Re: [Foucault-L] Introduction

actually he is not unfamiliar with prisoner's experiences since he has
worked on it personally. Pierre Riviere is a case as mentioned. However
personal experiences may not make too much sense within the "post" modern
understanding when formation of subjectivity is at stake.
good luck with your work,
elif

On 2/1/07, Simon Rolston <simonrolston@xxxxxxxx> wrote:



Thanks very much for the suggestion, Ilgin. I know of Rodriguez's book,
but I have yet to read it. I'm going to head over to the library to have a
look for it (along with Ethics, Subjectivity and Truth...).

Foucault's notion of the docile body certainly needs to be rethought, or
at least developed, in relation to the experiences of inmates in American
prisons. That said--and I am something of a newcomer to Foucault, so pardon
my naivety--it seems that Foucault's projects on discipline, even power, do
not concern experience, necessarily. Why does he not consider texts written
by prisoners themselves as part of his project? As I mentioned, I'm aware
that he finds autobiography deeply problematic ("Infamous Men"), but this
still seems to be something of a gap. Ideas?
Cheers,

Simon

Ilgin Yorukoglu <ilgin_y@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Simon,
Have you also read "Forced Passages" by Dylan Rodriguez? The book is about
the radical prison thought, and the racism of the criminal justice system in
the US. Although Rodriguez is in line with Foucault some times, especially
with the way the latter uses genealogy, he finds Foucault's thought on
incarceration not suitable for understanding what's really going on (which
is, basically, destruction of these bodies). I thought it might be helpful,
Best,
Ilgin

----- Original Message ----
From: Simon Rolston
To: Mailing-list
Sent: Wednesday, January 31, 2007 12:57:18 PM
Subject: Re: [Foucault-L] Introduction

Hi Elif, great suggestions. I'm not familiar with Genet's essay, though.
I've read his introduction to Soledad Brother. Is that the one you mean?
Thanks for the help.
Best,

Simon

elif sendur wrote:
Hi Simon,

I am Elif from Binghamton University Comparative Literature Phd Program.
Discipline and Punish is a good start but I also recommend Jean Genet's
essays and not to forget, Foucault's interviews in Power/ Knowledge.
best,
elif sendur

On 1/19/07, Simon Rolston wrote:
>
> I'm a graduate student in the English department at the University of
> British Columbia, Canada, and I'm currently working on (and interested
in)
> American prisoner autobiographies. At the moment I'm writing my
qualifying
> papers (which are similar to comprehensive exams), one of which is on
> Foucault and discipline. Although Foucault is very suspicious of
> autobiography, I think his work is quite useful for my project. For
example,
> I'm interested in questioning the assumption that prisoner writings are
> emancipatory texts, that writing about oneself when imprisoned is
somehow a
> 'freeing' activity. This is not to undermine the work accomplished by
> American inmates. Rather it is to acknowledge the difficulties a
prisoner
> faces when writing (and even speaking) from inside the belly of the
beast.
> If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.
> Thanks for letting me join up!
> Best,
>
> Simon Rolston
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Ask a question on any topic and get answers from real people. Go to
Yahoo!
> Answers.
> _______________________________________________
> Foucault-L mailing list
>



--
"zaman insanlari deðil, armutlari olgunlastirir" N.F Kisakurek
_______________________________________________
Foucault-L mailing list



---------------------------------
Be smarter than spam. See how smart SpamGuard is at giving junk email the
boot with the All-new Yahoo! Mail
_______________________________________________
Foucault-L mailing list









____________________________________________________________________________________
Expecting? Get great news right away with email Auto-Check.
Try the Yahoo! Mail Beta.
http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta/newmail_tools.html
_______________________________________________
Foucault-L mailing list



---------------------------------
Share your photos with the people who matter at Yahoo! Canada Photos
_______________________________________________
Foucault-L mailing list




--
"zaman insanlari değil, armutlari olgunlastirir" N.F Kisakurek
Folow-ups
  • Re: [Foucault-L] Introduction
    • From: Simon Rolston
  • Replies
    Re: [Foucault-L] Introduction, Ilgin Yorukoglu
    Re: [Foucault-L] Introduction, Simon Rolston
    Partial thread listing: