Re: [Foucault-L] nominalism and power ref...

Hi Matthew,

that's a nice reference, and one I had forgotten about, but unfortunately it's not the one I'm looking for.

I'm almost certain it is in one of the English translation of Foucault lectures at the Collège de France, and in it Foucault states something like power is neither a thing nor refers to a thing but is a question, a grid of intelligibility for rendering certain historical practices intelligible.

I have looked through all the lectures I have, but have been unable to find it, so maybe I'm mistaken about its location, but I know I have read it somewhere.

Regards,
Kevin.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: making@xxxxxxxx
> Sent: Sun, 27 Jul 2008 12:39:35 -0400 (EDT)
> To: foucault-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [Foucault-L] nominalism and power ref...
>
> Kevin,
>
> I think what you're looking for is on the second page of the "Method"
> chapter of History of Sexuality vol. 1:
>
> "One needs to be nominalistic, no doubt: power is not an institution, not
> a structure; neither is it a certain strength we are endowed with; it is
> the name that one attributes to a complex strategical situation in a
> particular society." (p. 93 in the 1990 Vintage edition)
>
> Best to all,
> Matthew
>
> On Sun, 27 Jul 2008, Kevin Turner wrote:
>
>> Dear All,
>>
>> Firstly, I like to thank you all for your response to my last question:
>> it was very helpful not only in clarifying the translation, but in
>> showing that there is no refuge in the French originals, since the
>> passage in question could be read in a number of ways in both English
>> and French versions.
>>
>> Now to my question. I am trying to find a quote where Foucault talks
>> about power in nominalist terms, where he describes power as being a
>> tool of analysis and not a reflection of objective reality. The problem
>> is I cannot remember where I read this, whether it was in one of the
>> interviews or in one of the lectures.
>>
>> Thanks in advance for your help with this.
>> Regards,
>> Kevin.
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Foucault-L mailing list
>>
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> Foucault-L mailing list

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