Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2001 10:50:49 -0800 (PST) From: Jivko Georgiev <jivkox43georgiev-AT-yahoo.com> Subject: Re: Intro. Your formulations are precise, but what you make is a ascertion:"institutional 'forms' are embedded in (historical) systems of knowledge and power?". An ascertion is not negative attitude towards what it ascerts. What Foucault makes is such ascertions, that is what i meant by "mere historical description". I guess You dont whant to say to the man, who posed his qouestion, that Foucault has negative attitude towards the shelters for homeless? He meant a complex of historical research, followed by generalizations(in this formule im not too sure). But what realy was that, what F. made? Was it archeological/genealogical research, or both research with generalizations? That is a problem to me : How we should work with F. writings? Should we search for generaliztions of the historical material, or somethinelse, which i cant figure out it is? Jivko - that it is one and > > > would it be incorrect to say that the 'negativity' > inherent to Foucault's geneological project derives > from the process of historicizing and > de-mythologicizing social institutions? > > Would one be far off the mark in interpreting this > process as a way of de-essentializing the object/s > of enquiry in such a way as to show that > institutional 'forms' are embedded in (historical) > systems of knowledge and power? - that it is one and > the same force which leads to the generation of > languages of expression (discourse) and, on the > other hand, determines systems of monitoring and > control? - that institutions are invested with > interests of both liberation and repression? > > Wouldn't describing Foucault's geneological project > simply as 'an investigation of the history of a > practice' or 'a mere historical description of > practices' go directly against the thrust of his > project: ie to show that what portrays itself as > 'innocent' curiosity is another form of > power-as-monitoring, that knowledge cannot be > separated from the subject who attains it, that the > perspective one has the privilege to gaze from is > intrinsically linked to the privilages appropriated > by the gaze? > > Wouldn't one be assimilating Foucault with all those > and all that from which he wanted to distance > himself, if one were to neutralise his 'negativity', > or pessimism, by calling his analyses 'objective > historical investigations/descriptions'? > > > caldon > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Buy the perfect holiday gifts at Yahoo! Shopping. http://shopping.yahoo.com
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