A1 Journal article (refereed)
In the name of security : Governmentality apparatus in a multilingual mine in Arctic Finland (2021)

Strömmer, M. (2021). In the name of security : Governmentality apparatus in a multilingual mine in Arctic Finland. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 25(2), 217-234. https://doi.org/10.1111/josl.12458

JYU authors or editors

Strömmer, Maiju

Publication details

All authors or editors: Strömmer, Maiju

Journal or series: Journal of Sociolinguistics

ISSN: 1360-6441

eISSN: 1467-9841

Publication year: 2021

Publication date: 17/01/2021

Volume: 25

Issue number: 2

Pages range: 217-234

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Publication country: United Kingdom

Publication language: English

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/josl.12458

Publication open access: Openly available

Publication channel open access: Partially open access channel

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/74298

Abstract

This critical sociolinguistic study explores how mining work is governed in the name of security in a mine in Arctic Finland. Although the mining industry is dominated by multinational corporations, mines themselves tend to be concentrated in peripheries where a mobile and multilingual workforce is recruited. Mining is a high-risk business: industrial accidents and environmental damage can be severe. Discursive practices play a crucial role in risk management. In this study, the nexus of language, security, and production in mining work is analyzed by applying the Foucauldian concept of 'governmentality'. The data comprise ethnographic observations, work-related documents, and interviews collected onsite in 2018-2019. The analysis illustrates how security and production are interwoven in the mine's safety program that applies the neoliberal logic of responsibilization and disciplinary strategies of surveillance, supervision and regulations. On a broader level, this governmentality apparatus serves the state in securitizing its economy and population.

Keywords: sociolinguistics; mine work; miners; multilingualism; industrial safety; safety culture; administration (action); supervision; discourse research; ethnography