Language As a Tool for Oppression and Resistance within Institutional Practices

States’ handling of allegedly "excluded" groups has in recent decades to a large degree been analysed against a neoliberal backdrop where “soft” governance and subjectification have been placed in the forefront. Increased conflicts, migrations, and crisis of several kind reinforce exclusion. While recognizing the importance of analysing contemporary neoliberal governance of citizens, a resurgent authoritarianism has complicated the social landscape, which calls for analytical approaches that take this development into account.

This session will explore language as a tool for oppression, and also for resistance to oppression, within institutional practices and activities aiming at responsibility attribution, support, or inclusion of members of “excluded” groups. What kinds of categories can be used to encourage respect and disrespect and how are they used in the most diverse situations in the public spheres?

Rather than approaching exclusion as a pre-existing condition, we encourage contributions attending to the language and discourses utilised by specific actors, located in space and time, to control, guard – or challenge – borders against the entry of unwanted individuals or groups. Papers are invited that are based on theoretically informed empirical studies and address situated talk and interaction in a variety of institutional practices, across organizations, with focus on how language is entangled with power, inequality and resistance. Submissions may include different methodologies. Submissions dealing with theoretical / methodological challenges as situated action will also be appreciated. Papers highlighting contending voices and counter-discourses developed by those categorized as the “Other” are especially welcome.