The HomePage of Darius Rejali - Professor of Political Science at Reed College

	Foucault, Latour, Bourdieu Political Science 410 Spring 2000
	Prospectus This course will examine the thought of Michel Foucault, Bruno Latour, and Pierre Bourdieu and their contribution to the study of society and politics in the twentieth century. The course will focus exclusively on the empirical works of these social theorists. This is how much I think we can reasonably do in the course of a semester, and even under these circumstances, the reading load will be challenging. There are books on reserve that will give you critical insights into these texts, but as there is so little time, they are not required. I do however highly recommend that you consult them if you feel lost. The course will have two sections. The first section will focus on the concepts of power, law and technology. The second section will focus on the role of science and the place of intellectuals in fields of power. Emphasis this year will be more heavily on Latour and Bourdieu than on Foucault. Requirements I will examine you on the readings twice, once at midterm and once at the end of the semester. The exams will have both essay and definitional components. They may involve take home as well as in class components. There may also be a quiz following the Foucault Section. Regular conference participation is an essential part of this course. I am only too aware how difficult some of this material may be, and some of you may hesitate to speak in conference. So let me make it clear that I count office hours conversations as part of conference participation. Depending on how we proceed, we may hit upon ways of reading the books that may be more efficient than others in helping you understand their contents. This may mean that I will call on you to do short presentations of the material. Books and Reserves The works by Foucault, Latour and Bourdieu for this class are on reserve. All books for this class can also be found for sale in the bookstore. There will be many articles on reserve, particularly those pertaining to Bourdieu. Two helpful texts are also on reserve and for sale in the bookstore, Bourdieu: Critical Perspectives and The Cambridge Companion to Foucault. Also on reserve only is a third helpful text, An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology. We will NOT be reading Madness and Civilization. Readings First Half: Historical Survey Week I and II: Foucault on Power/Knowledge Foucault, DP, 3-73 DP, 73-169 DP, 170-228 and Veyne, "Foucault Revolutionizes History" from Foucault and His Interlocutors, ed. Arnold Davidson, pp. 146-182. DP, 229-308 and "Foucault, "How is Power Exercised?" from Dreyfus and Rabinow, Michel Foucault:Beyond Structuralism and Hermeneutics, pp. 216-26 Week III: From Foucault to Bourdieu Power Foucault, "Two Lectures on Power" from Power/Knowledge, ed. Colin Gordon, pp. 78-108. Foucault, History of Sexuality, pp. 77-102, 135-159 John Law, "Power, Discretion, Strategy" from Law, ed. A Sociology of Monsters: Essays on Power, Technology and Domination, pp. 165-191 Bourdieu, "Forms of Capital" from Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education, ed. John G. Richardson, pp. 241-58. Television and Opinion Bourdieu, "Public Opinion Does Not Exist" from Communication and Class Struggle: 1. Capitalism and Imperialism, (1979): pp. 124-130. Television, pp. 1-38, 83-85 Acts of Resistance, pp. 70-77. Week IV and V: Bourdieu on Field, Habitus, and Rules What is a Field? Television, pp. 39-82 "Program for a Sociology of Sport" Sociology of Sport Journal, 5 (1988): 153-161 "The Market of Symbolic Goods," Poetics 14;2 (1985): 13-44. What is Habitus? "Marriage Strategies as Strategies of Social Reproduction," from Family and Society: Selections from the Annales, ed. R. Foster and O. Ranum (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 1977), pp. 117-144. "Attitude of the Algerian Peasant Toward Time" from Mediterranean Countrymen, ed. Jesse Pitt-Rivers, pp. 55-72. What does it mean to follow a rule? "Reading Pierre Bourdieu; Rules and Strategies" Cultural Anthropology 1:1 (1986): 103-120 "The Sentiment of Honor in Kabyle Society" from Honor and Shame: The Values of Mediterranean Society, ed. J.G. Peristiany, pp. 193-241. The Force of Law: Toward a Sociology of the Jurdical Field" Hastings Law Journal, 38 (1987): 805- 853. Week VI and VII: Latour on Love of Technology Latour, Aramis, pp. vi-83 Aramis, 84-158 Aramis, 159-202 Aramis, 203-302 Week VIII: Bourdieu to Latour, Midterm Power II Bourdieu, "Men and Machines" from Advances in Social Theory and Methodology: Toward an Integration of Micro- and Macro-Sociologies, ed. Karen Knorr-Cetina and Aaron V. Cicourel, 1981. pp. 304-317 Latour, "The Prince for Machines as well as for Machinations" from Brian Elliott, ed. Technology and the Social Process, pp. 20-43 Midterm SPRING BREAK II. Truth, Power, Intellectuals Week IX and X: Latour on Laboratories, Bourdieu Responds, Latour Goes On Latour, Laboratory Life, 15-150 LL, 150-285 Bourdieu on Science, Scientists, and the Scientific Field "The Specificity of the Scientific Field and the Social Conditions of the Progress of Reason," Social Science Information, 14:6 (1975):19-47 "The Peculiar History of Scientific Reason" Sociological Forum, 6:1 (1991): 3-26 "The Scholastic Point of View" Cultural Anthropology 5:4 (1990): 380-391. Science in Action, Part I: pp. 1-103 Week XI and XII: Latour on Pasteur , Scientific Life; The Role of Intellectuals Science in Action, pp. 103-104, and Pasteurization of France, pp. 3-110 Science in Action Part II: pp, 103-179 Pasteurization of France, pp. 110-150, and Science in Action Part III: pp. 179-258. Week XIII: What is a Liberal Education? Foucault and Bourdieu on Intellectuals Foucault, "What is Enlightenment?" from The Foucault Reader, ed. Paul Rabinow, pp. 32-50. Foucault and Chomsky: "Human Nature: Justice vs. Power", from Foucault and His Interlocutors, ed. Arnold Davidson, pp. 107-145. Bourdieu, "The Corporatism of the Universal: The Role of Intellectuals in the Modern World," Telos 81 (Fall) pp. 99-110 Bourdieu, Acts of Resistance, 1-9. 24-44, 52-69, 81-105 Social Status and French Obscurantism Bourdieu, Academic Discourse, 1-78 Mark Edmundsen, "On the Uses of a Liberal Education: I. As Lite Entertainment for Bored College Students." Harpers (September 1997): 39-49. How is Library Related to Class? Bourdieu, Academic Discourse, pp. 122-133 Earl Shorris "On the Uses of a Liberal Education: II. As a Weapon in the Hands of the Restless Poor" Harpers (September 1997): 50-59 Bourdieu and Passeron, "Sociology and Philosophy in France Since 1945: Death and Resurrection of a Philosophy without a Subject." Social Research (1967)162-212.