Also, as far as secondary sources go, I think a vastly underrated gem is "Michel Foucault's Force of Flight: Towards an Ethics for Thought" by James Bernauer. This is undoubtedly my favorite secondary source on Foucault's work and for me the best guide to his ideas out there. Bernauer is my favorite interpreter of Foucault.
Other popular secondary sources in the field:
"Michel Foucault: Beyond Structuralism and Hermeneutics" by Paul Rabinow and Hubert Dreyfus (classic)
"Saint Foucault: Towards a Gay Hagiography" by David Halperin (another favorite)
"Foucault's Askesis" by Edward McGushin (student of Bernauer, my favorite reference for Foucault's later work)
"Powers of Freedom" and "Governing the Soul" both by Nikolas Rose (world renowned expert on Foucault's notion of "governmentality"; I would recommend anything by him)
"The Cambridge Campanion to Foucault" edited by Gary Gutting (I'm not a fan of Gutting's interpretation of Foucault but this has a lot of great essays by various scholars on Foucault's work, including essays by Bernauer, Rabinow and Arnold Davidson)
________________________________________
From: foucault-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [foucault-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Nathaniel Roberts [npr4@xxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 2:44 PM
To: Mailing-list
Subject: Re: [Foucault-L] Undergraduate Foucault Course?
I took a course with Paul Rabinow when I was an undergrad at Berkeley, and
we pretty much just read _Discipline and Punish_ the whole semester. We
read a few other pieces, including some Weber, and some of the essays from
Crary & Kwinter eds, _Incorportations_ (1992). But for most of the
semester, we just worked our way through _D&P_. It was great. Of course,
this approach depends much on the instructor's ability to bring out what is
so interesting and unique about that text (Rabinow used a kind of modified
Socratic method --reading passages and asking us what we thought it meant,
then questioning our answers, etc.)
The point is that you don't need to have a huge reading list for the course
to work. I personally might consider beginning with some writings that
exemplify what Foucault isn't... for example, something which exemplifies
the idea of power as repressive, and also perhaps something on ideology
(Terry Eagleton's _Ideology_ is a great introductory text) --so that
students might appreciate what is meant by a form of power that doesn't
operate primarily on the level of meaning but through the disposition of
bodies, or what it actually means that in our political theorizing "we have
not yet cut of the head of the king." So, for example, maybe you could
start off with Locke...
Or, suppose you want to read read _The History of Sexuality_, vol. 1... you
could start by reading Freud (or, more entertainingly, Wilhelm Reich)...
Another great text, which really repays careful study is _Security,
Territory, Population_. The opening lectures explain the distinctions among
--and relations between-- sovereignty, discipline and governmentality [which
at that time Foucault was calling "security"] better than anything I've ever
read (including secondary sources)... although it wouldn't mean very much to
the student who has not yet grasped the distinction between sovereignty and
disciplinary power. So if you're thinking of using this text, I'd
definitely have students work through _Discipline and Punish_ first.
So that's my 2¢,
Nate
Nate
On Mon, Sep 29, 2008 at 7:42 AM, Todd Callais <callaist@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Colleagues,
>
> Recently, I was granted permission to teach an honors undergraduate seminar
> on Foucault's work at Denison University. I am a sociologist but I hope
> that
> the course will draw students from history, philosophy and political
> science.
>
> I am writing because I have not been able to find syllabi or course
> descriptions for any courses dedicated to the work of Michel Foucault at
> the
> graduate or undergraduate level. While the course will be my design I
> typically enjoy seeing what others have done for guidance.
>
> I was wondering whether anyone had syllabi or partial syllabi they would
> feel comfortable sharing or suggestions on places that I could look for
> graduate or undergraduate courses on Foucault. Also, if anyone has found a
> reader that they find especially helpful for relaying the work of Foucault
> to undergraduates I would appreciate that greatly as well.
>
> Because of the specific nature of this request, feel free to email me
> directly at tcallais@xxxxxxxxx .
