Teorie praktyk: pomiędzy teorią totalną a ideą skrzynki narzędziowej
Practice Theories: Between Total Theory and Toolkit Approach

Summary/Abstract: The article is an attempt to understand the popularity of practice theories in the 21st century. It starts with the six assumptions that unite the ‘family’ of practice theories being presented. The authors then turn to the differences and describe four main orientations within practice theories. They trace the distinctions by considering the perception of practice theories in relation to other social theories (which we refer to as ‘total theory’ or ‘toolkit approach’) as well as their aspiration either to describe or to explain phenomena (a strong or weak practice-based program). Having combined these two dimensions, the authors take the conceptual approaches of Schatzki and Nicolini as the examples in order to describe the ‘cracks’ in practice theories and the danger of their ‘miniaturization’. The proposed mode of analysis allows the researchers to see the advantages and disadvantages of these approaches more clearly and encourages them to rethink their attitudes towards the theories discussed. Finally, the parallels are drawn between practice theories and the sociology of everyday life.

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