Syllabus - Columbia Law School

October 31, 2014
Seminar with François Ewald
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY CRITICAL THOUGHT
FALL 2014 SPECIAL SEMINAR
POWER, KNOWLEDGE, SUBJECTIVITY, TRUTH:
RETHINKING JURIDICAL POWER
PROFESSORS FRANÇOIS EWALD & BERNARD E. HARCOURT
MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3-7, 2014
12:10 TO 1:30 PM
JEROME GREENE HALL 501
SEMINAR DESCRIPTION
Juridical power, jurisdiction, norms and legality, legal institutions—these are,
paradoxically, both everywhere and nowhere in the work of Michel Foucault. Many scholars
have gone so far as to say that Foucault had no theory of law and legal institutions. Yet legal
practices and institutions appear pervasively throughout practically all of the different facets of
his work. Another paradox: Traditionally, commentators who have studied juridical power in
Foucault’s work have explored the topic predominantly through the lens of power, or more
exactly, relations of power. But it is becoming increasingly clear—especially with the most
recent publication of his earliest lectures at the Collège de France—that law and jurisdiction
should also be studied in relationship to the larger questions of truth and veridiction.
This seminar will explore both puzzles and the consequences of this change in
perspective from power/knowledge to veridiction—or toward the integrated notion of veridiction
and juridiction at the heart, for instance, of a book such as Foucault’s Wrong-Doing, TruthTelling: The Function of Avowal in Justice. The seminar will proceed by examining a number of
different facets of Foucault’s writings as they relate to the question of norms, juridical power,
judicial institutions, and juridiction. The purpose of this intensive week-long seminar will be to
rethink the question of juridical power, normalization, truth, and law with and after Foucault.
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October 31, 2014
Seminar with François Ewald
NOTICE
This special seminar is open to all faculty colleagues.
The seminar is also open to graduate students in the arts, sciences, and law at Columbia
University at the consent of the instructors and will be capped at 12 students. The seminar will
meet five times during the week of November 3rd through November 7th, 2014. For students, the
seminar cannot be taken for credit, only for intellectual growth. If you would like to attend, you
will be expected to attend all five meetings of the seminar. If you would like to participate,
please send a paragraph to Claire Merrill at [email protected]. Please explain your interest,
your background, and whether you will be able to attend all five seminars.
We will do our best to have all the readings in English. The readings will be ordered by
their importance to the discussion at the seminars.
By way of background, it may be helpful to read Foucault’s two main juridical works: his
Louvain lectures from 1981, Wrong-Doing, Truth-Telling: The Function of Avowal in Justice;
and his 1973 Rio lectures, “Truth and Juridical Form,” in Power: Collected Works, Volume III.
In addition, throughout, we will also be referencing secondary materials, primarily found in Alan
Hunt and Gary Wickham’s Foucault and Law: Towards a Sociology of Law as Governance
(Pluto 1994) and the collection of essays by Ben Golder and Peter Fitzpatrick titled Foucault and
Law (Ashgate, 2010).
In preparation for the first seminar and by way of “core texts,” here is a list of the central
readings that will animate the seminar during the week:
Michel Foucault (1981) Wrong-Doing, Truth-Telling: The Function of Avowal in Justice
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2014), pp. 18-24 and pp. 199-233 (Lecture of
May 20, 1981).
Michel Foucault (1973) “Truth and Juridical Forms,” 1-89, in Michel Foucault, Power
(Vol. III) (New York: The New Press, 2000), pp. 1-4 and pp. 32-52.
Michel Foucault (1975) Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison (New York:
Vintage, 1979), pp. 82-89 and 276-289.
Michel Foucault (1976) History of Sexuality, Volume I: An Introduction (New York,
Vintage), pp. 140-145.
Michel Foucault (1972) “On Popular Justice: A Discussion with Maoists” in
Power/Knowledge (Chapter 1), pp.1-36.
Noam Chomsky and Michel Foucault (1972) The Chomsky-Foucault debate: On human
nature (The New Press, London, 2006), pp. 36-59.
