Hi! I'd like to reply to a message from Phil Sawyer sent on the 13th
of December and also a more recent one which I have mistakenly
deleted so (sorry) I can't quote from it. Phil explained that he
was trying to use Foucault's analysis of power to enlighten his
understanding of the community participation in urban regeneration
partnerships. What strikes me about this message is that it is very
unusual for the list because he is USING Foucault to understand
empirical work. This contrasts with most of the messages I have
read in which people are, understandably, struggling with
interpretation (some of it goes way over my head!). Perhaps they are
struggling with interpretation in order to use Foucault in another
area, but this is not the feeling I get. Of course we need theorists
and we need interpretors, indeed, I am indebted to them, but we also
need people who are going to do something with the theory. I was
delighted to read that Phil was applying Foucault's ideas. Like
Phil, I am trying to use Foucault - in my case his work on discourses to
understand environmental policy making in British local government.
Surely we are not the only two?
(A digression:)
I recently read Jana Sawicki's introduction to her book 'Disciplining
Foucault: Feminism, Power and the Body'. She describes how she at
one time sat on a panel with Foucault and explained that she had just
finished a dissertation all about his work. Apparently his response
was (I paraphrase) 'don't just say what I say but do what I do -
construct genealogies'. Clearly, she chose to ignore his advice, as
she went on to write a book about his work. Nevertheless, this
comment made me feel good. It seems that Foucault wants us to use
(and alter and reinterpret) whatever he wrote in new ways and in new
fields. This is also clear from his 'Geography interview' in
Power/Knowledge.
(Returning to the point)
All this leaves me thinking : where is everybody else who is using
Foucault? What parts of his work are they using? What fields are
they applying it to? It seems ironic that Phil and I
are from similar departments and based in the same city (we have
never met) but that we appear to be the only people around talking
about using Foucault. There must be a few others out
there....mustn't there?
All the best, Liz
of December and also a more recent one which I have mistakenly
deleted so (sorry) I can't quote from it. Phil explained that he
was trying to use Foucault's analysis of power to enlighten his
understanding of the community participation in urban regeneration
partnerships. What strikes me about this message is that it is very
unusual for the list because he is USING Foucault to understand
empirical work. This contrasts with most of the messages I have
read in which people are, understandably, struggling with
interpretation (some of it goes way over my head!). Perhaps they are
struggling with interpretation in order to use Foucault in another
area, but this is not the feeling I get. Of course we need theorists
and we need interpretors, indeed, I am indebted to them, but we also
need people who are going to do something with the theory. I was
delighted to read that Phil was applying Foucault's ideas. Like
Phil, I am trying to use Foucault - in my case his work on discourses to
understand environmental policy making in British local government.
Surely we are not the only two?
(A digression:)
I recently read Jana Sawicki's introduction to her book 'Disciplining
Foucault: Feminism, Power and the Body'. She describes how she at
one time sat on a panel with Foucault and explained that she had just
finished a dissertation all about his work. Apparently his response
was (I paraphrase) 'don't just say what I say but do what I do -
construct genealogies'. Clearly, she chose to ignore his advice, as
she went on to write a book about his work. Nevertheless, this
comment made me feel good. It seems that Foucault wants us to use
(and alter and reinterpret) whatever he wrote in new ways and in new
fields. This is also clear from his 'Geography interview' in
Power/Knowledge.
(Returning to the point)
All this leaves me thinking : where is everybody else who is using
Foucault? What parts of his work are they using? What fields are
they applying it to? It seems ironic that Phil and I
are from similar departments and based in the same city (we have
never met) but that we appear to be the only people around talking
about using Foucault. There must be a few others out
there....mustn't there?
All the best, Liz