Imaginary practices as the nexus between continuity and disruptive change

This chapter extends debates on how disruptive change in large arrays of activity can be performed in practice. By drawing on the notion of imaginary practices, it explores both the social aspects of extending while at the same time breaking with the continuity of current practices within a large array of activity. Emphasizing the role of imaginary practices for change accentuates agency in practices as an experiential and socially-embedded temporal process. Based on the case of the Dogma 95 movement, this chapter illustrates that the role of imaginary practices in disruptive change in large arrays of activity is to break away from current practices by expanding and experimenting with future horizons. This process is temporally informed, linked to experience as well as the situation at hand, and oriented toward both continuing and transforming the future.