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TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
I. INTERVENTIONS: THE VALUES AND MOTIVES
MONDAY NOV. 3, 2014
The first seminar will explore the range of interventions that Foucault made—most
often, or predominantly, in political and legal disputes within the penal context. Why
did Foucault get interested in militancy regarding prisons, asylums, political
detainees, and juridical power? On the basis of what values, interests or motives?
READINGS:
M. Foucault. 1961 Preface to the History of Madness (Routledge 2006), pp. xxviixxxvi [Histoire de la folie, D&E no. 159]
Noam Chomsky and Michel Foucault, The Chomsky-Foucault debate : On human
nature (The New Press, London, 2006, pp. 1-67) [Entretien avec Noam Chomsky,
in D&E n. 132]
M. Foucault, “Open Letter to Medhi Bazargan,” p. 439-442 in Power (Volume III)
[Lettre à Mehdi Bazargan, D&E n. 265].
Gilles Deleuze and Michel Foucault. 1972. “Intellectuals and Power” in Language,
Counter-Memory, Practice (Cornell University Press, 1977, pp.205-217) [Translation
of « Les intellectuels et le pouvoir » (entretien avec G. Deleuze, 4 mars 1972, L’Arc,
n° 49 : Gilles Deleuze, 2e trimestre 1972, p. 3-10), in M. Foucault, Dits & Écrits, II,
n° 106, p. 307].
Michel Foucault. 1972. “On Popular Justice: A Discussion with Maoists” in
Power/Knowledge (Chapter 1: pp.1-36) [Translation of « Sur la justice populaire :
Débat avec les maos », Les Temps modernes 310 bis ; Nouveau Fascisme, Nouvelle
Démocratie, juin 1972, p. 335-366 ; in M. Foucault, Dits & Écrits, II, n° 108, p. 340369].
M. Foucault, “Useless to Revolt,” pages 449-453 in The Essential Works of Michel
Foucault, 1954-1984, Vol III: Power, ed. Paul Rabinow (New York: The New Press,
2000) [“Inutile de se soulever,” D&E no. 248 and 269]
M. Foucault, “Lives of Infamous Men,” pages 157-175 in Power (Volume III) [“La
Vie des hommes infâmes,” Dits & Écrits, no. 198].
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M. Foucault, « An aesthetic of existence » in Politics, Philosophy, Culture:
Interviews and Other Writings, 1977-1984, ed. Lawrence D. Kritzman, 1988, Chap 3)
[D&E, 184, 192, 281, 357]
FURTHER OPTIONAL READINGS :
1. Klaus Croissant, DE, 210, 211, 214 ; 232 (cf also translation : « Letter to Certain Leaders
of the Left » in Power, pp. 423-426)
2. “Rendre des comptes,” D&E no. 112 and 113.
3. Le Désordre des familles (Lafarge & Foucault)
4. Le droit des gouvernés, D&E no. 355
5. Le droit de savoir, l’enquête, D&E, 86, 91 ,93
6. L’intolérable, D&E, 94, 114 (« Pompidou’s Two Deaths », Power, volume 3 (edited by
James D. Faubion), pp. 418-422)
7. Libérer la sexualité, D&E, 200, 230
8. L’asile illimité, D&E, 202
9. Totalitarisme vs sécurité, D&E, 213
10. Le Goulag, DE, 218 (cf. also translation : « Powers and strategies » in Power/Knowledge)
11. Se débarrasser du marxisme, D&E, 235
12. Sexualité et politique, des droits sexuels, D&E, 138, 152,
13. Exigence de lucidité, D&E, 256
14. Sexualité et vérité, répression, D&E, 190
15. Law and Order, D&E, 152
16. Rendre visible les mécanismes, D&E,160
17. Aller à Madrid, D&E, 158
18. La grande colère des faits, D&E, 204
19. Illégalisme et art de punir, D&E, 175
20. Une mort inacceptable, D&E, 166
21. Effet anesthésiant, D&E, 278, 281
22. L’expérience à fond, D&E, 281
23. La curiosité, D&E, 108
24. Tout repenser, D&E, 298, 300, 301, 303
25. Loi vs culture, D&E, 318
26. Pologne, D&E, 319, 320, 321, 334
27. Autorégulation (mirage), D&E, 325
28. Le travail, D&E, 328, 324
29. M. Foucault, Le manifeste du GIP in Philippe Artières, ed. 2001. Le groupe
d’information sur les prisons , GIP. L. Quero (excerpts)
30. Audrey Kiéfer, Michel Foucault : Le GIP, l’histoire et l’action (dissertation)
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II. JUSTICE, JUDICIAL INSTITUTIONS, AND JURIDICAL POWER
TUESDAY NOV. 4, 2014
This second seminar will explore the notion of « illégalismes » and how juridical
power becomes the means to negotiate and manage these “illegalisms.” This
presents the problem of judging, of how difficult it is to judge, and the need for
expertise and other third parties to resolve the tensions of judging. This seminar
will focus on the texts where Foucault explores penal law—or what we tend to
call criminal law and sentencing in the United States.
