Theme issue  

In Germany each year, thousands of children are born extremely prematurely. Despite being sites of enormous human suffering und huge financial costs, the places of treatment of these babies are almost non-existent in societal discourse. In order to understand these places which seem isolated from the rest of society, but are tightly connected to it, a ,dense description‘ of a single ,NICU‘ will be given – based on a stay by the author, drawing on the practice theoretical approach of Schatzki.

This article demonstrates with an ethnographic and praxeological analysis of one café how the social practices therein foster and generate interactions that link urban dwellers with each other and increase their place attachment as well as their senses of home and community.

This paper examines artisanal and industrial baking practices to develop the notion of affinitive practice and insurgent space – practices through which affinities can be developed resulting in spaces with the radical potential to challenge the spatial logic of neo-liberal capitalism. It argues that if agri-capitalism seeks an automated and disembodied food system, than affinities through embodied experiences and practices within food production can challenge this hegemonic trope.

In this paper, we discuss connections between two important concepts in human geography: discourse and practice. Focussing on the discourse theory of Laclau/Mouffe and the practice theory of Schatzki, we show how both theories are informed by the philosophy of Wittgenstein. After highlighting similarities and differences within their basis interests, we introduce an integrative approach ‘between discourse and practice’ that is illustrated by two empirical examples.