Abstract

In theories of social practice, energy consumption is commonly understood to follow from social practices performed by humans. Yet smart home technologies and automation more broadly raise questions about this conceptualisation. This chapter rethinks theories of practice to include automated devices and systems not only as the material arrangements within which humans perform practices (following Schatzki), but as carriers and performers of practices. It takes a historical perspective to describe different types of smart home automation and their co-evolution with the performance of everyday practices. The chapter argues that by bringing Latour’s symmetrical anthropology into theories of practice, humans and non-humans can be included as part of both the material arrangements and as possible performers of practices.

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