What I find particularly interesting in this discussion of Foucault's
biography as a pertinent context in which to read his writings, is that it
seems to elevate this particular man's life in relation to his utterances
to a level that we rarely see in Foucault's own work. Foucault's analyses
of discourses (at least in his archaeological mode), rarely examined the
biographies of the persons who uttered statements that were critical to
specific discourses. Indeed, he seemed more inclined toward fracturing
particular subjects/persons, by decentering their power to have complete
control over the meaning/s of their own utterances. Foucault's sexual
activities, as a particular genre of signification, certainly have an
impact on the formation of a non-/anti-/a-heterosexual discourse on human
sexuality, but I fail to see that this particular and situated mode of
enunciation should be privileged over other competing signifying practices
that might be excavated from Foucault's biography.
I'm sorry if this repeats an earlier posting.
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biography as a pertinent context in which to read his writings, is that it
seems to elevate this particular man's life in relation to his utterances
to a level that we rarely see in Foucault's own work. Foucault's analyses
of discourses (at least in his archaeological mode), rarely examined the
biographies of the persons who uttered statements that were critical to
specific discourses. Indeed, he seemed more inclined toward fracturing
particular subjects/persons, by decentering their power to have complete
control over the meaning/s of their own utterances. Foucault's sexual
activities, as a particular genre of signification, certainly have an
impact on the formation of a non-/anti-/a-heterosexual discourse on human
sexuality, but I fail to see that this particular and situated mode of
enunciation should be privileged over other competing signifying practices
that might be excavated from Foucault's biography.
I'm sorry if this repeats an earlier posting.
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