Noun. 1. Foucault
– French physicist who determined the speed of light and showed that it travels slower in water than in air
; invented the Foucault pendulum and the gyroscope (1819-1868)
Why is Foucault important?
Why is Michel Foucault important? Michel Foucault was
one of the most influential and controversial scholars of the post-World War II period
. The first volume of his work The History of Sexuality became canonical for gay and lesbian studies and queer theory.
What is Foucault theory?
Foucault’s theories primarily
address the relationship between power and knowledge
, and how they are used as a form of social control through societal institutions. … Foucault subsequently published The Archaeology of Knowledge (1969).
What does Foucault mean by subjectivity?
Foucault defines subjectivity as ‘
the way in which the subject experiences himself in a game of truth where he relates to himself
‘ (2000a: 461).
Is Foucault a formalist?
Foucault, too, like Nietzsche, overcomes the human-all-too-human and seeks a non-anthropocentric formulation of the human sciences. This is Foucault’s
formalism
.
What does Foucault mean by power is everywhere?
Foucault challenges the idea that power is wielded by people or groups by way of ‘episodic’ or ‘sovereign’ acts of domination or coercion, seeing it instead as dispersed and pervasive. ‘Power is everywhere’ and ‘
comes from
everywhere’ so in this sense is neither an agency nor a structure (Foucault 1998: 63).
Is Foucault a structuralist?
Michel Foucault (1926–1984) was a French historian and philosopher, associated with
the structuralist and post-structuralist movements
. He has had strong influence not only (or even primarily) in philosophy but also in a wide range of humanistic and social scientific disciplines.
What are the two main types of power according to Foucault?
- Sovereign power.
- Disciplinary power.
- Pastoral power.
- Bio-power.
What is biopolitics according to Foucault?
According to Foucault, biopolitics refers to
the processes by which human life, at the level of the population, emerged as a distinct political problem in Western societies
.
What is the panopticon effect?
The panopticon is
a disciplinary concept brought to life in the form of a central observation tower placed within a circle of prison cells
. From the tower, a guard can see every cell and inmate but the inmates can’t see into the tower. Prisoners will never know whether or not they are being watched.
What is an example of subjective?
The definition of subjective is something that is based on personal opinion. An example of subjective is
someone believing purple is the best color.
What does Foucault say about discourse?
Discourse, as defined by Foucault, refers to:
ways of constituting knowledge, together with the social practices, forms of subjectivity and power relations which inhere in such knowledges and relations between them
. Discourses are more than ways of thinking and producing meaning.
What is another word for subjectivity?
| individuality internal | subjectiveness perspicacity | selfhood character | distinction individualism | ipseity originality |
|---|
The term was developed by Michel Foucault in his 1969 essay “What Is an Author?” where
he discusses whether a text requires or is assigned an author
. Foucault posits that the legal system was central in the rise of the author, as an author was needed (in order to be punished) for making transgressive statements.
Finally, the author is
a particular
.
source of expression
who, in more or less finished forms, is manifested. equally well, and with similar validity, in a text, in letters, fragments, drafts, and so forth.
