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Alternative spaces of encounter: Characterological metadiscourses and ‘joint voice’ in Finnish multi-ethnic inclusive theater

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 March 2024

Tomi Visakko Open the ORCID record for Tomi Visakko [Opens in a new window]
Tomi Visakko*
Affiliation:
University of Helsinki, Finland
*
Address for correspondence: Tomi Visakko Department of Finnish, Finno-Ugrian and Scandinavian Studies PO Box 24 (Unioninkatu 40) 00014 University of Helsinki Finland tomi.visakko@helsinki.fi
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Abstract

This article explores the characterological metadiscourses through which characters, or figures of personhood, become modeled, evaluated, and enacted during a multi-ethnic, community-inclusive theater project that aims to make the group's ‘joint voice’ heard on stage and in society. Based on ethnographic data and discourse-analytical methods, the article examines two modes of characterological metadiscourse that contribute to the construction of an ‘alternative’ discursive space that allows the group to reflect on and to experiment with everyday social interactions. First, the article analyzes writing and conversation tasks that deal with experiences of ethnicization and inequality. Second, the article analyzes exercises in acting techniques, in which the focus turns to universal characterological dimensions, enabling each participant to participate in the joint voice as an equal performer. The analyses illuminate a local strategy of managing multi-ethnic relations and committing to ideals of solidarity and egalitarianism with the purpose of collective social action. (Voice, entextualization, interdiscursivity, ethnicity, raciolinguistics, theater)*

Type
Article
Information
Language in Society , First View , pp. 1 - 26
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

*

I would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for their invaluable comments and suggestions that significantly improved the article. I am grateful to Elina Izarra Ollikainen and to all of the other artists, researchers, and participants involved in the theater project for their support, as well as to the different background institutions for making it all possible. In particular, I would like to thank the Kone Foundation for funding the original research project.

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