Re: [Foucault-L] request for a seminar in political philosophy

For a seminar in political philosophy, Discipline & Punish and History of Sexuality, Vol. 1 are obvious choices.

Out of the recently published course lectures, I would suggest Psychiatric Power (1973/74) and Security, Territory, Population (1978). In my opinion, these texts are the most relevant to current debates on how to interpret the trajectory of Foucault's political thought.

For work inspired and influenced by Foucault, I would suggest The Foucault Effect: Studies in Governmentality (ed. Burchell, Gordon, & Miller) and Feminist Interpretations of Michel Foucault (ed. Hekman).

Hope you find this useful.


Dear List members,

I am going to prepare some reading for a seminar on Foucault, and I am
looking for some suggestions on which texts to include. The seminar is
meant for students doing a master in philosophy. It is a reading
seminar in political philosophy, focusing on another author each year.
My idea was to roughly divide the seminar into two parts, with the
first part focusing on his work, and the second on his influence, or
the way he has inspired other work (for example feminist theory,
postcolonial thinking, governmentality studies, etc.)

I would welcome any suggestions on which texts of Foucault you find
most suitable for this purpose, which topics should be covered and
also which discussions of his work could be included.

Best,

Annelies Decat


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