READINGS:
M. Foucault. 1972. « Course summary » of Théories et Institutions pénales,
Lectures at the Collège de France, 1971-1972 in The Essential Works of Michel
Foucault, 1954-1984, vol 1: Ethics: Subjectivity and Truth ed. Paul Rabinow
(New York: The New Press, 1997), pp. 17-22.
M. Foucault. 1973. « Course summary » La Société punitive, Lectures at the
Collège de France, 1972-1973 in Volume 1 of Paul Rabinow’s Essential Works
(Ethics: Subjectivity and Truth), pp. 23-39.
M. Foucault. 1975. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, especially pp.
82-89 and 276-289.
M. Foucault. 1978-79, Birth of Biopolitics, Lesson of March 21, 1979
M. Foucault, “The anxiety of judging,” in Foucault Live: Collected Interviews,
1961-1984 (New York: Semiotext, 1996), pp. 66-84; “L’angoisse de juger, D&E
no. 205
ADDITIONAL OPTIONAL READINGS:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Pouvoir, partage, exclusion, D&E, 197
Interdit/internement (loi de 1838), Le Pouvoir psy, 96 sq
Monstruosité/anomalie, Les Anormaux, p.52
L’économie du pouvoir de punition, Les Anormaux, p.76
Monstruosité et dangerosité, D&E, 220 ('About the Concept of “Dangerous
Individual” in Nineteenth-Century Legal Psychiatry', in Power, vol. 3, p. 186),
228
6. Le grand enfermement, D&E, 105
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7. Prison/punition, D&E, 125
8. Illégalismes, D&E, 125, 152 (« An Interview with Michel Foucault » in
History of the Present, no.1, Feb. 1985)
9. Répression, D&E, 160, 177
10. La sagesse judiciaire, D&E, 240
11. Manières de justice, D&E, 260
12. Dangers, D&E, 270
13. Les deux types de criminels (le surpartage), D&E, 275
14. Le vrai sexe, D&E, 287
15. Le sexualité et la loi, D&E, 349
16. Punir, D&E, 346 (''What calls for punishment?'' Foucault live, p. 279), 353
III. FROM THE REGIME OF LAW TO THE REGIME OF NORMS
WEDNESDAY NOV. 5, 2014
In this seminar, we will explore the shift from law to norms. We will analyze the
notion of normalization. We will focus in detail on Foucault’s writings and
thinking on the topic of public law, constitutional law, and the relationship
between common law and civil law traditions of the Continent.
READINGS:
M. Foucault. 1976. History of Sexuality, Volume I: An Introduction – Part IV:
Chapter 1, pages 81-91 [La Volonté de savoir, Le dispositif de sexualité, 1 «
Enjeu », pp. 107-120] Please also read Part V: “Right of Death and Power over
Life” pp. 135-159.
M. Foucault. 1976. “Society Must Be Defended”: Lectures at the Collège de
France, 1975-1976 – Lesson of February 4, 1976
M. Foucault. 1978-79. Birth of Biopolitics, Lessons of January 10, of January 17,
and of February 14, 1979.
M. Foucault, Discipline and Punish, pp. 177-184; Surveiller et punir, pp 180-186
(La sanction normalisatrice).
