Reflexivity through practice-informed student journals: how 'sustainable wellbeing' relates to teleoaffectivities

The COVID-19 pandemic that first swept across the world in 2020 led to disruptions in habits and routines—central themes in social practice approaches to consumption. Teaching was also disrupted: the move to online classes forced the development of new modalities of teaching and learning. As a result, a group of social science instructors in a “sustainable consumption” network came together to engage students in a reflexivity exercise through weekly journal entries at four universities located in Switzerland, Germany, and Ireland. The students were invited to document how their everyday practi- ces were changing, and how these reported changes related to “sustainable wellbeing.” Further, they were encouraged to reflect on how notions of the collective were reima- gined in light of the uncertain sanitary situation. Our analyses show how individual well- being is tied to time and social interactions, which are both structured by spatial arrangements. We also discuss how students situate changes in relation to broader, soci- etal trends, hinting at how “sustainable wellbeing” contrasts with other teleoaffective for- mations such as economic health. We conclude with a discussion around the implications of the journaling method in relation to other participatory processes toward the norma- tive aim of a good life for all.