Michel Foucault’s first volume of his “history of sexuality” is a modern classic. In it, Foucault develops his concept of power vis-à-vis the historical material he analyzes. Foucault presents three far-reaching theses: First, sexuality is not a natural yet repressed phenomena; it rather is a modern invention of the 19th century, systematically nurtured by the dominant powers. Thus struggles against the repression of sexuality are far less liberating than they take themselves to be. On the contrary, they are actually complicit with the power they want to fight against. Second, this power is no longer the sovereign power political theory usually speaks of, and even is not only the disciplinary power Foucault described in Discipline and Punish (1975). Instead, it must be conceptualized as “bio-power”: the power to foster life and to let die. Third, this bio-power is no less deadly than other forms of power; the legitimation of ever larger massacres will now be found in a new form of state racism.
In the seminar, we will examine these three theses by carefully reading and discussing Foucault’s book as a whole. In the seminar’s second half, we will explore how Foucault’s diagnosis was criticized, defended and developed.
Preparatory Readinge
Foucault, Michel (2005 [1976]): Der Wille zum Wissen. Sexualität und Wahrheit 1. Übersetzt von Ulrich Raulff und Walter Seitter. Frankfurt a. M.: Suhrkamp.
Sarasin, Philipp (2008): Michel Foucault zur Einführung. 3. Aufl. Hamburg: Junius.
Folkers, Andreas und Thomas Lemke (Hrsg.) (2014): Biopolitik. Ein Reader. Berlin: Suhrkamp.
Requirements
The seminar is for BA students and does not require prior knowledge about Michel Foucault.