In spite of a history wherein queer theory has openly rejected phenomenology, phenomenology has gained increasing interest amongst queer theorists. However, Husserl’s phenomenology is often marginalized in attempts to integrate queer theory with phenomenology, and when Husserl is addressed specifically, his work is often treated superficially or even misrepresented. Given this, my first goal is to demonstrate how Husserl’s work is already open to positions considered fundamental to queer theory, and that Husserl is often explicitly arguing for these positions himself. (...) In doing so, I wish to show that Husserl’s phenomenology is well fitted for complementary engagement with queer theory. My second goal is to work through some ways in which Husserl’s phenomenology and queer theory can work together in detail to accomplish shared theoretical goals. Although this will not be a full-blown analysis—which would exceed the parameters of this article—my hope is to provide a certain amount of in depth work that can then assist further analyses that combine these methods. (shrink)

This article analyses Foucault’s 1972–3 lecture course, La société punitive. While the course can certainly be seen as an initial draft of themes for the 1975 book Surveiller et punir, there are some important differences. The reading here focuses on different modes of punishment; the civil war and the social enemy; the comparison of England and France; and political economy. It closes with some analysis of the emerging clarity in Foucault’s work around power and genealogy. This is a course where (...) Foucault makes use of Marxist language and categories, engages with historical materialism, and offers a complementary and at times corrective focus. (shrink)

Foucault distanced himself from Marxism even though he worked in an environment—left French theory of the 1960s and 1970s—where Marxism was the dominant frame of reference. By viewing Foucault in the context of French Marxist theoretical debates of his day, we can connect his criticisms of Marxism to his discussions of the status of intellectuals. Foucault viewed standard Marxist approaches to the role of intellectuals as a problem of power and knowledge applicable to the Communist party. Marxist party intellectuals, in (...) his view, had developed rigid and universal theories and had used them to prescribe action, which prevented work on the sorts of problems that he uncovered—even though these problems were central to the development of capitalism. (shrink)

O principal objetivo deste artigo é articular a noção de antropologia, contida na tese complementar de Foucault a História da loucura, Gênese e estrutura da Antropologia de Kant, e em sua obra de 1966, As palavras e as coisas, reconhecendo no uso deste conceito uma cumplicidade teórica entre os dois textos. Em segundo lugar, procuramos entender os motivos que levaram Foucault a abandonar Kant como referência crítica às ciências humanas. Ao desvencilhar-se da filosofia kantiana, o pensador francês é forçado a (...) construir outros pressupostos que tornam possíveis o estudo do homem, tanto inspirado pela tendência estruturalista dos intelectuais franceses, sem, no entanto, estruturar condições atemporais dos discursos, como na crítica de Nietzsche à tradição filosófica. (shrink)

This article analyses Foucault’s 1972–3 lecture course,La société punitive. While the course can certainly be seen as an initial draft of themes for the 1975 bookSurveiller et punir, there are some important differences. The reading here focuses on different modes of punishment; the civil war and the social enemy; the comparison of England and France; and political economy. It closes with some analysis of the emerging clarity in Foucault’s work around power and genealogy. This is a course where Foucault makes (...) use of Marxist language and categories, engages with historical materialism, and offers a complementary and at times corrective focus. (shrink)

O principal objetivo deste artigo é articular a noção de antropologia, contida na tese complementar de Foucault a História da loucura, Gênese e estrutura da Antropologia de Kant, e em sua obra de 1966, As palavras e as coisas, reconhecendo no uso deste conceito uma cumplicidade teórica entre os dois textos. Em segundo lugar, procuramos entender os motivos que levaram Foucault a abandonar Kant como referência crítica às ciências humanas. Ao desvencilhar-se da filosofia kantiana, o pensador francês é forçado a (...) construir outros pressupostos que tornam possíveis o estudo do homem, tanto inspirado pela tendência estruturalista dos intelectuais franceses, sem, no entanto, estruturar condições atemporais dos discursos, como na crítica de Nietzsche à tradição filosófica. (shrink)