ADDITIONAL OPTIONAL READINGS:
1. La famille, articulation souveraineté/discipline, Le Pouvoir psy, 81-88
2. Médecins, juges et sorciers, D&E, 62
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3. La loi et la norme, D&E, 173 (cf. translation : « The social extension of the
norm », In: Foucault M, Foucault Live: Collected Interviews, 1961-1984, ed.
Lotringer S. New York, pp.196-199.)
4. Les mailles du pouvoir, D&E, 297 (cf. translation : « The meshes of Power »,
trans. G. Moore, pp. 153-162 in Space Knowledge and Power: Foucault and
Geography, edited by Jeremy W. Crampton, Stuart Elden)
5. Droit et éthique, D&E, 350 ("The Concern for Truth," interview conducted
by François Ewald, in Foucault Live, p. 293-308)
IV. VERIDICTION & JURISDICTION : TRUTH AND JURIDICAL FORMS
THURSDAY NOV. 6, 2014
In this seminar, we will explore the relationship between truth telling and saying
justice, and the alethurgical method that Foucault develops throughout his lectures at
the Collège de France.
READINGS:
M. Foucault. 1970-71. Lessons on the Will to Know, Lesson of March 10, 1971
Michel Foucault. 1973. “Truth and Juridical Forms,” 1-89, in Michel Foucault,
Power (Vol. III). New York: The New Press [Also Dits et écrits, II, #139].
M. Foucault, Mal faire, dire vrai, excerpts
M. Foucault, Abnormal: Lectures at the Collège de France, 1974-1975 (Picador
2004), Lessons of January 8, 1975, and January 15, 1975.
ADDITIONAL OPTIONAL READINGS:
1. M. Foucault, Discipline and Punish, Part III, chap. 2, The Examination, pp.
184-194
2. « Une petite histoire de la vérité », Le Pouvoir psy, p. 235 sq
3. L’institution de la psychiatrie, Les Anormaux, p.129
4. Table ronde sur l’expertise psy, D&E, 142
5. La criminologie, D&E, 146
V. THE LAW AS DISCOURSE
FRIDAY NOV. 7, 2014
In this seminar, we will explore the question of whether and how law figures as a
form of discourse: In The Order of Discourse, law appears as a type of discourse, but
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in The Archaeology of Knowledge, law is practically absent. Why is that? Could we
use an archaeology of knowledge to study law, juridical power, legal discourse?
READINGS:
M. Foucault. 1971. “The Discourse on Language” in Archaeology of Knowledge
(New York: Pantheon, 1972) [L’Ordre du discours, Foucault’s inaugural lecture
at the Collège de France, esp. pp 11-23 (droit et raréfaction du discours), 41
(rituel), 62-67 (programme de MF)]
M. Foucault. 1969. The Archaeology of Knowledge. We will locate the passages
in the English translation; in the French edition, L’Archéologie du savoir, law is
discussed in II, 1, pp 38-39, in II, 3, p. 57, in II, 4, p. 68, in II, 7, p. 99, in III, 1, p.
110, in III, 4, pp. 158 and 163, in IV, 4, p. 212, in IV, 6, pp. 232-233, and
conclusion pp. 272-273.
M. Foucault, « Réponse à une question », D&E no. 58; and “Sur l’archéologie des
sciences”, D&E no. 59
ADDITIONAL OPTIONAL READINGS:
1. Le droit, composante de « dispositifs », D&E, 206 (« The Confession of the Flesh »,
in Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews & Other Writings 1972-1977. Ed. C.
Gordon)
2. Les effets de partage de la loi, D&E, 281
3. M. Foucault. 1961. The History of Madness; Histoire de la folie, 1ere partie, chap. 2
« le grand renfermement », 3eme partie, chap. 3, « Du bon usage de la liberté »
4. M. Foucault. 1975. Discipline and Punish, Part IV, chap. 3, The carceral
CONCLUSION: LEGAL AND POLITICAL THEORY AFTER FOUCAULT
FRIDAY NOV. 7, 2014
Note: there will be a special session with Seyla Benhabib and George Kateb from 3
to 5pm at the Maison Française. Please join us.
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