Suicide in the Age of Biopower

Maria Jankowska (University of Freiburg)

The Foucault Circle NL/BE is organizing a conference, in Amsterdam, on June 25 of 2024, exactly 40 years after the passing away of Michel Foucault. The conference is about contemporary cross-discipline uses of Foucault’s work, with a focus on themes which Foucault did not think much about himself, but we do: decolonization, gender, climate change, etc.

Foucault’s work always supported emancipation of marginalized groups. Yet, many commentators have argued that, despite his prolificity, Foucault has left some surprising lacunae in his analyses. For example, in his work, he appears to have had little attention for feminist movements, decolonization, and climate change.

The Echoes of Foucault conference aims to critically celebrate Foucault’s thought forty years after his death, by focussing on these lacunae. How is his work helpful for researchers today, across different disciplines? We will ask whether and how it might be possible to think with Foucault about these kinds of topics. With a wink, we say: Woke Foucault!