GLOSSARY - Making Sense of Nature - page 291

a methodological rather than substantive sense. Mitchell Dean's (1999) book
remains the original and best introduction to Foucault on governmentality.
Interpellation The process by which a person is encouraged to occupy
certain subject-positions over extended periods of time. Interpellation is
social, arising from discourse among individuals and associated practices.
Individuals are spoken to - face-to-face or otherwise - in ways that make
normative assumptions about the sorts of people they should be. Interpella-
tion is a continuous process and it begins to shape the self-identity of people
from the moment they are born.
Intrinsic nature The idea that entities said to be natural have proper-
ties or exhibit behaviours that are definitional of them and/or difficult to
change. See also essentialism.
Keyword A term that appears with high frequency in a range of oth-
erwise different discussions and arenas. Keywords should be distinguished
from other very promiscuous terms like 'and', 'people' or 'rain'. Whereas
the latter have relatively simple meanings and are 'ordinary' words, key-
words typically have plural or contested meanings. They can perform diverse
semantic work for this reason, often becoming a focal point for debates
about important issues. While some keywords go out of fashion (e.g.
'globalisation'), others are far more enduring (e.g. genes or life).
Metaphor A reference to something that points to a similarity to some-
thing else that it's otherwise unrelated to. For instance, I may use the
metaphor of 'mother' when referring to the natural environment (as in
'Mother Earth').
Metonymy Any written, verbal, visual or other act of referring to the
world that uses particulars to denote something bigger or larger. Metonymy
can often be a form of connotative reference.
Mimesis The attempt to represent something accurately or faithfully in
some medium. Mimesis rests on a presumed dualism between reality and
representation. It is central to the meta-genre of 'realist' forms of repre-
sentation that links together science, serious news journalism, documentary
photography and much else besides.
Mode of representation The ensemble of media in and through which
representations within a particular genre are communicated. For instance,
by disseminating my academic arguments in this topic, I'm observing the
conventions of my profession. You would be very surprised indeed if Making
sense of nature was published as, say, a cartoon strip.
Moral regulation Statements intended to produce 'proper' behaviour
among individuals in respect of moral issues. These statements are codified
in law, but are also day-to-day ones uttered as part of quotidian discourse