Dear Kevin
The axes of Foucault's analysis is his theory of the énoncé [ how do you call this in English?] as a speech singularity or event, which has always a history.
So the idea of the archive has to do with the question how an archive of énoncés could be possible.
Then Foucault does not say that it is not possible at all or completely or logically impossible to describe your own archive.
Your quote is preceded by the phrase: "on ne peut décrire EXHAISTIVEMENT l'archive d'une société"
and followed by: ... Elle [ = the archive] se donne par fragements, régions, niveaux
...
and on p. 172 (Franch text) the archive is finally described as "la bordure du temps qui entourne notre présent"
some literature on this point is
I. Hacking (2002) Historical Ontology (London 2002)
T. Flynn 'Michel Foucault and the career of the historical event' in B. Dauenhauer ed At the nexus of philosophy and history (Athene 1988) 178-200
Michel de Certeau Heterologies. Discourse on the Other, Minneapolis 1986
Gilles Deleuze : ‘Un nouvel archiviste’ = chapter 1 of his 1986 book Foucault
Veyne, Paul (1978) 'Foucault révolutionne l'histoire' in Comment on écrit l'histoire, , Seuil, Paris 1978
yours
machiel karskens
----- "Kevin Turner" <kevin.turner@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> From: "Kevin Turner" <kevin.turner@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: "Mailing-list" <foucault-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Saturday, October 1, 2011 10:58:07 PM
> Subject: [Foucault-L] The Archive
>
> Dear Foucault listers,
>
> In The Archaeology of Knowledge, Foucault states that 'it is not
> possible for us to describe our own archive, since it is from within
> these rules that we speak, since it is that which gives to what we can
> say — and to itself, the object of our discourse — its modes of
> appearance, its forms of existence and coexistence, its system of
> accumulation, historicity, and disappearance' (AK: 130; 'il ne nous
> est pas possible de decrire notre propre archive, puisque c'est a
> I'interieur de ses regles que no us parlons, puis que c' est eIle qui
> donne a ce que nous pouvons dire - et a elle-meme, objet de notre
> discours - ses modes d'apparition, ses formes d'existence et de
> coexistence, son systeme de cumul, d'historicite et de disparition,'
> AS: 171).
>
> I was wondering if there are other instances where Foucault makes
> similar claims, and if so, where.
> I was also wondering if there are any discussions concerning this
> claim, and whether anybody has made a counter claim: i.e. that we can
> have access to, and thus describe, our own archive.
>
> Regards,
> Kevin.
>
> ____________________________________________________________
> FREE 3D EARTH SCREENSAVER - Watch the Earth right on your desktop!
> Check it out at http://www.inbox.com/earth
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Foucault-L mailing list
The axes of Foucault's analysis is his theory of the énoncé [ how do you call this in English?] as a speech singularity or event, which has always a history.
So the idea of the archive has to do with the question how an archive of énoncés could be possible.
Then Foucault does not say that it is not possible at all or completely or logically impossible to describe your own archive.
Your quote is preceded by the phrase: "on ne peut décrire EXHAISTIVEMENT l'archive d'une société"
and followed by: ... Elle [ = the archive] se donne par fragements, régions, niveaux
...
and on p. 172 (Franch text) the archive is finally described as "la bordure du temps qui entourne notre présent"
some literature on this point is
I. Hacking (2002) Historical Ontology (London 2002)
T. Flynn 'Michel Foucault and the career of the historical event' in B. Dauenhauer ed At the nexus of philosophy and history (Athene 1988) 178-200
Michel de Certeau Heterologies. Discourse on the Other, Minneapolis 1986
Gilles Deleuze : ‘Un nouvel archiviste’ = chapter 1 of his 1986 book Foucault
Veyne, Paul (1978) 'Foucault révolutionne l'histoire' in Comment on écrit l'histoire, , Seuil, Paris 1978
yours
machiel karskens
----- "Kevin Turner" <kevin.turner@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> From: "Kevin Turner" <kevin.turner@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: "Mailing-list" <foucault-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Saturday, October 1, 2011 10:58:07 PM
> Subject: [Foucault-L] The Archive
>
> Dear Foucault listers,
>
> In The Archaeology of Knowledge, Foucault states that 'it is not
> possible for us to describe our own archive, since it is from within
> these rules that we speak, since it is that which gives to what we can
> say — and to itself, the object of our discourse — its modes of
> appearance, its forms of existence and coexistence, its system of
> accumulation, historicity, and disappearance' (AK: 130; 'il ne nous
> est pas possible de decrire notre propre archive, puisque c'est a
> I'interieur de ses regles que no us parlons, puis que c' est eIle qui
> donne a ce que nous pouvons dire - et a elle-meme, objet de notre
> discours - ses modes d'apparition, ses formes d'existence et de
> coexistence, son systeme de cumul, d'historicite et de disparition,'
> AS: 171).
>
> I was wondering if there are other instances where Foucault makes
> similar claims, and if so, where.
> I was also wondering if there are any discussions concerning this
> claim, and whether anybody has made a counter claim: i.e. that we can
> have access to, and thus describe, our own archive.
>
> Regards,
> Kevin.
>
> ____________________________________________________________
> FREE 3D EARTH SCREENSAVER - Watch the Earth right on your desktop!
> Check it out at http://www.inbox.com/earth
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Foucault-L mailing list