糖心TV

Jennifer Philippa Eggert, an Early Career Fellow based at the IAS and in PAIS, was recently invited by Dr. Steve Hewitt to hold a guest lecture on gender and terrorism to the students in his class, at the Department of History of the University of Birmingham, focusing on the history of terrorism.

Les aveux de la chair [Confessions of the Flesh], the fourth volume of French philosopher Michel Foucault鈥檚 History of Sexuality is published today (Feb 8, 2018), despite Foucault鈥檚 expressed wish that there should be 鈥榥o posthumous publications鈥�.

Stuart Elden, Professor of Political Theory and Geography, in 糖心TV University鈥檚 Politics and International Studies Department and Monash 糖心TV Professor in the Faculty of Arts, Monash University, is one of the leading experts in Foucault鈥檚 work.

He comments on the significance of and on Foucault鈥檚 academic legacy:

鈥淲hile Michael Foucault worked across many conventional academic disciplines, he was essentially a philosopher who explored questions through historical investigations. Most of his books are titled the history of something – madness, sexuality – or the birth of something – the clinic, the prison. He sometimes described his work as archaeologies – digging down to discover previously unseen layers, or genealogies – tracing roots and lineages of ideas and practices. But this work was always to try to explore larger questions – why do we think the way that we do, or know what we do; how does power work over us; what does it mean to be a subject?

鈥淚n many ways is the key to the whole History of Sexuality series. In 1976, with the publication of the first volume, Foucault outlined a thematic treatment of six volumes. The second book, on that plan, was to be on the medieval church and especially the question of confession of sins. Its initial title was La chair et le corps [The Flesh and the Body]. Foucault wrote much of a volume under this title. But he came to realise that crucial issues in the Christian tradition could be traced much further back. So through the late 1970s and early 1980s, which we can see in his lectures and other sources, he explored older and older historical material.

鈥淭his book is the result of this work. But Foucault felt that he needed to precede this book with a treatment of pagan antiquity, as he came to realise that many of the issues in the early Christian tradition had links to Greek and Roman texts and practices. So he put this book aside, wrote the books which were published as Volumes II and III, and the intended book on Christianity became Volume IV.

鈥淭he book is in three parts. The first discusses how the ancient notion of aphrodisia – a notion we might understand as pleasure, became replaced with the Christian notion of the flesh. That, in turn, precedes our modern understanding of sexuality. The second and third parts of the book discuss being a virgin and being married. These are the two key subjects that the Church fathers are concerned with – the monk and the married man.

鈥淭he book is much closer in style to Volumes II and III than some of Foucault鈥檚 other works. It is written in an austere style of textual analysis, without the kind of rhetorical flourishes that characterise some of his other work.鈥�

Reflecting on Foucault鈥檚 continued relevance, Professor Elden added: 鈥淔oucault only rarely wrote about contemporary events. In his lectures and interviews, and especially in his political activism around prisons and health in the early 1970s, he sometimes connected his work to the current moment. But most often he was concerned with the historical analysis of issues. He spoke of his work as a 鈥榟istory of the present鈥�, an examination of how we got to where we are, how what is currently taken for granted was made possible. The issues he was concerned with – madness and mental illness, medicine and health, punishment, sexuality and so on – remain pressing issues today and Foucault鈥檚 investigation of these issues, and perhaps especially the questions he asked about them, mean he continues to be a regular reference.

鈥淲ith the publication of his lecture courses, and now this entire book, we are continually finding new work to explore and think with him.鈥�

8 February 2018

• Professor Elden is the author of Foucault鈥檚 Last Decade, a study of Foucault鈥檚 History of Sexuality which draws on archival material and interviews:
• He is also the author of a book on the immediately preceding period which looks at Foucault鈥檚 political activism and academic work on power –
• He is currently writing a book entitled The Early Foucault

An article by Columba Achilleos-Sarll, a PAIS PhD student, has been short-listed for the 2017 Feminist and Women鈥檚 Studies Association鈥檚 Annual Student Essay Competition.

The article, entitled, 'Reconceptualising Foreign Policy as Gendered, Sexualised and Racialised: Towards a Postcolonial Feminist Foreign Policy (Analysis)', can be downloaded for free here:

On 22nd January 2018 we held our annual Students鈥� Question Time event, which follows on from our main Question Time held in October, when we invite politicians and policy makers to discuss topical issues. The panel members were students from PAIS, PPE, Economics, Economic and History, with the debate being moderated by Chair Dr Claudia Rei.

The topics tackled by our student panelists ranged from whether social media was the root cause for intolerance to other cultures and religions, the rise of populism on both sides of the Atlantic and its effect on neo-liberal world order and whether the UK government should withdraw Trump's invitation for a state visit.

Claudi Rei, the Chair, has summed up the event:

"Engaging topics and fruitful discussion on issues of interest to students ranging from the economics of social media to international politics"

Dr Ben Richardson addressed the on 25^th January on the topic of labour rights and trade. The presentation followed on from Dr Richardson鈥檚 report on the effectiveness of the EU鈥檚 GSP+ trade scheme and was followed by comments from MEPs and European Commission officials. The report and presentation have been timed to feed into reform debates regarding the EU鈥檚 trade policy toward developing countries.