Re: [Foucault-L] Governmentality

Hi Scott Nicholas,

I heard that Agamben had given a lecture about "governmentality" which has been published in France as a little book. Unfortunately, I did not have got the book . Neverthelees, my PHdegree supervisor told that it is one of the excellent book written on governmentality from the viewpoint of Foucault.

I am wondering about whether this book is translated to english or not.

By the way, I am researching the architectural issues as a political technology of biopower by the concept / theory of governmentality for my ph degree thesis.

All responses are welcome.

Regards

Isil

Isil Baysan Serim
Yeditepe University
Faculty of Architecture and Engineering
Department of Architecture
26 Agustos Campus, Kadikoy Istanbul
Turkiye

Office Phone : 00 +90 216 578 04 76
ibaysan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



----- Original Message ----- From: "Scott Nicholas" <snichola@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Foucault Mailing List" <foucault-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2008 12:06 PM
Subject: [Foucault-L] Governmentality


Hi everyone,

I am looking at Foucault's work on Governmentality this semester. My reading of his Governmentality lecture and other references within his 1978 lecture series "Security, Territory & Population" is that this analytic can be applied even when the prevailing political rationality changes, the state as a technology of government and its constituent elements (e.g., organising mechanisms,mix of private & public) changes, or indeed the technologies and practices of government change. In other words, because Governmentality's key features are the governance of individual conduct and management of population bio-issues(births, deaths, health etc), the ends continue to be the concern of government even when the means of achieving these ends (e.g., GDP growth) changes. In this sense, I am responding to a recent claim that Foucault was "the great theorist of Fordist Discipline"and is at risk of becoming depasse, by arguing among others things both that:(1) his Governmentality analytic!
can accomodate epochal shifts from Fordism to Post-Fordism provided that the focus of government remains both the governance of individual conduct and the management of populations life issues (biopolitical concerns if you will); and (2) the Disciplinary society still exists.

I am curious to know if anyone disagrees with this construal of the relevance of Governmentality?

Any and all responses are welcome

Scott Nicholas
_______________________________________________
Foucault-L mailing list


Folow-ups
  • Re: [Foucault-L] Governmentality
    • From: Scott Nicholas
  • Replies
    [Foucault-L] Governmentality, Scott Nicholas
    Partial thread listing: