social practice and energy demand. In: Theory, Culture and Society. 2014 ; Vol. 31, No. 5. pp. 41-58.

Bibtex

@article{b25eb3d7c31445cd92547cdfc303bc07,
title = "What is energy for?: social practice and energy demand",
abstract = "Energy has an ambivalent status in social theory, variously figuring as a driver or an outcome of social and institutional change, or as something that is woven into the fabric of society itself. In this article the authors consider the underlying models on which different approaches depend. One common strategy is to view energy as a resource base, the management and organization of which depends on various intersecting systems: political, economic and technological. This is not the only route to take. The authors develop an alternative approach, viewing energy supply and energy demand as part of the ongoing reproduction of bundles and complexes of social practice. In articulating and comparing these two positions they show how social-theoretical commitments influence the ways in which problems like those of reducing carbon emissions are framed and addressed. Whereas theories of practice highlight basic questions about what energy is for, these issues are routinely and perhaps necessarily obscured by those who see energy as an abstract resource that structures or that is structured by a range of interlocking social systems.",
keywords = "demand, energy, social practice, social theory, TRANSITIONS, CONSUMPTION",
author = "Elizabeth Shove and Gordon Walker",
note = "The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Theory, Culture and Society, 31 (5), 2014, {\textcopyright} SAGE Publications Ltd, 2014 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the Theory, Culture and Society page: http://tcs.sagepub.com/ on SAGE Journals Online: http://online.sagepub.com/ ",
year = "2014",
month = sep,
doi = "10.1177/0263276414536746",
language = "English",
volume = "31",
pages = "41--58",
journal = "Theory, Culture and Society",
issn = "0263-2764",
publisher = "SAGE Publications Ltd",
number = "5",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - What is energy for?

T2 - social practice and energy demand

AU - Shove, Elizabeth

AU - Walker, Gordon

N1 - The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Theory, Culture and Society, 31 (5), 2014, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2014 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the Theory, Culture and Society page: http://tcs.sagepub.com/ on SAGE Journals Online: http://online.sagepub.com/

PY - 2014/9

Y1 - 2014/9

N2 - Energy has an ambivalent status in social theory, variously figuring as a driver or an outcome of social and institutional change, or as something that is woven into the fabric of society itself. In this article the authors consider the underlying models on which different approaches depend. One common strategy is to view energy as a resource base, the management and organization of which depends on various intersecting systems: political, economic and technological. This is not the only route to take. The authors develop an alternative approach, viewing energy supply and energy demand as part of the ongoing reproduction of bundles and complexes of social practice. In articulating and comparing these two positions they show how social-theoretical commitments influence the ways in which problems like those of reducing carbon emissions are framed and addressed. Whereas theories of practice highlight basic questions about what energy is for, these issues are routinely and perhaps necessarily obscured by those who see energy as an abstract resource that structures or that is structured by a range of interlocking social systems.

AB - Energy has an ambivalent status in social theory, variously figuring as a driver or an outcome of social and institutional change, or as something that is woven into the fabric of society itself. In this article the authors consider the underlying models on which different approaches depend. One common strategy is to view energy as a resource base, the management and organization of which depends on various intersecting systems: political, economic and technological. This is not the only route to take. The authors develop an alternative approach, viewing energy supply and energy demand as part of the ongoing reproduction of bundles and complexes of social practice. In articulating and comparing these two positions they show how social-theoretical commitments influence the ways in which problems like those of reducing carbon emissions are framed and addressed. Whereas theories of practice highlight basic questions about what energy is for, these issues are routinely and perhaps necessarily obscured by those who see energy as an abstract resource that structures or that is structured by a range of interlocking social systems.

KW - demand

KW - energy

KW - social practice

KW - social theory

KW - TRANSITIONS

KW - CONSUMPTION

U2 - 10.1177/0263276414536746

DO - 10.1177/0263276414536746

M3 - Journal article

VL - 31

SP - 41

EP - 58

JO - Theory, Culture and Society

JF - Theory, Culture and Society

SN - 0263-2764

IS - 5

ER -