A circle of scholars sharing an interest in Foucault’s works met in the Boston area from May 2008 through 2009 to discuss and conspire. Spinning off from the “Foucault for the 21st Century” Conference at UMass Boston, the group met informally in a room at Emerson College, across from the Boston Common to share our research interests which variously touch on Foucauldian themes. We worked as a “research” group as opposed to a “reading” group: our interests primarily are not in covering primary source texts, but in developing our own work on Foucault, and assessing the recent developments in the field of Foucault scholarship. Although we began informally, we continued as the official Boston chapter of the New York based Foucault Society.
Fall semester 2008:
Sunday, September 28, 2008, 6:00-8:00pm
Sam Binkley (Emerson College) discussed his article: “The Work of Neoliberal Governmentality: Temporality and Ethical Substance in the Tale of Two Dads” (published in the journal Foucault Studies).
and
Barbara Cruikshank (Umass Amherst) facilitated a discussion of the contemporary relevance of the recently published Birth of Biopolitics: Lectures at the College de France, 1978-1979.
Sunday, November 8, 2008, 6:00-8:00pm
Edward McGushin (St. Anselm College) offered a discussion of his recent book: Foucault’s Askesis : An Introduction to the Philosophical Life (Northwestern University Press)
…with beer following in both cases.
Those interested should email Sam Binkley for reading materials and other details. Meetings were held in the 9th floor conference room, Emerson College, 120 Boylston St. Boston, MA 02130.
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