In Michel Foucault’s thought, the interplay between discourse-power and knowledge shapes experience, knowledge, and the subject itself. In this way, he challenges the possibility of knowledge, truth, and personal autonomy. The seminar analyzes this thought to recognize its relevance, its valid points, and its critical aspects. Thus, students will develop the ability to engage in dialogue with some fundamental ideas of postmodernity, enriching their own synthesis of the relationship between reason, subject, and culture.
Selected required readings include some of Foucault’s lectures and interviews, which offer an easier and more immediate summary than the author’s books. This choice aims to achieve two objectives: 1) to introduce students to the author’s thought, providing them with the tools to study his major works, and 2) to encourage reflection, analysis, and dialogue with his fundamental ideas.