From: "Stuart Elden" <Stuart.Elden-AT-clara.co.uk> Subject: Re: Governmentality/State Theory Date: Tue, 14 Jul 1998 08:40:35 +0100 Well, Kantorowicz is referenced in Discipline and Punish, so I assume Foucault did read it. On a broader note, I would suggest that Foucault's understanding of governmentality is linked to the concept of 'police' which Foucault discusses in a number of places. We are unfortunate to have only the 'Govermentality' lecture from that course, and to find what Foucault says about police you need to trawl through a number of papers (some of which are not yet in English). His use of the concept of police is evident as early as Histoire de la folie (1961) - though it is only later that he explicitly develops it . Reading Foucault on police in some ways brings him close enough to the Hegel of the Philosophy of Right that useful discussion can be made. The crucial point is that Foucault's conception of 'police' is borrowed from writers for whom a division between state and civil society was not possible. It is perhaps because F was unable/unwilling to develop from them that his work is so open to criticism from Marxists to whom the state/civil society distinction (developing from Hegel's work) is of paramount importance. So, if you are interested in governmentality, look at what Foucault wrote about police, (esp. Omnes et Singulatim, Political Technology of Individuals, Politics of Health in the 18th Century) Hope this is of interest - happy to continue the discussion. Stuart Stuart Elden Department of Government Brunel University, UK stuart.elden-AT-clara.co.uk
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