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Becoming-Other: Foucault, Deleuze, And The Political Nature Of Thought, Vernon W. Cisney
Becoming-Other: Foucault, Deleuze, And The Political Nature Of Thought, Vernon W. Cisney
Philosophy Faculty Publications
In this paper I employ the notion of the ‘thought of the outside’ as developed by Michel Foucault, in order to defend the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze against the criticisms of ‘elitism,’ ‘aristocratism,’ and ‘political indifference’—famously leveled by Alain Badiou and Peter Hallward. First, I argue that their charges of a theophanic conception of Being, which ground the broader political claims, derive from a misunderstanding of Deleuze’s notion of univocity, as well as a failure to recognize the significance of the concept of multiplicity in Deleuze’s thinking. From here, I go on to discuss Deleuze’s articulation of the ‘dogmatic image …
Painting (And Photography), Gary Shapiro
Painting (And Photography), Gary Shapiro
Philosophy Faculty Publications
Two of Foucault's signature essays on painting are especially well known: the analysis of Velazquez's Las Meninas, and an essay on Rene Magritte that includes a striking account of how abstraction displaced representation in Western art. In addition, many of Foucault's texts are studded with acute descriptions of major painters from Breughel to Warhol; he gave lecture courses on quattrocento painting and Manet and published essays on several contemporary artists (Rebeyrolle, Fromanger, Michals). Since one of Foucault's major themes was the relation between visibility and discursivity, it is not surprising to find that painting is a favored site for …
Self And Others: The Work Of 'Care' In Foucault's Care Of The Self, James Wong
Self And Others: The Work Of 'Care' In Foucault's Care Of The Self, James Wong
Philosophy Faculty Publications
Recent discussions on Foucault's work on the care of the self have centred on its apparent excessive individualist focus. Ella Myers for example argues that the practices of the care of the self do not correct the depoliticizing effects of disciplinary power and biopower. Amy Allen takes Foucault to task for his account of the care of the self because the relations with others in Foucault's account are inadequate for the formation of an ethical subject. In this paper I offer an alternative interpretation of Foucault account of the care of the self. I argue that the social and reciprocal …
Post-Liberation Feminism And Practices Of Freedom, Ladelle Mcwhorter
Post-Liberation Feminism And Practices Of Freedom, Ladelle Mcwhorter
Philosophy Faculty Publications
Most feminist theorists over the last forty years have held that a basic tenet of feminism is that women as a group are oppressed. The concept of oppression has never had a very broad meaning in liberal discourse, however, and with the rise of neo-liberalism since 1980 it has even less currency in public debate. This article argues that, while we may still believe women are oppressed, for pragmatic purposes Michel Foucault’s concept of practices of freedom is a more effective way to characterize feminist theory and politics.
Queer Economies, Ladelle Mcwhorter
Queer Economies, Ladelle Mcwhorter
Philosophy Faculty Publications
Queer defies categorization and resists preset developmental trajectories. Practices of queering identities emerged near the end of the twentieth century as ways of resisting normalizing networks of power/knowledge. But how effective are queer practices at resisting networks of power/knowledge (including disciplines) that are not primarily normalizing in their functioning? This essay raises that question in light of expanding neoliberal discourses and institutions which, in some quarters at least, themselves undermine normalized identities in favor of a proliferation of personal styles susceptible to governance through market forces. Special attention is given to Security, Territory, Population and The Birth of Biopolitics in …
Decapitating Power, Ladelle Mcwhorter
Decapitating Power, Ladelle Mcwhorter
Philosophy Faculty Publications
In “Society Must Be Defended” Foucault examines 17th century race war discourse not so much in order to understand 20th century racism or concepts of race but primarily because it constitutes an historical example of an attempt to think power without a head or king. This essay examines his account of race war discourse and the sources he used to construct it. It then takes issue with his claim that early race war discourse can be separated from 18th and 19th century racisms. Finally, it returns to the question of power and argues that the effect of the 1976 lecture …
Governmentality, Biopower, And The Debate Over Genetic Enhancement, Ladelle Mcwhorter
Governmentality, Biopower, And The Debate Over Genetic Enhancement, Ladelle Mcwhorter
Philosophy Faculty Publications
Although Foucault adamantly refused to make moral pronouncements or dictate moral principles or political programs to his readers, his work offers a number of tools and concepts that can help us develop our own ethical views and practices. One of these tools is genealogical analysis, and one of these concepts is “biopower.” Specifically, this essay seeks to demonstrate that Foucault’s concept of biopower and his genealogical method are valuable as we consider moral questions raised by genetic enhancement technologies. First, it examines contemporary debate over the development, marketing, and application of such technologies, suggesting that what passes for ethical deliberation …
The Technology Of Biopower: A Response To Todd May's "Foucault Now?", Ladelle Mcwhorter
The Technology Of Biopower: A Response To Todd May's "Foucault Now?", Ladelle Mcwhorter
Philosophy Faculty Publications
Because the occasion for his essay was the inaugural conference of the newly formed Foucault Society in New York City in the spring of 2005, Todd May takes as his point of departure the question of whether Foucault’s work is valuable to the sort of people who have come together to form that society: philosophers, artists, political activists, and in general to concerned citizens today, twenty years after Michel Foucault’s death. As might be expected given the Society’s raison d’être, May answers this question in the affirmative. But exactly how is Foucault’s work still relevant? It is his answer …
"This Is Not A Christ": Nietzsche, Foucault, And The Genealogy Of Vision, Gary Shapiro
"This Is Not A Christ": Nietzsche, Foucault, And The Genealogy Of Vision, Gary Shapiro
Philosophy Faculty Publications
There is nothing surprising about linking the names of Nietzsche and Foucault, something that Foucault himself frequently did. We know that the practices of archaeology and genealogy owe much to On the Genealogy of Morals; and in The Order of Things Foucault celebrates Nietzsche for being able to look beyond the epoch of "man and his doubles,'' thinking of the Obermensch as designating that which is beyond man, and for serving, along with Mallarme, as one of the prophets of the hegemony of language in the emerging episteme of the postmodern world. Here I want to focus on other affinities, …