The Lifescapes of Public University Students: Extending Work Practice to Macro and Micro Levels

Work practice scholars have continually sought to highlight fluidity and holism to capture the lived experiences and imaginations of people at work. In the work practice tradition, Brigitte Jordan (2005, 2009) developed the term, “lifescape,” to capture the way the work of high-performance executives refused to stay contained by the workplace and bled over to the rest of life. This paper seeks to theoretically extend and elaborate “lifescape” to include macro, meso, and microlevel processes, suggesting some ways to conceptualize how configurations of people, practices, and artifacts interrelate with each other at work and within broader social contexts. It brings several theoretical frameworks into conversation with some findings about college students' academic work, paid employment, and family obligations. The goal is to advance the concept of lifescape and to point toward some research strategies that can help understand, alter, or improve work.