ANTH 425 Power and Change
20 September 2011
Sept. 20 Foucault: Read: Abélès, Marc (2009) "Foucault and political anthropology." International Social Science Journal 59(191): 59-68. Wiley
- Abélès situates Foucault in political anthropology by contrasting how US and French anthropology have engaged with the French philosopher.
- he places both traditions in historical context, linking them to how intellectual ideas relate to other events and people
- initially, partly because of the influence of Geertz, Foucault was taken up by US anthropologists for analysing culture as text and anthropology as text
– the relationship between knowledge and power
- in a second phase, one which Abélès appears to favour, Foucault’s interest in bio-power caught interest and intersected with French discussions of power.
- how is power exercised in the current era, for Foucault, compared to how it operated before the 17th century?
- how are knowledge and power related for Foucault?
- what is biopower and how does it work?
- what is governmentality?
- what are the insights and limitations of this approach?