>
> thanks in advance for any help,
>
> Todd M. Callais
> Department of Sociology and Anthropology
> Denison University
> _______________________________________________
> Foucault-L mailing list
>
--
Nathaniel Roberts
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Department of Anthropology
Columbia University
_______________________________________________
Foucault-L mailing list
Other popular secondary sources in the field:
"Michel Foucault: Beyond Structuralism and Hermeneutics" by Paul Rabinow and Hubert Dreyfus (classic)
"Saint Foucault: Towards a Gay Hagiography" by David Halperin (another favorite)
"Foucault's Askesis" by Edward McGushin (student of Bernauer, my favorite reference for Foucault's later work)
"Powers of Freedom" and "Governing the Soul" both by Nikolas Rose (world renowned expert on Foucault's notion of "governmentality"; I would recommend anything by him)
"The Cambridge Campanion to Foucault" edited by Gary Gutting (I'm not a fan of Gutting's interpretation of Foucault but this has a lot of great essays by various scholars on Foucault's work, including essays by Bernauer, Rabinow and Arnold Davidson)
________________________________________
From: foucault-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [foucault-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Nathaniel Roberts [npr4@xxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 2:44 PM
To: Mailing-list
Subject: Re: [Foucault-L] Undergraduate Foucault Course?
I took a course with Paul Rabinow when I was an undergrad at Berkeley, and
we pretty much just read _Discipline and Punish_ the whole semester. We
read a few other pieces, including some Weber, and some of the essays from
Crary & Kwinter eds, _Incorportations_ (1992). But for most of the
semester, we just worked our way through _D&P_. It was great. Of course,
this approach depends much on the instructor's ability to bring out what is
so interesting and unique about that text (Rabinow used a kind of modified
Socratic method --reading passages and asking us what we thought it meant,
then questioning our answers, etc.)
The point is that you don't need to have a huge reading list for the course
to work. I personally might consider beginning with some writings that
exemplify what Foucault isn't... for example, something which exemplifies
the idea of power as repressive, and also perhaps something on ideology
(Terry Eagleton's _Ideology_ is a great introductory text) --so that
students might appreciate what is meant by a form of power that doesn't
operate primarily on the level of meaning but through the disposition of
bodies, or what it actually means that in our political theorizing "we have
not yet cut of the head of the king." So, for example, maybe you could
start off with Locke...
Or, suppose you want to read read _The History of Sexuality_, vol. 1... you
could start by reading Freud (or, more entertainingly, Wilhelm Reich)...
Another great text, which really repays careful study is _Security,
Territory, Population_. The opening lectures explain the distinctions among
--and relations between-- sovereignty, discipline and governmentality [which
at that time Foucault was calling "security"] better than anything I've ever
read (including secondary sources)... although it wouldn't mean very much to
the student who has not yet grasped the distinction between sovereignty and
disciplinary power. So if you're thinking of using this text, I'd
definitely have students work through _Discipline and Punish_ first.
So that's my 2¢,
Nate
Nate
On Mon, Sep 29, 2008 at 7:42 AM, Todd Callais <callaist@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Colleagues,
>
> Recently, I was granted permission to teach an honors undergraduate seminar
> on Foucault's work at Denison University. I am a sociologist but I hope
> that
> the course will draw students from history, philosophy and political
> science.
>
> I am writing because I have not been able to find syllabi or course
> descriptions for any courses dedicated to the work of Michel Foucault at
> the
> graduate or undergraduate level. While the course will be my design I
> typically enjoy seeing what others have done for guidance.
>
> I was wondering whether anyone had syllabi or partial syllabi they would
> feel comfortable sharing or suggestions on places that I could look for
> graduate or undergraduate courses on Foucault. Also, if anyone has found a
> reader that they find especially helpful for relaying the work of Foucault
> to undergraduates I would appreciate that greatly as well.
>
> Because of the specific nature of this request, feel free to email me
> directly at tcallais@xxxxxxxxx .
>
> thanks in advance for any help,
>
> Todd M. Callais
> Department of Sociology and Anthropology
> Denison University
> _______________________________________________
> Foucault-L mailing list
>
--
Nathaniel Roberts
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Department of Anthropology
Columbia University
_______________________________________________
Foucault-L mailing list