I'll speak to that last sentence. Just off the cuff, Durkheim and
Foucault are both neo-Kantian historicists: they look for culturally-
and historically-bound a prioris. And, even more to the point, these a
prioris of thought are crucial to their respective explanations of
social cohesion. Lastly, Durkheim is a reasonable choice for an origin
for French rationalist historicism, of which tradition Foucault is
generally thought to be a recent epigone.
--
Adam E. Leeds
Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Anthropology
University of Pennsylvania
914.980.2970
leeds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 8:56 PM, Chetan Vemuri <aryavartacnsrn@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> What I meant was Giddens theory of agency which seeks to examine how
> humans are constrained to a degree by their society yet possess agency
> to effect social change. How does one engage a fruitful comparison
> between Foucault and Giddens without saying one copied the other or is
> just restating what the other said.
> A friend of mine actually voiced his opinion that Foucault was not all
> that original in his intellectual impetus due to the fact that
> Durkheim and Weber were doing the same thing. While I recognize a
> connection with Weber (in spite of their differences) I don't really
> see how Durkheim's project is even similar to Foucault's unless if
> they're both considered part of the broad realm of "social science".
>
>
> On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 7:44 PM, Nathaniel Roberts <npr4@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> Interesting questions, Chetan, as always. But what do you mean by
>> "non-duality of power"? And who are the readers who conflate Durkheim's
>> sociology with Foucault's notion of power?
>>
>> Nate
>>
>> On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 7:56 PM, Chetan Vemuri <aryavartacnsrn@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>>
>>> Is anyone on here familiar much with the work of Anthony Giddens and
>>> Emile Durkheim?
>>> Some readers tend to conflate Durkheim's sociology and Giddens theory
>>> of agency with Foucault's notion of fluid power and think that all are
>>> somehow related. While there are similarities, I would think Giddens
>>> criticizes aspects of Durkheim's positivist doctrine (or form what I
>>> know of his work) and that Foucault is interested in non-duality of
>>> power as opposed to Giddens more limited goal of challenging the
>>> society (nurture) vs free human agency dichotomy.
>>> Have you read much of either Giddens or Durkheim? Do you think they're
>>> necessarily doing the same thing as Foucault? I know Foucault
>>> recognized an ancestor in Max Weber, but he rarely mentions Durkheim.
>>> Though that didn't stop Camille Paglia from twisting him into a
>>> Durkheim copycat.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Chetan Vemuri
>>> West Des Moines, IA
>>> aryavartacnsrn@xxxxxxxxx
>>> (319)-512-9318
>>> "You say you want a Revolution! Well you know, we all want to change the
>>> world"
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Foucault-L mailing list
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Nathaniel Roberts
>> Visiting Scholar
>> Department of South Asia Studies
>> University of Pennsylvania
>> 820 Williams Hall, 255 S. 36th Street
>> Philadelphia, PA 19104
>> USA
>> _______________________________________________
>> Foucault-L mailing list
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Chetan Vemuri
> West Des Moines, IA
> aryavartacnsrn@xxxxxxxxx
> (319)-512-9318
> "You say you want a Revolution! Well you know, we all want to change the world"
>
> _______________________________________________
> Foucault-L mailing list
>
Foucault are both neo-Kantian historicists: they look for culturally-
and historically-bound a prioris. And, even more to the point, these a
prioris of thought are crucial to their respective explanations of
social cohesion. Lastly, Durkheim is a reasonable choice for an origin
for French rationalist historicism, of which tradition Foucault is
generally thought to be a recent epigone.
--
Adam E. Leeds
Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Anthropology
University of Pennsylvania
914.980.2970
leeds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 8:56 PM, Chetan Vemuri <aryavartacnsrn@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> What I meant was Giddens theory of agency which seeks to examine how
> humans are constrained to a degree by their society yet possess agency
> to effect social change. How does one engage a fruitful comparison
> between Foucault and Giddens without saying one copied the other or is
> just restating what the other said.
> A friend of mine actually voiced his opinion that Foucault was not all
> that original in his intellectual impetus due to the fact that
> Durkheim and Weber were doing the same thing. While I recognize a
> connection with Weber (in spite of their differences) I don't really
> see how Durkheim's project is even similar to Foucault's unless if
> they're both considered part of the broad realm of "social science".
>
>
> On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 7:44 PM, Nathaniel Roberts <npr4@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> Interesting questions, Chetan, as always. But what do you mean by
>> "non-duality of power"? And who are the readers who conflate Durkheim's
>> sociology with Foucault's notion of power?
>>
>> Nate
>>
>> On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 7:56 PM, Chetan Vemuri <aryavartacnsrn@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>>
>>> Is anyone on here familiar much with the work of Anthony Giddens and
>>> Emile Durkheim?
>>> Some readers tend to conflate Durkheim's sociology and Giddens theory
>>> of agency with Foucault's notion of fluid power and think that all are
>>> somehow related. While there are similarities, I would think Giddens
>>> criticizes aspects of Durkheim's positivist doctrine (or form what I
>>> know of his work) and that Foucault is interested in non-duality of
>>> power as opposed to Giddens more limited goal of challenging the
>>> society (nurture) vs free human agency dichotomy.
>>> Have you read much of either Giddens or Durkheim? Do you think they're
>>> necessarily doing the same thing as Foucault? I know Foucault
>>> recognized an ancestor in Max Weber, but he rarely mentions Durkheim.
>>> Though that didn't stop Camille Paglia from twisting him into a
>>> Durkheim copycat.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Chetan Vemuri
>>> West Des Moines, IA
>>> aryavartacnsrn@xxxxxxxxx
>>> (319)-512-9318
>>> "You say you want a Revolution! Well you know, we all want to change the
>>> world"
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Foucault-L mailing list
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Nathaniel Roberts
>> Visiting Scholar
>> Department of South Asia Studies
>> University of Pennsylvania
>> 820 Williams Hall, 255 S. 36th Street
>> Philadelphia, PA 19104
>> USA
>> _______________________________________________
>> Foucault-L mailing list
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Chetan Vemuri
> West Des Moines, IA
> aryavartacnsrn@xxxxxxxxx
> (319)-512-9318
> "You say you want a Revolution! Well you know, we all want to change the world"
>
> _______________________________________________
> Foucault-L mailing list
>