Reading Foucault (001R4)
Sovereignty, Discipline and Government: Reading Foucault for International Relations
Module 001R4
Module details for 2017/18.
30 credits
FHEQ Level 7 (Masters)
Module Outline
Michel Foucault has become an established name in the academy, where his ideas, categories and ethos towards knowledge has transcended narrow disciplinary boundaries to influence the study of various social sciences. Foucauldian ideas, categories and critiques have also been central to numerous research topics in international relations and politics. This MA optional module aims to provide a more comprehensive, detailed, and advanced study of Foucault¿s writings with the aim to aid our investigations of international relations categories, issues and phenomena.
The core objectives of the course will be to, first, identify and critically utilize Foucault¿s methodological orientations. Second, we will explore how these orientations affect the study of core International Relations analytical categories, such as sovereignty, power, governance, ideology, institutions etc. We will, thirdly, explore how such orientations expand our categories and approaches. To this end, we will engage with Foucault¿s empirical investigations of institutions (Birth of the Clinic, Discipline and Punish), discourses and regimes of truth (The History of Sexuality, Volume 1), economies of power (Foucault¿s writings on governmentality, biopower, biopolitics), as well as, resistance and ethics (drawn from various anthologized and edited works). By the end of the course our investigations of Foucault¿s corpus will allow us problematize our IR understandings of the state, sovereignty and government and reinvestigate them through the so-called ¿three axes¿ of Foucault¿s work: knowledge, power, and subjectivity (Gilles Deleuze).
This module will be run as a seminar focused on group discussion based on serious and concerted reading of primary and secondary texts.
Module learning outcomes
Evaluate the primary and secondary literature on the work of Michel Foucault
Critically utilise Foucault's thought to analyse core categories of International relations, such as sovereignty and power
Critically utilise Foucault's categories and thought to empirically examine core issues in global politics
Apply Foucault's methodological orientations to the study of power in specific analyses of global politics
Improve a) independent thinking about essay topic through research and b) written communication skills through outline and essay-writing
| Type | Timing | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | 100.00% | |
| Coursework components. Weighted as shown below. | ||
| Essay | T2 Week 13 | 100.00% |
Timing
Submission deadlines may vary for different types of assignment/groups of students.
Weighting
Coursework components (if listed) total 100% of the overall coursework weighting value.
| Term | Method | Duration | Week pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring Semester | Seminar | 3 hours | 111111111111 |
How to read the week pattern
The numbers indicate the weeks of the term and how many events take place each week.
Dr David Karp
Assess convenor
/profiles/322326
Mx Emilia Moscardini-Powers
Assess convenor
/profiles/214700
Prof Louiza Odysseos
Assess convenor, Convenor
/profiles/200596
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