Sessions
Please note that there will be no session on May 6 but a double session on June 3!
April 22, 2016 – Introductory session
The first session will explain the aims and requirements of the course. We will also take the time to get know each other. Please make sure you read the information available on the blog.
FIRST Phase – The concept of the subject
As a basis for our further explorations, we will read three texts central to postmodern conceptions of the self. While not comprehensive these readings will provide a good starting point and may even be considered canonical.
April 29, 2016 – Foucault – Subject and Power
May 6, 2016 – no session, Essay questions for the first writing assignment go online
May 13, 2016 – Foucault – Technologies of the Self
May 20, 2016 – Butler – Performance and Performativity
May 20, 2016 – First Deadline: Essay on set questions.
May 27, 2016 – First writing session
We will discuss your texts in small writing workshops. Attendance is mandatory for anyone wishing to get active participation certified. If you cannot attend this class, you MUST contact me beforehand.
SECOND phase – The subject and the global
For this second phase of our exploration I have chosen texts which engage with the contemporary relationship between the self and the global. While not canonical, they complement each other quite nicely and yield interesting theoretical insights.
June 3, 2016 – Double Session!
Bayart – Global Subjects
Appadurai – Modernity at Large
June 10, 2016 – Khasnabish – Zapatismo as Political Philosophy and Political Practice
June 10, 2016 – Second Deadline: Essay.
June 17, 2016 – Second writing session
We will discuss your texts in small writing workshops. Attendance is mandatory for anyone wishing to get active participation certified. If you cannot attend this class, you MUST contact me beforehand.
THIRD PHASE – The subject and technology
You choice has been made and so here is the plan:
June 24, 2016 – Haraway: A Cyborg Manifesto
This text is somewhat of a classic in the area. Haraway connects feminist, socialist and technological ideas in order to come to a new idea of who we are/can be. It was written long before many of the technologies that we use every day became common place but already shows great insight into the possibilities digitization has created since the 1960ies. We may also find some unlikely parallels to the Zapatistas.
July 1, 2016 – Latour: Power of Association
Note: My thinly disguised attempt to make you read Heidegger anyway ? has failed – the link is now to the Latour text.
Latour is a sociologist and founding figure of what has become known as ANT (Actor-network-theory), a somewhat sidelined and – according to its proponents misnamed – strand of Science and Technology Studies. The innovation here, in short, lies in conceptualizing objects as actors and analyzing networks of actors, human and non-human, also called associations. This raises some interesting perspectives. The text focuses on power and associations and may offer some interesting additions to the power debates we have already had in class.
July 8, 2016 – Badmington: Posthumanism
Posthumanism might – or might not – be something to look out for. It has been discussed as one of the conceptions that challenge modern notion of humanism and human nature. Badmington’s article places post-humanism in context to postmodern thought and would allow us to discuss the idea in relation to our earlier readings. I welcome the opportunity to dive into something I haven’t worked on a lot.
July 8, 2016 – Third Deadline: Research proposal.
July 15, 2016 – Third writing session
We will discuss your proposals in a writing conference. Attendance is mandatory for anyone wishing to get active participation certified. If you cannot attend this class, you MUST contact me beforehand.
July 22, 2016 – Concluding session
September 30, 2016 – Final Revision Deadline for all three assignments.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
Die
Am 20. April 2016 um 16:17 Uhr
Dear Ulrike,
I´m a master student at the FU´s Lateinamerika-Institut. I´m writing my master thesis on the role played by the so called “pflichtpraktika” in the subjectivation of students, as a social praxis where – this is my research hypothesis- technologies of the self are displayed. Since I focus on Foucault´s governmentality as the main theoretical reference for my research, I will be very pleased if I could attend the first two session of this course you´re offering (on 29th April and on 13th May). I don´t need any assessment, but I´m very willing to fully engage in the discussions.
Thank you and best regards,
Beatriz Casas González
Am 21. April 2016 um 15:00 Uhr
Dear Beatriz,
the course really isn’t designed to be only partly attended. I want the group to be mostly consistent throughout the class. Also, I would like to keep to the subject as a concept and will not touch on governmentality (exciting as it may be), simply because it is not so relevant to the further class. Of course, you are welcome to attend the course, but since you already seem to know where you want to go, I am not sure these first two sessions will really help you all that much.
On a different note – PLEASE avoid commenting on individual pages (beyond the blog itself), as it is more difficult to follow up on for me. Also keep in mind, that your comments will be read by everyone who visits the blog. You may write me a mail if you have concerns of a more personal nature. Thanks!
Ulrike