How relevant is Foucault's social thought to the world we inhabit today? This collection comprises several essays considering the contemporary relevance of the work of Michel Foucault. While Foucault is best remembered for his historical inquiries into the origins of disciplinary society in a period extending from the 16th to the 19th centuries, it seems that today, under the conditions of global modernity, the relevance of his ideas are called into question. With the increasing ubiquity of markets, the break up of centralized states and the dissolution of national boundaries, together with new scientific and political discourses on biological life, the world of today seems far removed from the bounded, disciplinary societies Foucault described in his most famous books. Yet in recent years, it has become apparent that Foucault's thoughts on modern society have not been exhausted, and, indeed, that much remains to be explored. 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. Moreover, included among these theoretical departures are empirical studies of contemporary formations of religion and spiritual practice, consumerism, race and racism, the discourse of genetics and the life sciences, surveillance and incarceration, and new social movements. Drawn from a conference held at the University of Massachusetts, Boston bearing the same title, A Foucault for the 21st Century: Governnentality, Biopolitics and Discipline in the New Millennium both expands our understanding of Foucault's central theoretical legacy, and applies his ideas to a range of contemporary empirical phenomena.
About the Author: 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'.