Mobilising the micro-political voice

Doing the ‘Human Microphone’ and the ‘mic-check

Bibliographic Data

ID6085100
AuthorsPaul Mcilvenny (0000-0003-2327-2124)
Year2017
Volume16
Issue1
Pages110-136
Publication date2017-05-11
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Language and Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1569-2159 • E-ISSN: 1569-9862
PublisherJohn Benjamins Publishing Company (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1075/jlp.16.1.06mci
OpenAlexW2532353954
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited12

A notable feature of the participatory communication repertoire developed by the Occupy movement is known as the “Human Microphone” or “People’s Mic”, reminiscent of the call-and-response format of action. A collection was made of more than 160 online amateur videos recorded at an Occupy protest site or event in which the Human Mic and the disaffiliative “mic check” were used in diverse ways. In 19 separate cases, more than one video recording was independently uploaded of the same event, thus giving a unique insight into the constitution of participation in a collective (and yet potentially dissensual) politico-interactional space from disparate technology-mediated spatial positions at the site. Ethnomethodological conversation analysis (EMCA) is used to analyse the social interactional accomplishment and collective organisation of the ‘voice’ of the Human Mic, including its propagation to larger audiences and its interdiscursive translation into new settings as a strategic tool of political communication that attempts to ‘occupy’ institutional speech

Amateur · Citizen journalism · Conversation · Event (particle physics · Linguistics · Media studies · Political science · Politics · Repertoire · Social movement · Sociology · Digital Communication and Language · Discourse Analysis in Language Studies · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Communication · Law

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