Search

Drawing on ethnographic data collected around the Washington Metro (Metro), this paper uses a relational methodology to examine the effects of the talk of "terrorism." How do stories of "terrorism" work in this context? What identity and (in)security performances are stabilized around this sign of danger? Genealogically, I will demonstrate that media reports, official articulations and rider talk combined around "terrorism" during the 1990s and surged forward after 2001. The effects of this in everyday interaction are to invest the Metro with a fairly stable structure of meaning that is concretely given form through a variety of security practices that include surveillance and information coordination. I argue that together, talk of "terrorism" and counter-"terrorist" practice fashions the Metro into a risky place that calls forth a vigilant and patriotic consumer. Constituted by the risk of "terrorism," the Metro can be seen as a biopolitical mechanism that disciplines individual conduct and governs the flow of people moving through the transit system. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]