Edy,
I agree with you about how it is to read Foucault sometimes. It's not
really clear what exactly he's referring to. To me, and I'm working with
fragments of the jigsaw puzzle as well, it seems that he is speaking of
the productive, determinative as well as restrictive properties of power.
I admit that I'm not real sure how much he's referring directly to
rationality, (thank you for pointing that out), but that seems to be a
theme as well. Oh well....we continue on our quest!:)
Best Wishes,
Rana
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rana A. Emerson
Department of Sociology
Burdine Hall 336
University of Texas at Austin
remerson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Sun, 8 Feb 1998, Edy Sukrisno wrote:
> Dear Rana,
>
> Ah, yes, you're right. Perhaps culture is only part of this regime of
> truth which, not only defines everything, but also produces reality. I
> wonder whether he is talking about rationality. I guess in one of his
> interviews he said that he was talking about power either in Madness and
> Civilization, Discipline and Punish, or The History of Sexuality. However,
> his concept of power is so elusive. And this creates another problem for
> me in reading Foucault.
>
> To me, reading Foucault is like doing a jigzaw puzzle without really
> knowing the complete picture. I'm trying to work this out with the limited
> pieces that I have. Or, reading Foucault is like being lost somewhere
> unknown with a wrong map.:-)
>
> Hmm...
>
> Regards,
> Edy Sukrisno
>
>
> At 11:28 AM 2/7/98 -0600, you wrote:
> >
> >Edy,
> >
> >I am another new participant on the list, and I just wanted to respond to
> >your post on history of sexuality. From my understanding of it, Foucault
> >is not only talking about how desire is historically determined, but also
> >how institutions categorize and define sexuality in order to regulate it
> >and gain and maintain power and control over individuals in society.
> >To him, rationality is the framework for doing so just as with the penal
> >system and insanity. I hope this is clear, if I'm off the mark on this,
> >please let me know!
> >
> >Thanks
> >Rana A.Emerson
> >
> >
> >
> >---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---------
> >Rana A. Emerson
> >Department of Sociology
> >Burdine Hall 336
> >University of Texas at Austin
> >remerson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
I agree with you about how it is to read Foucault sometimes. It's not
really clear what exactly he's referring to. To me, and I'm working with
fragments of the jigsaw puzzle as well, it seems that he is speaking of
the productive, determinative as well as restrictive properties of power.
I admit that I'm not real sure how much he's referring directly to
rationality, (thank you for pointing that out), but that seems to be a
theme as well. Oh well....we continue on our quest!:)
Best Wishes,
Rana
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rana A. Emerson
Department of Sociology
Burdine Hall 336
University of Texas at Austin
remerson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Sun, 8 Feb 1998, Edy Sukrisno wrote:
> Dear Rana,
>
> Ah, yes, you're right. Perhaps culture is only part of this regime of
> truth which, not only defines everything, but also produces reality. I
> wonder whether he is talking about rationality. I guess in one of his
> interviews he said that he was talking about power either in Madness and
> Civilization, Discipline and Punish, or The History of Sexuality. However,
> his concept of power is so elusive. And this creates another problem for
> me in reading Foucault.
>
> To me, reading Foucault is like doing a jigzaw puzzle without really
> knowing the complete picture. I'm trying to work this out with the limited
> pieces that I have. Or, reading Foucault is like being lost somewhere
> unknown with a wrong map.:-)
>
> Hmm...
>
> Regards,
> Edy Sukrisno
>
>
> At 11:28 AM 2/7/98 -0600, you wrote:
> >
> >Edy,
> >
> >I am another new participant on the list, and I just wanted to respond to
> >your post on history of sexuality. From my understanding of it, Foucault
> >is not only talking about how desire is historically determined, but also
> >how institutions categorize and define sexuality in order to regulate it
> >and gain and maintain power and control over individuals in society.
> >To him, rationality is the framework for doing so just as with the penal
> >system and insanity. I hope this is clear, if I'm off the mark on this,
> >please let me know!
> >
> >Thanks
> >Rana A.Emerson
> >
> >
> >
> >---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---------
> >Rana A. Emerson
> >Department of Sociology
> >Burdine Hall 336
> >University of Texas at Austin
> >remerson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>