I found the reference of the book where I read about Foucaul'ts PhD
dissertation in Sweden:
Defert, Daniel and François Ewald (eds.). *Dits et écrits par Michel
Foucault: 1954-1988*, *Vol. I: 1954-1969. *Paris: NRF Gallimard, 1994.
In the beginning of this French collection of Foucault's writings (the
equivalent of *Essential Writings*), there is a chronology of Foucault's
biography.
On page 21 one can read:
"1957. Excédé par les contraintes de durée imposées aux doctorants francais,
Foucault décide de soutenir une thèse suédoise, plus courte. Son manuscrit
sur l'histoire de la psychiatrie, devenue en fait celle de la folie, est
refusé par le Pr Lindroth, qui espérait une approche plus positiviste."
We all know who Ewald was in relation to Foucault (research assistant at the
Collège de France). So I guess he is a very reliable source for biographical
information.
So it seems that Foucault really wanted to submit his thesis in Sweden, and
the manuscript was rejected for not being positivist enough.
This is quite funny when considering *The Archaeology of Knowledge*, and the
elaboration on the method of description of the archives: what Foucault call
"positivités". "[Décrire un ensemble d'énoncés] c'est établir ce que
j'appellerias volontiers une *positivité*" (Foucault, Michel. *L'archéologie
du savoir*. Paris: NRF Gallimard, 1969, 164). Nothing more material and
positivist than the archaeological method as Paul Veyne underlined
(Veyne, Paul. "Foucault révolutionne l'histoire." In *Comment on écrit
l'histoire*, by Paul Veyne, 383-429. Paris: Seuil: Points, 1978.). For him,
Foucault is "the first historian completely positivist" *vis-à-vis* his
distinction between the visible and the invisible. Being practice or
language, things or words, a discourse is only to be observed as it is.
Be it a lesson for PhD candidates: always write a method chapter in your PhD
dissertation before writing several books and then a whole theory volume on
the method you used! Otherwise the Swedish professor won't understand you...
--
Frank Ejby Poulsen (LLM, MPA)
Schelleingasse 36 / 615
A-1040 Wien
Austria
Tel: (+43 1) 501 52 615
dissertation in Sweden:
Defert, Daniel and François Ewald (eds.). *Dits et écrits par Michel
Foucault: 1954-1988*, *Vol. I: 1954-1969. *Paris: NRF Gallimard, 1994.
In the beginning of this French collection of Foucault's writings (the
equivalent of *Essential Writings*), there is a chronology of Foucault's
biography.
On page 21 one can read:
"1957. Excédé par les contraintes de durée imposées aux doctorants francais,
Foucault décide de soutenir une thèse suédoise, plus courte. Son manuscrit
sur l'histoire de la psychiatrie, devenue en fait celle de la folie, est
refusé par le Pr Lindroth, qui espérait une approche plus positiviste."
We all know who Ewald was in relation to Foucault (research assistant at the
Collège de France). So I guess he is a very reliable source for biographical
information.
So it seems that Foucault really wanted to submit his thesis in Sweden, and
the manuscript was rejected for not being positivist enough.
This is quite funny when considering *The Archaeology of Knowledge*, and the
elaboration on the method of description of the archives: what Foucault call
"positivités". "[Décrire un ensemble d'énoncés] c'est établir ce que
j'appellerias volontiers une *positivité*" (Foucault, Michel. *L'archéologie
du savoir*. Paris: NRF Gallimard, 1969, 164). Nothing more material and
positivist than the archaeological method as Paul Veyne underlined
(Veyne, Paul. "Foucault révolutionne l'histoire." In *Comment on écrit
l'histoire*, by Paul Veyne, 383-429. Paris: Seuil: Points, 1978.). For him,
Foucault is "the first historian completely positivist" *vis-à-vis* his
distinction between the visible and the invisible. Being practice or
language, things or words, a discourse is only to be observed as it is.
Be it a lesson for PhD candidates: always write a method chapter in your PhD
dissertation before writing several books and then a whole theory volume on
the method you used! Otherwise the Swedish professor won't understand you...
--
Frank Ejby Poulsen (LLM, MPA)
Schelleingasse 36 / 615
A-1040 Wien
Austria
Tel: (+43 1) 501 52 615