Subject: Re: Alternative?
Date: Wed, 15 Sep 1999 20:03:15 -0500


Your career and mine seem to be running parallel: I also spent the summer
reading Foucault and am now working with his ideas on power relations and
subjectivity in (believe it or not) a feminist-oriented biblical studies
course.

As to your question, I notice that Foucault has come under some fairly
intense criticism, from Habermas, Nancy Hartsock, and others, for failing to
propose any alternative to the status quo.  Habermas even labelled him a
"young conservative."  While I think those criticisms have some value, they
miss one of Foucault's major points exemplified in _Discipline_and_Punish_:
that even well-intentioned schemes (such as the move from public torture to
prisons) can have unforeseen consequences (the modern disciplinary society).
Given that perspective, I can understand why Foucault would not have been
eager to advocate specific alternatives.  Nevertheless, his advocacy of
resistance to modern bio-politics was certainly not the mark of a
conservative.

Anyway, that's my reading.

David Brockman
Graduate Student, Theological Studies
Brite Divinity School (Texas Christian University)

-----Original Message-----
From: TekUtopia-AT-aol.com <TekUtopia-AT-aol.com>
To: foucault-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
<foucault-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu>
Date: Wednesday, September 15, 1999 5:20 PM
Subject: Alternative?


>This past summer I became acquainted with the fascinating philosophy of
>Foucault. Since then, quite a bit of my time has been dedicated to
analyzing
>and thinking about Foucault's theories (particularly related to the power
>structure).
>
>Right now, I have a question. What is Foucault's alternative to the status
>quo? I haven't come across anything related to this yet. Somehow, I'm
>guessing that the answer will be something like "discourse".
>
>Any ideas?
>