ABSTRACT

This chapter introduces the key concepts on which a practice-theoretical account of translation will be developed. It draws on scholarship on practice theories and on applications of practice thinking from a diverse set of fields, including science and technology studies, organization and management studies, social anthropology, media studies, consumption studies, health care, education and politics. The key concept to be elaborated is that of practice itself, but we will also explore concepts that help us to describe and explain the elements that constitute practices and the ways in which practices are configured and connected. These conceptual foundations will enable us to shift our attention in later chapters to the practice of translating and related practices.