Advanced Studies in Culture and Thought (395-0-20)

Topic

Theorizing Power in Prison

Instructors

Ty Blakeney

Meeting Info

University Hall 118: Tues, Thurs 2:00PM - 3:20PM

Overview of class

This course will look at several models of state power as it has been elaborated in the work of key French thinkers (Althusser, Foucault, Deleuze and Guattari, Bourdieu). As a case study to understand these models, we will simultaneously look at the history and representation of French prisons from the 19th century to the present through literary, archival, and filmic texts. While prisons are often thought of as spaces of totalizing state power over the individual, the texts we read will highlight the limits of that power and means of resistance still open to prisoners. Which theoretical models of power best help us understand and describe the power dynamics at work in prisons? What appears in the texts that some models of power don't seem to account for? The goal will not be simply to apply the theory to the prison texts, but to think the two sets of texts together in a dynamic way in order to reflect on the power and limits of theory.

Registration Requirements

Open to non-majors who have taken other 300 level lit classes, with permission of instructor

Class Materials (Required)

Texts to be distributed via canvas

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area
Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Reserved for French Majors & Minors.
Add Consent: Instructor Consent Required