The Foucault Society
2008-09 Seminar Series: Michel Foucault's The Birth of Biopolitics
November 2008 - May 2009
New York, NY

 About the Seminar:

Michel Foucault's The Birth of Biopolitics: Lectures at the College de France, 1978-1979 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008)--the latest in the series of his lectures from the mid-1970s to be translated into English--is remarkably relevant today. Our year-long public seminar will pursue Foucault's question: What is at stake in liberalism? How do liberal governments produce governable subjects-individuals who consent to be governed? We will situate the lectures in the context of Foucault's better known work (e.g. Discipline and Punish and History of Sexuality), discuss what he means by biopolitics, consider how the lectures develop his theory of power-knowledge, and debate how this text can help us to refine our understanding of Foucault's intellectual and political project.

The seminar will meet monthly from November 2008 through June 2009. Offering both an accessible introduction to Foucault's work and close critical study of Foucault's lectures, this seminar is open to people with all levels of experience.

This program is funded by a mini-grant from the New York Council for the Humanities.

To register or for more information, please contact the Seminar Organizers: Shifra Diamond (sdiamond@gwu.edu) or Michael Jolley (MJolley@gc.cuny.edu).

Registration fee: $12/meeting (full series: $50). Student/senior discount: $8/meeting (full series: $35). No one will be turned away for lack of ability to pay.

Special offer-Book discount: Participants may buy the book at our special discounted rate: $21.00 (includes tax-deductible donation to the Foucault Society).

-- To download a registration form, click here.

Schedule of Meetings:

 Fall 2008

Thursday, November 13, 2008, 7:00-9:00pm
CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, Room 5409
Faculty Facilitator: Eduardo Mendieta
Chapter 1: pages 1-25

Thursday, December 5, 7:00-9:00pm
CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, Room 5409
Faculty Facilitator: Eduardo Mendieta
Chapter 2: pages 27-50

Winter-Spring 2009

**All meetings are from 7:00-9:30pm at CUNY's Macaulay Honors College, 35 W. 67th St.**

Thursday, February 5
Faculty Facilitators:  Ananya Mukherjea and Rafael de la Dehesa
Chapter 3:  pages 51-74

Thursday, February 19
Faculty Facilitators:  Samuel Binkley and Jeffrey Bussolini
Chapters 4 & 6:  pages 75-100 & 129-157

Thursday, March 12
Faculty Facilitator:  Jeffrey Bussolini
Chapter 5:  pages 101-128

Thursday, April 2
Faculty Facilitators:  Patricia Clough and Jonathan Cutler
Chapters 7 & 8:  pages 159-184 & 185-214

Thursday, April 23
Faculty facilitators:  Trent Hamann and Alan Rosenberg Chapters 9 & 10:  pages 215-238 & 239-265

Friday, May 8
Faculty facilitators:  Trent Hamann and Alan Rosenberg
Chapters 11 & 12: pages 267-290 & 291-316; Course Summary: pages 317-325

Wednesday, May 20
Stony Brook Manhattan, 387 Park Ave South, NYC
Concluding Roundtable Program and Reception
Featuring the seminar faculty.

About the faculty:

--Samuel Binkley is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Emerson College.

--Jeffrey Bussolini is Associate Professor of Sociology at College of Staten Island, CUNY.

--Patricia Ticineto Clough is Professor of Sociology, Women's Studies and Intercultural Studies at Queens College and the Graduate School, CUNY.

--Jonathan Cutler is Associate Professor of Sociology at Wesleyan University

--Rafael de la Dehesa is Assistant Professor of Sociology at College of Staten Island, CUNY.

--Trent H. Hamann is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at St. John’s University.

--Eduardo Mendieta is Professor of Philosophy at Stony Brook University, SUNY.

--Ananya Mukherjea is Assistant Professor of Women's Studies and Sociology at College of Staten Island, CUNY.

--Alan Rosenberg is Professor of Philosophy at Queens College, CUNY.

About the Foucault Society:
The Foucault Society is an independent, non-profit educational organization offering a variety of forums dedicated to critical study of the ideas of Michel Foucault (1926-1984) within a contemporary context. The Foucault Society is a 501 (c) (3) recognized public charity. As such donations are tax deductible under section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code.