Overview

How relevant is Foucault’s social thought to the world we inhabit today?While Foucault is best remembered for his historical inquiries into the origins of “disciplinary” society, some question whether his ideas are relevant to contemporary conditions defined by global (post) modernity and consumer capitalism. Yet as the works comprising this volume suggest, Foucault’s thoughts are far from exhausted. Within this volume, novel interpretations and thematic developments of key Foucauldian concepts are presented in the works of 24 authors. Prominent among them are new forms of neoliberal economic conduct framed by distinct governmentalities; new critical concepts of biological life reflected in Foucault’s analysis of biopower; and new theoretical treatments of the effects of subjectivation. Also included are empirical studies of religion and spiritual practice, consumerism, race and racism, the discourse of genetics and the life sciences, surveillance and incarceration, and new social movements. This volume both expands our understanding of Foucault’s central theoretical legacy, and brings his ideas to a range of contemporary empirical phenomena.

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9781443820783

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Reviews

...the editors have provided a broad cross-section of essays that take Foucault's ideas in interesting directions P. Taylor Trussell, Independent Scholar in Foucault Studies, No. 8 Feb 2010

Author Information

Sam Binkley is assistant professor of sociology at Emerson College, Boston. His research considers the historical and social production of subjectivity in the context of lifestyle practices. He has addressed a range of cases from the lifestyle movements of the 1970s to contemporary neoliberal lifestyle discourse, often invoking the theoretical contributions of Pierre Bourdieu, Norbert Elias and Michel Foucault. His recent monograph, Getting Loose: Lifestyle Consumption in the 1970s (Duke University Press, 2007), examines the role of lifestyle discourse in the shaping of reflexive subjectivity. He is currently working on a new book on happiness.Jorge Capetillo-Ponce is presently Director of Latino Studies, Associate Professor of Sociology and Research Associate at the Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development at University of Massachusetts Boston. Dr. Capetillo-Ponce has worked as Executive Director of the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York City and as advisor to Latino grassroots organizations in New York and Massachusetts. He has published on such issues as social theory, race and ethnic relations, media studies, Latino Studies, and U.S.-Latin America relations. He is the editor of the book Images of Mexico in the U.S. News Media, and author of such articles as ‘Deciphering the Labyrinth: The Influence of Georg Simmel on the Sociology of Octavio Paz’ and ‘Politics, Ethnicity, and Bilingual Education in Massachusetts’.

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