Changes in shared social imaginaries gradually reinterpret accepted practices and shift behaviour.

Evidence

Taylor (2007) argues that a transformation in social imaginary leads to formerly accepted practices becoming reinterpreted to a new meaning. Over time, new ideas and perspectives may emerge that challenge or complement existing beliefs within the social imaginary. As these new concepts are introduced and integrated into the collective understanding, they can lead to shifts in practices as individuals adapt to or adopt these novel ways of thinking and behaving (Vertovec, 2012). — Nadia Haq, ‘The National Media Just Sees Muslims…, 65

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies what a ‘social imaginary’ does dynamically — how collective frameworks absorb new ideas and thereby alter practice.
• DEEPTHINKING: A slow, recursive theory of how whole societies change what they take as given — worth sitting with when thinking about how attitudes actually move.