The Posthumanist Epistemology of Practice Theory

Within and beyond organization studies, an epistemology of practice allows us to view the ongoing interaction between doing and knowing, the knowing subject and the known object, social and material, humans, nonhumans, more-than-humans. This book is a collection of reflections by scholars across the social sciences around epistemological practices and the epistemology of posthumanist practice theory. Practice theories and practice-based studies have developed a rich methodology for studying working practices. This book is an epistemological reflection that challenges the distinction between theory and method, questions the knowing practices that give form to the object of knowledge, how they draw boundaries between what comes to matter and what is excluded from mattering. It will be of great interest to scholars and students of organization studies and beyond, allowing social science researchers to rethink their positioning within their own research practices and leaving them open to a broader, looser and more generous understanding of qualitative methodologies. Chapters 1, 2, 5 and 6 are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com. Michela Cozza is an Associate Professor in the Department of Organization and Management, Mälardalen University, School of Business, Society and Engineering, Sweden. Silvia Gherardi is a Visiting Professor at Mälardalen University, School of Business, Society and Engineering, Sweden. She was previously Full Professor of Sociology of Work and Organization at the University of Trento.