PSCI 335
The Birth of Biopower Fall 2016
Division II
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Class Details

Michel Foucault famously invented the concept of biopower. Looking at modernity, he saw two forms of biopower. First, the “anatomo-politics” whereby we discipline our bodies to work in institutions like factories, schools and armies in order to maximize profits and productive and destructive capacities. Second, the “biopolitics” of population whereby governments manage the births, deaths and health of populations in order to maximize power. Biopower is an increasingly important concept as we witness the rise of biometric security mechanisms, cyborg war-fighting technologies, the Human Genome Project and genetically modified organisms. But when exactly did biopower begin? In this course we revisit the birth of biopower in the classical Greek world, the theories of Plato and biopower in Sparta (especially Spartan eugenics and war-fighting), as we explore work by Foucault and other theorists of biopower today.
The Class: Format: seminar
Limit: 25
Expected: 15
Class#: 1714
Grading: no pass/fail option, no fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: class participation, e-responses, papers
Extra Info: may not be taken on a pass/fail basis; not available for the fifth course option
Prerequisites: previous work in political theory, history, philosophy, or gender/sexuality studies would be helpful, but is not required
Distributions: Division II
Attributes: PSCI Political Theory Courses

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