CALL FOR PAPERS
Fifth Annual SOCIAL THEORY FORUM
April 16 and 17, 2008, University of Massachusetts Boston
A Foucault for the 21st Century: Governmentality,
Biopolitics and Discipline in the New Millennium
Keynote Speakers Include:
James Bernauer (Boston College)
Charles Lemert (Wesleyan University)
Barbara Cruikshank (UMASS Amherst)
Margaret McLaren (Rollins College)
How relevant is Foucault's social thought to the world we inhabit today?
Foucault is best remembered for his historical inquiries into the origins of
"disciplinary" society in a period extending from the 16th to the 19th
centuries. Today, however, under the conditions of global modernity, the relevance of
his work has been called into question. With the increasing ubiquity of
markets, the break up of centralized states and the dissolution of national
boundaries, the world today seems far removed from the bounded, disciplinary
societies Foucault described in his most famous books. Far from disciplinary, society
today is "post panoptic," as Nancy Fraser has argued--in a move which seems to
confirm Jean Baudrillard's demand that we "forget Foucault."
Yet in recent years, it has become apparent that Foucault's thoughts on
modern society have not been exhausted, and, indeed, that much remains to be
explored. While ripples from his initial impact on English speaking scholarship are
still evident in such areas as the study of discourse, sexuality, the body and
institutions, it is undeniably the case that new threads of Foucauldian
influence have also become available. For example, his reflections on
"governmentality" have by now garnered a rich scholarly focus on the conditions of personal
life under the economic liberalism. His work on "biopower" has opened new
terrain for political and activist discourse on globalization and population. His
accounts of panopticism and surveillance have proven relevant to the study of
contemporary policing practices in a post 9/11 world. Indeed, it could be
argued that, in the new millennium, new threads of Foucauldian thought have
emerged, enabling richer understandings of power and subjectivity under uniquely
contemporary conditions.
The conference will feature both invited and submitted papers and
presentations, as well as audiovisual materials. Please send a one-page abstract or
proposal as email attachment (MS Word Format) to
SocialTheoryProposal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx by December 18, 2007.
The aim of the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Social Theory Forum, to be held on
April 16-17, 2008, at the University of Massachusetts Boston, is to weigh in
on the relevance of Foucault's ideas in the context of a new millennium, and
to reassess Foucault's contributions to contemporary social theory in light of
these developments. We invite papers from any disciplinary or
interdisciplinary perspective, addressing the contemporary application of Foucault to
contemporary social life and social theory. Topics might include, but are not limited
to:
Governmentality and Neo-liberalism
Political Spirituality and Contemporary Religious Movements
Biopolitics, Globalization and Populations
Race, Genetics and the Politics of Life
Ethics, Biopower and the Politics of Consumption
Panopticism and Surveillance in a Post 9/11 World
Governmentality, Biopower and the Politics of Risk
Subpolitics, Life Politics and New Social Movements
Foucault and the Left in a Global Context
Foucault and the Penal-Industrial Complex
Ethics, Identity and Individualization
Genealogy
Feminism
The conference will feature both invited and submitted papers and
presentations, as well as audiovisual materials. Please send a one-page abstract or
proposal as email attachment (MS Word Format) to
SocialTheoryProposal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx by December 18, 2007.
Proceedings of the conference will be peer-reviewed by anonymous referees for
possible publication in a special issue of The Discourse of Sociological
Practice, the printed and online journal of the Department of Sociology at
University of Massachusetts Boston.
Co-organizers
JORGE CAPETILLO-PONCE (contact for inquiries): Assistant Professor of
Sociology, University of Massachusetts Boston
GLENN JACOBS, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Massachusetts
Boston; SIAMAK MOVAHEDI, Professor of Sociology, University of Massachusetts
Boston; SAMUEL BINKLEY, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Emerson College.
Fifth Annual SOCIAL THEORY FORUM
April 16 and 17, 2008, University of Massachusetts Boston
A Foucault for the 21st Century: Governmentality,
Biopolitics and Discipline in the New Millennium
Keynote Speakers Include:
James Bernauer (Boston College)
Charles Lemert (Wesleyan University)
Barbara Cruikshank (UMASS Amherst)
Margaret McLaren (Rollins College)
How relevant is Foucault's social thought to the world we inhabit today?
Foucault is best remembered for his historical inquiries into the origins of
"disciplinary" society in a period extending from the 16th to the 19th
centuries. Today, however, under the conditions of global modernity, the relevance of
his work has been called into question. With the increasing ubiquity of
markets, the break up of centralized states and the dissolution of national
boundaries, the world today seems far removed from the bounded, disciplinary
societies Foucault described in his most famous books. Far from disciplinary, society
today is "post panoptic," as Nancy Fraser has argued--in a move which seems to
confirm Jean Baudrillard's demand that we "forget Foucault."
Yet in recent years, it has become apparent that Foucault's thoughts on
modern society have not been exhausted, and, indeed, that much remains to be
explored. While ripples from his initial impact on English speaking scholarship are
still evident in such areas as the study of discourse, sexuality, the body and
institutions, it is undeniably the case that new threads of Foucauldian
influence have also become available. For example, his reflections on
"governmentality" have by now garnered a rich scholarly focus on the conditions of personal
life under the economic liberalism. His work on "biopower" has opened new
terrain for political and activist discourse on globalization and population. His
accounts of panopticism and surveillance have proven relevant to the study of
contemporary policing practices in a post 9/11 world. Indeed, it could be
argued that, in the new millennium, new threads of Foucauldian thought have
emerged, enabling richer understandings of power and subjectivity under uniquely
contemporary conditions.
The conference will feature both invited and submitted papers and
presentations, as well as audiovisual materials. Please send a one-page abstract or
proposal as email attachment (MS Word Format) to
SocialTheoryProposal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx by December 18, 2007.
The aim of the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Social Theory Forum, to be held on
April 16-17, 2008, at the University of Massachusetts Boston, is to weigh in
on the relevance of Foucault's ideas in the context of a new millennium, and
to reassess Foucault's contributions to contemporary social theory in light of
these developments. We invite papers from any disciplinary or
interdisciplinary perspective, addressing the contemporary application of Foucault to
contemporary social life and social theory. Topics might include, but are not limited
to:
Governmentality and Neo-liberalism
Political Spirituality and Contemporary Religious Movements
Biopolitics, Globalization and Populations
Race, Genetics and the Politics of Life
Ethics, Biopower and the Politics of Consumption
Panopticism and Surveillance in a Post 9/11 World
Governmentality, Biopower and the Politics of Risk
Subpolitics, Life Politics and New Social Movements
Foucault and the Left in a Global Context
Foucault and the Penal-Industrial Complex
Ethics, Identity and Individualization
Genealogy
Feminism
The conference will feature both invited and submitted papers and
presentations, as well as audiovisual materials. Please send a one-page abstract or
proposal as email attachment (MS Word Format) to
SocialTheoryProposal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx by December 18, 2007.
Proceedings of the conference will be peer-reviewed by anonymous referees for
possible publication in a special issue of The Discourse of Sociological
Practice, the printed and online journal of the Department of Sociology at
University of Massachusetts Boston.
Co-organizers
JORGE CAPETILLO-PONCE (contact for inquiries): Assistant Professor of
Sociology, University of Massachusetts Boston
GLENN JACOBS, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Massachusetts
Boston; SIAMAK MOVAHEDI, Professor of Sociology, University of Massachusetts
Boston; SAMUEL BINKLEY, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Emerson College.